MIAMI, Fla - The FIU women's basketball team drops game one of the MTE Christmas Classic in a close 67-61 contest to Texas State Monday afternoon at the Oceanbank Convocation Center.
It was a close and gritty battle throughout the afternoon, with most of FIU's work coming in the paint in the first quarter and beyond. Graduate Student Courtney Prenger led the team in the first with seven points. All of the forward's field goals came in the paint, contributing to FIU's 46 points in the paint for the game, beating Texas State in that category 46-26. Prenger ended the contest with a team high 16 points on 5-8 shooting and 6-8 from the free throw line. She rounded off her performance with two rebounds, two assists, two blocks and a steal.
The Panthers trailed going into the half, but came out strong in the backend, going on a 12-4 run over a 6:04 span in the third quarter, and securing a lead with 3:15 left in the third. Senior forward Ajae Yoakum dominated in the quarter, accounting for 10 of the Panthers' 18 points in the third. The Portland, Oregon native finished with 13 points on 100 percent shooting (6-6), eight rebounds and one assist.
Texas State took the lead for good with 4:18 left in the game thanks in part to an 11-2 run over a three minute and 49 second span. The Bobcats had nine points off turnovers in the quarter, beating FIU 20-12 in scoring in the fourth. Senior Maria Torres led FIU in points in the final frame with eight, proving to be clutch at the line, going 4-4 from the charity stripe in the last 10 minutes. The 6'1 forward out of Madrid, Spain ended with 11 points, five rebounds, one assist and two blocks.
The Panthers led in second chance points (13-8), bench points (13-11) and free throw percentage (76.5-69) despite the loss.
UP NEXT
The Panthers will look to bounce back in their second game of the Christmas Classic against Alabama A&M Tuesday afternoon at 12 p.m. at the Oceanbank Convocation Center.
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