MIAMI (Jan. 21, 2016) -- FIU came out shooting hot, knocking down 50 percent of its shots in the first half, but the rims were unkind in the second half as visiting UTSA came away with the win, 63-52 on Lime Court at FIU Arena Thursday night in Conference USA women's basketball action.
 
The Panthers' six-player rotation worked hard for open looks, but five second-half UTSA blocks and a 25 percent FIU shooting percentage in the last two quarters negated the effort in the game. The Panthers committed a season-low nine turnovers in the contest.
 
FIU falls to 2-15 on the season, 0-6 in C-USA play. The Roadrunners improve to 6-10 overall, 2-4 in league games.
 
"I was disappointed with our effort tonight," said FIU head coach Marlin Chinn after the game. "We've got to huddle back up and figure out a way to close out games and keep the energy up in the second half."
 
FIU hit five of 10 shots in the opening period and all four of its three-point shots attempted, including one from senior Destini Feagin (Philadelphia, Pennsylvania) to tie the game at 17 to end the quarter. It was just the fifth time all season that the Panthers made four or more triples in the opening period. The Panthers forced five turnovers in both of the first two quarters, holding the Roadrunners without a field goal for over five minutes in a stretch across the quarters.
 
FIU's defensive pressure helped build a lead as large as eight in the second period, with the score settling at three, 31-28, at the half. Taylor Shade (Boynton Beach, Florida / Community HS) led all scorers with 13 points at the half. She nailed all three three-point shots she took in the contest.
 
The second half saw the scoring go cold for FIU. The Roadrunners and Panthers traded leads for most of the third quarter, 12 times total in the contest, but UTSA took the lead for good in the final minute of the third and held a three-point margin at the end of the period.
 
FIU did not score for a stretch of 3:10 in the middle of the fourth and UTSA slowly built the lead out to double figures to pull away. The Roadrunners finished the game shooting .429, while the Panthers ended the game with a .333 clip from the field.
 
Shade ended the night with 19 points, one off the game-high total. Junior Tianah Alvarado (St. Petersburg, Florida / Gulf Coast State) added 12. Freshman Kristian Hudson (Birmingham, Alabama) had eight points, seven assists and six rebounds.
 
FIU will stay at home and take on UTEP Saturday afternoon at 2 p.m. ET.
 
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).
 
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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/.