CORAL GABLES, Fla. (Dec. 22, 2015) – The FIU women's basketball team (2-7) fell to the No. 23/20-ranked Miami Hurricanes (12-1), 83-55, on Tuesday afternoon from the BankUnited Center in Coral Gables.
 
Falling behind early, the Panthers used a second-half run to get within four but could not pull ahead of the Hurricanes as FIU dropped its third-straight.
 
Led by freshman Kristian Hudson's career-high 20 points, FIU had three players score in double-figures. Along with Hudson, senior Taylor Shade posted 15 points, while senior Destini Feagin added 10. Hudson and Feagin each registered a team-high seven rebounds.
 
For the game, the Panthers shot 38.5 percent (20-of-52) from the floor, including 44.4 percent (8-of-18) from 3-point range. The Hurricanes out-rebounded FIU, 51-28, and posted 20 second-chance points.
 
The Panthers shot 46.2 percent in the first 10 minutes led by Shade, who posted a then-game-high eight points. FIU trailed by seven after one due in large part to a 12-6 deficit on the boards. UM opened the second quarter, out-scoring FIU, 10-5, to take a 14-point lead, 35-21, with 4:57 left in the first half. The Panthers entered halftime, trailing the Hurricanes, 44-31.
 
Shooting 41.4 percent from the floor and 45.5 percent from beyond the arc, FIU went into the intermission down, 44-31. Shade led all Panthers with 10 points followed by Feagin, who added eight. The Hurricanes held a 25-14 edge on the glass adding seven second-chance points to their score.
 
FIU used a 10-0 run to start the second half, cutting UM's lead to 44-41 with 7:26 left in the third. Hudson scored nine of the Panthers' 10 points during that run. The Hurricanes responded with a run of their own, scoring 15 unanswered to take a 59-41 lead with 3:16 on the clock.  Unable to overcome the double-digit deficit, FIU fell, 83-55.
 
FIU will next host the 2015 FIU Surfing Santa Classic Dec. 28-29 from Lime Court at FIU Arena. The Classic will feature the Panthers, Rhode Island, Wake Forest and Hampton. FIU will take on Rhode Island in the opening game on Monday, Dec. 28. Tipoff is set for noon ET.
 
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Fans are encouraged to follow the Panthers on Twitter (@FIUWBB) and become a fan on Facebook (Facebook.com/FIUWBasketball) for all the latest FIU women's basketball news. Follow all of FIU's 18 athletic teams on Google+ (FIU Athletics), Twitter (@FIUAthletics), Facebook (Facebook.com/FIUSports), YouTube (FIUPanthers), and Instagram (FIUathletics).
 
About FIU Athletics: FIU Athletics is home to more than 400 student-athletes in 18 different sports. Athletic events are played in seven different venues on FIU's campuses (Modesto A. Maidique and Biscayne Bay), including FIU Arena and Ocean Bank Field at FIU Stadium.
 
 About FIU: Florida International University is recognized as a Carnegie engaged university. It is a public research university with colleges and schools that offer more than 180 bachelor's, master's and doctoral programs in fields such as engineering, international relations, architecture, law and medicine. As one of South Florida's anchor institutions, FIU contributes $8.9 billion each year to the local economy. FIU is Worlds Ahead in finding solutions to the most challenging problems of our time. FIU emphasizes research as a major component of its mission. FIU has awarded over 200,000 degrees and enrolls more than 54,000 students in two campuses and three centers including FIU Downtown on Brickell, FIU@I-75, and the Miami Beach Urban Studios. FIU also supports artistic and cultural engagement through its three museums: the Patricia & Phillip Frost Art Museum, the Wolfsonian-FIU, and the Jewish Museum of Florida-FIU. FIU is a member of Conference USA and has over 400 student-athletes participating in 18 sports. For more information about FIU, visit http://www.fiu.edu/.