MIAMI,  Fla - Angena Belloso scores a team high 14 points as FIU notched their second straight victory of the MTE Christmas Classic over Chicago State by a score of 73-55, Wednesday afternoon at the Oceanbank Convocation Center.

The Panthers were in attack mode out of the gate, going on a 7-0 run during the first 1:54 of the game. FIU spread the ball around, with six players scoring buckets in the first quarter, winning the period 24-9. Junior Aileen Marquez provided energy off the bench, accounting for five points in the first 10 minutes. The three-point specialist ended the game with 11 points on 4-8 shooting, including 2-5 from beyond the arc. She added on two offensive rebounds and three steals to round out a nice day off the bench. Marquez was not the only Panther getting buckets in the second unit, as FIU beat the Cougars in points off the bench 30-24.

CSU stormed back in the second quarter, going on a 8-2 run coming into the period. In that span, the Cougars shot 4-5 from the field, and kept up the momentum into the half, cutting the lead to single digits. 

Angena Belloso led FIU out of the half, scoring five immediate points right out of the gate and putting up 11 in the quarter on an efficient 4-5 from the field. Belloso put up 14 points in the afternoon along with seven rebounds, two assists and two steals. Eight Panthers scored in the frame, beating CSU in the quarter 26-16, lengthening their lead to 19 at the end of the third.

FIU played a tight fourth quarter, holding the Cougars to only 14 points in the period, highlighted by FIU's two blocks and two steals down the stretch. Courtney Turner played a physical game, ending with nine rebounds on the day including six in the fourth quarter alone. As a team, FIU outrebounded CSU 49-37, including winning the offensive rebound battle 19-9, converting 18 second chance points and allowing only seven to the Cougars.

Graduate student Courtney Prenger was the only other Panther to score double-digits in the game, putting up 13 points and grabbing seven rebounds in the win. The forward was nominated as FIU's all-tournament selection for the MTE Christmas Classic, averaging 13.3 points on 52.3% shooting and 4.3 rebounds in the three-day event. Prenger also shot well from the free-throw line in the three games, going 13-16 for 81.3% to finish off a great stretch of play for the Ohio native.

UP NEXT
The Panthers will match up against Utah Tech on December 30th at 1:00 p.m. back home at the Oceanbank Convocation Center.

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