FIU falls again, losing its second straight

Photo by Joseph Kosanke

By Alejandro Solana/Staff Writer

Another tough night for women’s basketball Head Coach Cindy Russo and the Panthers as FIU falls to the Middle Tennessee Blue Raiders 65-58 Wednesday at Lime Court.

For FIU, this is their second straight loss in a row after falling to UTEP last Saturday.

Coming into the game, the Blue Raiders (20-4, 9-1 C-USA) held the best conference record in the C-USA, lead by their leading scorer and three time C-USA player of the week, Senior Ebony Rowe.

Rowe finished the night with 23 points on 10-17 shooting, 12 total rebounds, and five assists. 20 of Rowe’s 23 points came from inside the paint,  where she dominated the Panthers all night.

Senior Jerica Coley lead the Panthers in scoring once again, finishing with 29 total points shooting 10-25 from the field. Coley also ended the night with 12 rebounds and four assists. She was the only Panther in double digits on the night.

It was the Blue Raiders who jumped out to an early lead in the first half, outscoring the Panthers 16-8 down low in the paint and 11-4 in points off turnovers. FIU was able to battle back and somehow took a 25-24 lead into halftime despite not scoring a field goal the last 4:01 seconds of the half.

In the second half, it was much of the same story as Rowe continued to control the paint and get anything she wanted inside. The Panthers found themselves down nine points with 7 minutes left after a 9-2 run by the Blue Raiders.

FIU was able to make a late push bringing the deficit down to just one after a 10-2 run by the Panthers, but at the end were just not able to overcome the high powered Blue Raider offense who caught fire from beyond the arc in the second half.

Junior Arielle Durant was one bright spot for the team, as Coach Russo pointed out in her post game comments, finishing the night with 13 total rebounds and eight points while playing 37 total minutes.

“We need a little more sense of urgency, and it just wasnt out there” said coach Russo after the loss. “One player did play with urgency and it was Ari Durant.”

In a game where FIU seemed to be lacking size and strength down low, Redshirt Sophomore Brianna Wright, the tallest active player FIU has on their roster, was held to limited minutes, especially in the second half where she only played three. When asked about her limited minutes, Coach Russo had this to say after the game, “I just didn’t think she was the best player out there.”

With the loss, FIU falls to 11-12 on the season and 5-5 in conference play. Things won’t get any easier for FIU and Coach Russo as they will head to New Orleans to face the Tulane Green Wave (18-6, 9-2 C-USA) saturday, Feb. 15. Tip off is set for 3 p.m.

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