Game Details
USF 82, FIU 52
Records: FIU 2-8, USF 9-2.
Sunday, December 17 | 3 p.m. | Davie, Fla. | Rick Case Arena
The Basics
- FIU dropped its fourth-straight game in its return to the Miami area, in a 82-52 loss to USF Sunday afternoon from Davie, Florida, in women's college basketball action.
- The Panthers and Bulls relocated to Rick Case Arena in Davie, Florida, due to December graduations on the FIU campus, after the semester was extended a week due to Hurricane Irma in September.
- USF came out hot to start, hitting nine of its first 15 shots, jumping out to a 21-5 lead. FIU was able to hold USF scoreless in the last 2:11 of the period and finished the quarter trailing 23-9. The Bulls were at their best in the first and fourth quarters (23 and 21 points, respectively), while the Panthers scored nine points in the first and last stanzas. The two teams were only four points apart in the middle two periods.
- FIU shot .571 in the second, and got to the free-throw line, putting up 16 points to trail 42-25 at the intermission.
- At the half, redshirt junior
Kiandre'a Pound (Gifford, Florida / Sebastian River HS) led all players with 15 points on 6-for-10 shooting and hit all three free throws.
- FIU outscored the Bulls 9-6 to start the third period, but USF knocked down five in a row and finished one point up for the third 10-minutes.
- USF shot .462 in the final frame and finished at .484 for the game. FIU was just 3-for-10 in the final period and shot .340 for the contest in the home game away from home.
- Pound finished with 17 points and nine rebounds, one away from her fifth double-double of the year.
Stat of the Match
USF led the Panthers 36-22 in points in the paint, and 13-6 in second-chance scoring. FIU was able to grab seven offensive rebounds, but only produced six points with a second chance on those possessions.
From the Sideline
"We competed for about half of the game," said FIU Head Coach Tiara Malcom. "We have been working on some offensive and defensive things and some of that carried over from practice, but the bottom line is that there is a reason that USF is good. We take away their leading scorer for four points, but they have four other players who step up and carry the load. Defense is tough and you have to have the will to do it for a full possession to get the stop. Offensively, we know what we are going to get from KP, we just have to get other players to continue to chip in."
Next Up
FIU will play its next five games inside the Ocean Bank Convocation Center, starting with the FIU Holiday Tournament, Wednesday and Thursday. The Panthers open the tournament with a 12 p.m. tip against North Dakota State on Wednesday.
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.
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/.
