MIAMI (December 3, 2016) -- FIU came from 11 points down early to take a second-quarter lead, but succumbed to a late first-half surge by visiting Jacksonville in a 71-56 result Saturday afternoon in non-conference women's basketball action on Lime Court at FIU Arena. FIU is now 1-6, while Jacksonville is 6-2.
 
"We allowed them to push us around and dictate the pace of the game and we turned the ball over too many times," said Head Coach Tiara Malcom after the game. "Those are opportunities to get a shot or a foul or even an offensive rebound. We are getting better with our turnovers and our players are watching film and knowing what we are trying to do, but we cannot let a bad offensive possession cause us to hang our heads on the defensive end because it compounds itself."
 
The Dolphins scored the game's first 11 points and appeared to run away with it early. FIU was held scoreless until a free throw from freshman Sydney Fields (Conyers, Georgia) after four minutes into the first. FIU opened up the game a bit and finished the period on a 6-2 run to trail 13-6 at the end of the period.
 
FIU found another gear to start the second. The Panthers outscored JU 12-4 to start the frame, capped off on back-to-back three-point field goals from reigning Conference USA Freshman of the Week Alexis Gordon (Palm Bay, Florida / Covenant Christian HS) for an 18-17 lead. The total run was 18-6 over nine minutes of clock time. From that point, Jacksonville finished on another 11-2 run to lead 29-18 at the half.
 
The Panthers scored more points in the wide-open third quarter than they did in the first half, but were outscored by the Dolphins by four points, who led by 14 entering the final period. The fourth went much like the third, with both teams scoring 19 points, more than either quarter in the first half.
 
The Panthers had fewer turnovers than their opponent for the third time this season and were able to outscore the Dolphins in points off turnovers, 16-14.  FIU also shot 50 percent (8-for-16) from three-point range. The Panthers entered the weekend second in Conference USA in long-range shooting.
 
FIU was led by Hudson and senior Tianah Alvarado (St. Petersburg, Florida / Gulf Coast State), who had 15 points each. Alvarado's 15 were a season-high total. Freshman Kayla Rogers (Jacksonville, Florida / Jean Ribault) added 12 to tie her season high.
 
FIU takes off more than a week for exams and December graduations, before hosting No. 18 Miami (Florida) on December 16. Tipoff is set for 7 p.m.
 
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/.