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EL PASO, Texas (Feb. 7, 2015) – The women's basketball team dropped a 72-56 decision at UTEP on Saturday afternoon from the Don Haskins Center. With the loss, the Panthers fall to 3-18 overall and 0-10 in Conference USA, while the win lifts the Miners to 9-11 on the season and 4-7 in the league.
 
Junior Destini Feagin led all FIU scorers with 10 points, while senior Marita Davydova was one point shy of recording her ninth double-double of the season with a career-high 16 rebounds and nine points. Junior Taylor Shade chipped in with eight and sophomore Janka Hegedus and senior Zsofia Labady added seven points apiece. UTEP was led by junior Cameasha Turner who put in a game-high 26 points. 
 
Shade got things stared with a jumper from the elbow, but UTEP quickly responded by forcing three turnovers which it scored six points off of. The Miners continued its run taking its first double-digit lead of the day at the 12:54 point and extended it to as many as 17 with 3:26 left in the first half. During that time, FIU struggled offensively as it was held scoreless for over four minutes. Davydova finally broke through with a layup underneath with 3:13 left to go in the first. The Panthers pulled within 12 after Shade knocked down a three, but UTEP once again converted on one of its many shots inside the paint.
 
Trailing 39-25 coming out of the locker room, freshman Amari Hawkins hit a jumper that sparked a 6-2 run over the first three minutes of the second as FIU pulled back within 10. UTEP responded yet again as it went on a 20-3 run over the next nine minutes. Two Panther free throws scoring drought that lasted over five minutes. The closest the Panthers would pull back in the second half was 14 as they dropped their 10th consecutive game, 72-56.
 
For the game, UTEP shot 40.0 percent (28-of-70) from the floor, while FIU was 37.5 percent (21-of-56) overall. The Panthers outrebounded the Miners, 44-38; however, UTEP took advantage of its 20 trips to the free throw line, hitting 15. In addition, the Miners forced 25 FIU turnovers which resulted in 25 Miner points.
 
Next up, the Panthers return home for a matchup with the Southern Miss Lady Eagles on Thursday, Feb. 12. The game will tip off at 6 p.m. from Lime Court at FIU Arena.
 
Fans are encouraged to follow the Panthers on Twitter (@FIUWBasketball) 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).
 
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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 Ocean BankField 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/.