MIAMI (Feb. 18, 2016) -- Senior guard Taylor Shade (Boynton Beach, Florida / Community HS) became the 23^rd player in FIU Panthers women's basketball history to reach the 1,000-point mark, but that was the lone highlight for the home team, as visiting North Texas came away with the 58-40 win on Lime Court at FIU Arena Thursday night in Conference USA action.
 
FIU falls to 4-21 overall and 2-12 in league play, while UNT improves to 9-14, 4-9 in C-USA.
 
Shade needed three points to reach the magic plateau and knocked down a three-point basket less than two minutes into the game to achieve the career mark. She finished with five points for 1,002 in her career, one shy of 22^nd place and Shelia Reynolds (1989-90).
 
The Panthers had a rough start to the quarter, but scored five quick points in the final minute to keep it close, at 16-11 UNT at the first-quarter break.
 
FIU hit five more baskets in the second quarter, but North Texas knocked down two threes and a pair of free throws to extend that lead to 11 at the half, 32-21. 
 
The Panthers' best quarter came in the third, outscoring the Mean Green 13-6 in the first 3:28 to cut the lead down to six, but an 18-0 run over a 13-minute, 20-second stretch took the UNT lead all the way up to 24.
 
The Panthers' 40 points were the season-low total as were the three free throw attempts (FIU hit all three.)
 
Junior Tianah Alvarado (St. Petersburg, Florida / Gulf Coast State) finished tied for the game-high total of 14 points. She scored half of those points in the third quarter and finished with four steals and a 5-for-10 shooting night. She took all three of FIU's free throws. Junior Janka Hegedus (Budapest, Hungary) scored 13 points on 6-for-9 shooting.
 
FIU will host Rice in a noon tipoff on Line Court in FIU Arena Saturday. The game will be nationally televised on FSN, airing locally on Fox Sports Florida. The program will honor former head coach Cindy Russo and longtime assistant Inge Nissen.
 
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/.