MIAMI, Fla. – Sariana Rodriguez Camacho made a career high, five 3-pointers (5-11), and recorded a career-best 21 points as the FIU women's basketball team fell to the University of Massachusetts Sunday afternoon in the FIU Thanksgiving Classic championship game, 95-78 at the Ocean Bank Convocation Center.
 
FIU slips to 2-3 overall, while UMASS moves to 6-1 on the season and extends their winning streak to five games.
 
Three Panthers finished in double figures in the tournament finale, though, an 18-point first quarter deficit was too much to overcome. FIU buckled down in the second quarter and cut UMASS' lead to single digits to trail 40-36 going into the half.
 
The Panthers finished the contest shooting 37 percent (28-of-76) and connecting on a season-best 12-of-35 (34.3%) from beyond the arc. Sifa Joyeuse and Sariana Rodriguez Camacho tied for the team lead with 21 points and they each made five 3-pointers.
 
The Minutewomen scored a game high, 30 points, in the third quarter to gain a double-digit lead again and entered the fourth quarter leading, 70-59. UMASS found a lot of success scoring against the Panthers around the rim. They outscored FIU in the paint 48-26 and hurt them in transition with 17 fast break points.   
 
The Minutewomen sealed the game when they went on a 15-5 run in the fourth quarter and extended their lead over FIU to 20 points, 85-65.   
 
Kaliah Henderson came off the bench for the Panthers and scored 13 points on 5-15 shooting from the field. She was also second on the team with seven rebounds and recorded two steals. After the game, Henderson and Joyeuse were named to the All-Tournament team and UMASS' Sam Breen was named tournament MVP. She led the Minutewomen with 26 points and 11 rebounds in the championship game.
 
UP NEXT
FIU will continue to play at the Ocean Bank Convocation Center for their next two games starting with a midweek contest against Florida National University on Wednesday, Nov. 30 at 4:30 p.m. The game will be streamed on CUSA.tv
 
TICKETS
For more information on FIU tickets to FIU basketball home games, including student ticketing, call 305-FIU-GAME or visit HERE.

SOCIAL MEDIA
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