Game Details
No. 24 Miami (Fla.) 77, FIU 69
Records: FIU 0-1. UM 1-0.
Friday, November 10 | 6 p.m. | Coral Gables, Fla. | Watsco Center
The Basics
-Â Â Â Â Â Â Â FIU and No. 24 Miami featured two teams with a bevy of new players who produced an entertaining game with 15 tie scores, including twice in the fourth quarter,with the Hurricanes prevailing 77-69 Friday afternoon at the Watsco Center to open the 2017-18 women's basketball season.
-Â Â Â Â Â Â Â After being named a co-captain on Thursday, FIU junior Kristian Hudson (Birmingham, Alabama) was sensational, scoring 21 points in the season debut.
-Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Hudson put the team on her back in the third quarter, scoring nine points in 65 seconds to cap off an 11-0 run to take FIU's largest lead of the game of seven, 47-40. Hudson scored 16 of FIU's 25 points in the third period and was one point away from matching the Hurricanes as a team in the frame.
-Â Â Â Â Â Â Â After FIU's monster third quarter, the full-court pressure of the Hurricanes and a leveling off of the final foul total proved too much, as Miami forced nine FIU turnovers in the frame and FIU was whistled for 12 fouls in the period to allow Miami to outpace the Panthers 22-8 for the game's eight-point margin.Â
-Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Neither team was able to get a lead of more than three in the first half, and Miami hit a layup with 20 seconds left in the half to take a 38-36 lead at the break.Â
-Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Redshirt junior and co-captain Kiandre'a Pound (Gifford, Florida / Sebastian River HS) posted a double-double, with 13 points and 11 rebounds. She had two all of last season.
-Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Making their collegiate debuts, freshmen Shante Walker (West Park, Florida / South Broward HS) scored 12 and Lauryn Snipes (Wellington, Kansas) added 10.
Stat of the Match
FIU outscored Miami in points off turnovers (24-18) and in bench scoring (23-15), but Miami's 17 offensive rebounds led to a back-breaking 19-1 margin in second-chance points.
From the Sideline
"From the beginning of the game, our players did what we asked them to do," said FIU Head Coach Tiara Malcom after the game. "But, we gave away too many offensive rebounds and turned the ball over too many times down the stretch. I am not into moral victories, but we fought and everyone who played made a contribution and we move on to Monday."
Next Up
FIU begins a five-game home stretch Monday night at 7 p.m. against Bethune-Cookman.
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 eight different venues on FIU's campuses (Modesto A. Maidique and Biscayne Bay), including Lime Court at FIU Arena and Riccardo Silva Stadium.
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About FIU: Florida International University is classified by Carnegie as a "R1: Doctoral Universities - Highest Research Activity" and recognized as a Carnegie Community Engaged university. It is a public research university with colleges and schools that offers bachelor's, master's and doctoral programs in fields such as business, engineering, computer science, international relations, architecture, law and medicine. As one of South Florida's anchor institutions, FIU contributes almost $9 billion each year to the local economy and is ranked second in Florida in Forbes Magazine's "America's Best Employers" list. FIU graduates are consistently among the highest paid college graduates in Florida and are among the leaders of public and private organizations throughout South Florida. FIU is Worlds Ahead in finding solutions to the most challenging problems of our time. FIU emphasizes research as a major component of its mission with multiple state-of-the-art research facilities including the Wall of Wind Research and Testing Facility, FIU's Medina Aquarius Program and the Advanced Materials Engineering Research Institute. FIU has awarded more than 220,000 degrees and enrolls more than 54,000 students in two campuses and centers including FIU Downtown on Brickell, FIU@I-75, the Miami Beach Urban Studios, and Tianjin, China. FIU also supports artistic and cultural engagement through its three museums: Patricia & Phillip Frost Art Museum, the Wolfsonian-FIU, and the Jewish Museum of Florida-FIU. FIU is a member of Conference USA and more than 400 student-athletes participating in 18 sports. For more information about FIU, visit http://www.fiu.edu/.
