DeKeisha Mathis finished with 19 points, inlcuding five three-pointers against FIU.
MIAMI, Fla. (Jan. 3, 2012)-Florida International's Jerica Coley tallied a game-high 28 points on 11-of-24 shooting, including 4-for-7 from three-point range to lead the host Panthers to a 77-60 non-conference victory over Morgan State on Tuesday evening at U.S. Century Bank Arena.
Coley also added a career-high 16 rebounds and finished with eight assists to fall shy of a triple-double. Her four three-pointers also tied a career-high. Finda Mansare added 19 points and nine rebounds, while Fannie Hutlassa chipped in with 17 points and seven rebounds to help FIU defeat Morgan State in the first-ever meeting between the two programs.
Morgan State (2-10) would trim a 12-point second half deficit down to six points (58-52) after DeKeisha Mathis knocked down her fifth three-pointer of the night with 10:18 to play in the contest.
However that would be as close as the Lady Bears would get, as FIU would limit Morgan State to just eight points the remaining 10 minutes of the game to earn the victory and extend the Lady Bears' losing skid to eight straight.
Morgan State held a slim 9-7 lead, before the host Panthers used a 16-2 run, capped off by a three-pointer from Hutlassa to give the hosts a 23-11 advantage with 8:53 to play in the first half.
FIU (10-5) would hold a 39-25 lead, its largest of the first half, before the Lady Bears responded with 7-0 spurt with Moneshia Davis scoring all seven points to pull within 39-32 at the 1:17 mark.
The Panthers carried a 44-34 lead at the intermission, before watching Morgan State open up the second half on a 6-0 run to pull within 44-40, but the host Panthers responded with an 8-0 run of their own to increase their lead to 52-40.
After Morgan State regrouped with a 12-6 spurt, capped off by the Mathis three-pointer to pull the Lady Bears within six, the host Panthers went on a 17-2 run over the next seven minutes to take their largest lead of the evening at 21 points (75-54) with 3:03 to play.
Mathis led Morgan State with a team-high 19 points, while Chyress Lockhart added 14 points and five rebounds. Omara Parker led the Lady Bears with six rebounds to go with eight points and Davis contributed nine points on 4-of-6 shooting.
The Lady Bears will return home briefly for a day-and-a-half before heading back on the road for their MEAC opener when they face South Carolina State. Tip-off is slated for Saturday, Jan. 7 at 2 p.m.
