MIAMI (Dec. 28, 2015) – Taylor Shade scored a team-high 19 points but that wasn't enough as the University of Rhode Island defeated FIU, 68-50, in the first round of the Surfing Santa Classic on Lime Court at FIU Arena, Monday afternoon.
The Panthers (2-8) shot just 28.6 percent (16-of 56) from the field on the day while the Rams hit at a 52.8 percent clip, including 59.3 percent (16-of-27) in the first half. Rhode Island also dominated the lane offensively, outscoring FIU, 36-8, in the paint.
The Rams (6-5) led by as many as nine points in the opening period, 10-1, with 7:29 left in the first quarter, however the Panthers would use a 9-0 run to tie the game on a Shade three-point shot with 5:43 left in the quarter. That would be as close as FIU would get as Rhode Island eventually took a 37-25 lead into the locker room at the break.
"With us being short on numbers, it was tough," said FIU head coach
Marlin Chinn. "We didn't shoot the ball well. We have to get better at being ready to play."
The Rams started the second half on a 9-0 run and eventually extended their lead to 18 points, 46-28, with 6:54 left in the third quarter. At that point, FIU made its move.
The Panthers were able to string together a 16-3 run over the next eight minutes of clock time to close the gap to five, at 49-44, just one minute into the fourth quarter. The run started with a three-pointer by junior
Tianah Alvarado (St. Petersburg, Florida / Gulf Coast State College), followed by five-straight points by junior
Janka Hegedus (Budapest, Hungary) and an Alvarado layup before a three to end the third quarter by Shade.
The fourth started with a three by Alvarado to finish the run. Unfortunately, the Panthers expended their energy coming back and didn't have enough left to finish, scoring just six more points in the final nine minutes of the contest.
"We did a good job getting it back to five points, added Chinn. "I think we relaxed a little and the game got away from us."
Destini Feagin scored eight points and grabbed a game-high seven rebounds, while Hegedus also scored eight points in the loss.
FIU will return to Lime Court at FIU Arena on Dec. 29 at 2 p.m. when it faces either Wake Forest or Hampton on the final day of the Surfing Santa Classic.
For women's basketball ticket information, contact the FIU Ticket Office at 305-FIU-GAME or log onto www.FIUSports.com.
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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 at the FIU Football Stadium.
About FIU: Florida International University is recognized as a Carnegie engaged university. Its colleges and schools offer more than 180 bachelor¹s, master¹s and doctoral programs in fields such as engineering, international relations, architecture, law and medicine. As one of South Florida's anchor institutions, FIU is Worlds Ahead in its local and global engagement, finding solutions to the most challenging problems of our time. FIU emphasizes research as a major component of its mission. FIU has awarded 200,000 degrees and enrolls 50,000 students in two campuses and three centers including FIU Downtown on Brickell and the Miami Beach Urban Studios. FIU is a member of Conference USA and has 400 student-athletes participating in 18 sports. For more information about FIU, visit http://www.fiu.edu/.
