MIAMI - FIU Women's Basketball (7-8, 3-1 CUSA) used a 25-6 second-half run to come away with a 61-54 victory over Sam Houston (7-7, 0-4 CUSA) at the Ocean Bank Convocation Center, Saturday afternoon.
Down 24-19 heading into the halftime break, FIU found its hot hand, out-scoring the Bearkats 42-30 in the final two frames, highlighted by a 10-0 run from the 4:50-2:11 mark in the third quarter, which put the Panthers in the lead.
The winning effort was sprung by 20 combined second-half points from junior Parris Atkins and senior Isnelle Natabou.
The Panthers played lockdown defense in the first half, holding Sam Houston to 24 points on 30% shooting over the opening 20 minutes of the contest, but could not find their scoring stroke early, ending going into halftime down 24-19.
FIU was able to find the bottom of the net in the third quarter, when six different Panthers scored in the frame, taking the lead with 3:33 left in the penultimate quarter and never giving it back. Parris Atkins led the way with five points in the period, ending the contest with 14 points, four rebounds and one steal. The Panthers led going into the final quarter, 38-37.
FIU used a 17-6 run over the first 8 minutes of the final frame to lengthen its lead to a comfortable 12-point lead with two minutes to play, led by Lucia Fleta Robles with seven points in the quarter on 3-4 shooting and one three. The senior would end with 12 points, three rebounds, four assists and one steal.
Isnelle Natabou was the final Panther to end the game in double-digits, tying a game-high with 14 points on 5-6 shooting to go along with nine rebounds and four blocks.
This is Panthers third win in a row and third win of conference play after sweeping their homestand against Louisiana Tech and Sam Houston on Thursday night and Saturday afternoon. At 3-1 in conference play, FIU has tied its second-best start to conference play in the Jesyka Burks-Wiley era.
UP NEXT
FIU will be back on the road for its next two contest, first going to New Mexico State and ending the trip at University of Texas -El Paso. The Panthers play the Aggies Thursday, Jan. 16 at 8 p.m. ET, and Saturday, Jan. 18 afternoon at UTEP at 2:30 p.m. ET.
TICKETS
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SOCIAL MEDIA
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