FIU sophomore point guard Kristian Hudson (Birmingham, Alabama) scored a season-high 18 points and powered a 14-2 run in the third period, but visiting Texas Southern was able to outlast FIU 70-62 Wednesday afternoon on Lime Court at FIU Arena in non-conference women’s basketball action. The loss drops the Panthers to 1-8 on the season, while the Lady Tigers improve to 6-5.
FIU shot a season-best 41.4 percent from the field for their season-high 62-point output, dished out a season-high 20 assists and turned the ball over a season-low 12 times, but Texas Southern shot 24 free throws, the second most for an FIU opponent this season.
The Tigers got out to an early lead, thanks to 50 percent shooting (8-for-16) in the first quarter. Both teams knocked down a pair of three-point attempts in the opening period, but 14 first-quarter rebounds powered the visitor to the early 22-15 lead after one.
“I was disappointed in our first half,” said FIU Head Coach Tiara Malcom. “It looked like our worst first half of the year. We had good energy in the third quarter, but we cannot get in a hole and expect to play our way out of it. We lack the consistency right now and that’s what we’re searching for out of our team.”
In the second quarter, the Panthers made a run, hitting three-straight jumpers to pull to within six. Defense dominated the second period, with neither team able to score in a span of more than two minutes, broken by a pair of free throws from Hudson with a little more than three minutes remaining in the half. The Panthers held the Tigers scoreless for over four minutes until a flourish at the end of the half to maintain the seven-point margin, at 35-28.
The lead fluctuated between five and nine points in the third period before the Panthers made their big run of the game, 14-2 over a span of 3:38, to take their first lead of the afternoon, 47-44, with 2:35 in the frame. Hudson scored eight points in the quarter. She has scored 10-or-more points in three-straight games and seven times in the nine season contests. FIU led 51-49 at the end of the third after a 23-14 period. The Panthers also outrebounded the Tigers 7-5 and forced five turnovers in the frame.
FIU got in foul trouble in the fourth, with four quick team fouls, eventually leading to 12 free throws by the Tigers (hitting nine of them). That kept TSU in front for the final six minutes of the period to lead to the win.
Artavia Ford had a game-high 25 points for the visitors. Panthers redshirt sophomore Kiandre’a Pound (Gifford, Florida) added 12 points, her third double-digit scoring performance of the year. Hudson also added a season-best eight assists in the game.
The Panthers will play two more home games next week to close out the five-game home stand when they host the FIU Holiday Classic on Tuesday and Wednesday. FIU takes on Massachusetts at noon Tuesday before hosting George Mason Wednesday at 2 p.m. to end the non-conference portion of the schedule.
For women’s basketball ticket information, contact the FIU Ticket Office at 305-FIU-GAME or log onto www.FIUSports.com.
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About FIU Athletics: FIU Athletics is home to more than 400 student-athletes in 18 different sports. Athletic events are played in seven different venues on FIU’s campuses (Modesto A. Maidique and Biscayne Bay), including FIU Arena and at the FIU Football Stadium.
About FIU: Florida International University is recognized as a Carnegie engaged university. Its colleges and schools offer more than 180 bachelor¹s, master¹s and doctoral programs in fields such as engineering, international relations, architecture, law and medicine. As one of South Florida’s anchor institutions, FIU is Worlds Ahead in its local and global engagement, finding solutions to the most challenging problems of our time. FIU emphasizes research as a major component of its mission. FIU has awarded 200,000 degrees and enrolls 50,000 students in two campuses and three centers including FIU Downtown on Brickell and the Miami Beach Urban Studios. FIU is a member of Conference USA and has 400 student-athletes participating in 18 sports. For more information about FIU, visit http://www.fiu.edu/.
