MIAMI (November 27, 2016) -- Redshirt sophomore Kiandre'a Pound (Gifford, Florida / Sebastian River HS) produced FIU's first double-double of the season and the Panthers outlasted visiting Robert Morris 59-57 Sunday to conclude the FIU Thanksgiving Women's Basketball Tournament on Lime Court at FIU Arena. The Panthers earned their first victory of the year and the first in the head coaching career of Tiara Malcom.
 
FIU is now 1-4 on the season, with the Colonials falling to 3-4.
 
"We did a really good job of working on our defense against their motion offense," said Malcom. "For us to get wins, everyone who plays has to contribute and we did a really good job of sharing the ball today."
 
The Panthers hit their first two buckets to take a quick 5-0 lead as part of a hot-shooting first half. Janka Hegedus (Budapest, Hungary) scored the first points of the game for the third time this season. That was followed by a three-pointer from freshman, and the team's leading scorer, Alexis Gordon (Palm Bay, Florida / Covenant Christian HS).
 
Midway through the first quarter, the Colonials put together a 6-0 run to take a 14-11 lead, but FIU scored the last four points of the quarter to lead by one at the end of the first stanza. FIU shot an even 50 percent (5-for-10) in the opening period.
 
Pound had 10 rebounds at the half, finishing with 14 for the game. The total was one off her career high.
 
"In practice, we do a lot of box-out drills," said Pound. "Coach said to be good at something today and that is what I decided I was going to do for my team."
 
The run at the end of the first was stretched to a 12-0 run in total into the second period. Freshman Kayla Rogers (Jacksonville, Florida / Jean Ribault HS) collected a career-high 10 points in the first half alone. FIU outscored the Colonials 23-11 in the second period to lead by 13 at halftime. FIU shot 52.3 percent in the opening half.
 
The Colonials cut the lead to just five in the first four minutes of the third, but FIU shot nearly 50 percent in the frame and kept the lead to 11 at the end of the third.
 
Including the last shot of the third, RMU went on a 9-0 run to cut the lead to four. The Panthers started the quarter 1-for-10 from the floor and managed only five points in the fourth. FIU did manage to hold RMU without a field goal for over four minutes to close the fourth and get the win. A three-point basket for the Colonials with six seconds remaining was the only shot from the floor that was made in the final 4:24 of regulation.
 
Three Panthers finished in double figures, with Rogers collecting 12 and point guard Kristian Hudson (Birmingham, Alabama) scoring 10 points. The Panthers won the game at the free-throw line, nailing 14-of-18, eight more than RMU made in the game.
 
The Panthers scored 22 points off of 17 forced Colonials turnovers for the victory.

Gordon was named to the All-Tournament Team after Sunday's win.
 
FIU will play its final non-conference road game of the season on Wednesday, when the Panthers play at USF, with a 7 p.m. tip.
                                                                              
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/.