HATTIESBURG, Miss (Jan. 16, 2016) -- Southern Miss produced a suffocating full-court press and outlasted the FIU Panthers, 82-55, Saturday afternoon at Reed Green Coliseum in Conference USA women's basketball action. The loss drops the Panthers to 2-14 on the season, 0-5 in C-USA. The Lady Eagles are 10-6 overall, 3-2 in conference.
 
FIU got in an 11-point hole early due to the press. Once they dissected it, the Panthers hit a season-best .889 percent (8-for-9) from the field in the first quarter, including nailing both three-point attempts. The offensive efforts were sabotaged by 10 turnovers and the Lady Eagles maintained a seven-point lead at the first-quarter break. USM had 24 shot attempts in the period.
 
The second went better, possession-wise, for the Panthers, as they turned the ball over only three times in the frame. That early 11-point lead evaporated down to three in the first minute of the quarter when the Panthers nailed a pair of threes. The downside for FIU was a scoreless drought over the last 3:46 in the period, which allowed the Lady Eagles to stretch the lead back out to 11 at the half, 42-31. The Panthers shot .591 in the first half, including a 4-for-7 mark from behind the arc. Junior Tianah Alvarado (St. Petersburg, Florida / Gulf Coast State College) led the Panthers with 10 first-half points.
 
The third quarter started like the first, with the Lady Eagles putting together a 9-0 run. FIU was able to only get two field goals in the period as the lead grew to 28 points.
 
Alvarado finished with 22 points, one off her career high, on 9-for-13 shooting. Freshman Kristian Hudson (Birmingham, Alabama) added 11 points and six assists for the Panthers.
 
FIU returns home to Lime Court at FIU Arena for a pair of home games next weekend. FIU's next contest will be Thursday night against UTSA in a 7 p.m. tipoff.
For women's basketball ticket information, contact the FIU Ticket Office at 305-FIU-GAME or log onto www.FIUSports.com.

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 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/.