MIAMI (Feb. 9, 2019) – Despite a valiant effort at home, the FIU women's basketball team fell to UTEP to close out its homestand as the Panthers dropped a 60-55 decision to the Miners on Saturday afternoon.
 
The Panthers rallied to trail by only three points in the final quarter, but the Miners closed out the game at the free throw line to seal their win.

With the loss, the Panthers fall to 4-20 overall and 1-10 in league play. UTEP improves to 6-18 and 3-9 in C-USA action. 
 
FIU was led by Paula Orenes who posted her second 21-point game of the year and made a season-high five 3-pointers for the Panthers on the afternoon. UTEP's Zuzanna Puc earned 19 points to lead the Miners to victory. 
 
FIU and UTEP were all tied up at the end of the first quarter, each posting 12 points which saw a combined four 3-point baskets. Coming into the second quarter, the Miners outscored the Panthers 18-11, taking a seven-point lead into the locker room. FIU outscored UTEP 15-14 in the third quarter however, with the Miner lead trimmed to just 44-38 entering the fourth quarter. FIU continued to claw its way back in the final quarter as the Panthers trailed by only three points midway through the fourth period, but the Miners took care of business at the charity stripe to seal the 60-55 victory.

UP NEXT
FIU heads to Texas next weekend to face Rice and North Texas, before returning home to host Florida Atlantic on Feb. 23 at 2 p.m. ET. For fans interested in purchasing tickets for the 2018-19 season, click here. 
 
SOCIAL MEDIA
Get all the latest information on the team by following @FIUWBasketball on Facebook and @FIUWBB on Twitter and Instagram. General athletic news can also be found at @FIUSports on Facebook and @FIUAthletics on Twitter and Instagram.