MIAMI, FL ? The Arkansas State women's basketball team opened Sun Belt Conference play with a 54-50 loss to Florida International on Saturday evening at Pharmed Arena. Junior center Adrianne Davie scored eight points to become the 14th player in Lady Indian history to reach 1,000 career points in the loss.
The Lady Indians (6-8, 0-1 Sun Belt) suffered through a slow first half as the Tribe only connected on six-of-30 (20%) of its shots from the field. The Lady Indians took the first lead of the game at 9-5 on a Brittney Hiles lay-up eight minutes in. The Tribe's shots fell cold as the Golden Panthers went on a 13-2 run to take an 18-11 lead in the game.
The Lady Indians closed out the half connecting on just two-of-15 from the field in the final 10 minutes of the opening frame while FIU connected on eight-of-15 from the field in the same time span. The Golden Panthers shot 35.5 percent from the field in the opening half on their way to a 25-16 lead at the break.
The Lady Indians regrouped in the locker room and came out and pulled within five as they went on a 6-0 run. The run included three points by Davie and was capped off by a lay-up at the 17:34 mark of the game that gave her 1,000 career points.
Florida International (9-5, 2-0 Sun Belt) maintained the lead and extended it to 13 points at 39-26 with a pivotal 8-0 run. The Lady Indians responded after a timeout and pulled within one point courtesy of a 14-2 run. Junior guard Rudy Sims highlighted the run as she scored 10 of the 14 points in the spurt including a running jumper to pull ASU within a point at 41-40.
The Golden Panthers came up with an answer when they needed it as guard Faeza Bouderra knocked down some clutch shots including a three-pointer to go ahead 44-40. The Tribe was unable to pull back any closer than two points the rest of the game as the Golden Panthers connected on their free throws. The Lady Indians' last stand came on a three-pointer by Sims with 10 seconds remaining to pull within two points at 52-50 but Bouderra knocked down both free throws to put the nail in the coffin.
The Lady Indians countered their slow first half with a strong second half shooting as they connected on 14-of-29 (48.3%) from the field in the second frame. The Golden Panthers though also improved their shooting in the second half as the connected on 44 percent from the field and hit six-of-seven from the charity stripe.
Sims paced the Tribe in the game as she scored a team-high 17 points with 15 of those points coming in the second half. She connected on seven-of-14 shots in the game and knocked down both of her three-pointers in the second half. Abraham added three three-pointers for nine points and Davie chipped in eight points in the loss.
FIU was led by Bouderra who scored a game-high 20 points in the game including 15 second half points. Freshman forward Marquita Adley posted a double-double off of the bench as she scored 11 points and grabbed a game-high 12 rebounds.
The loss snapped the Tribe's two-game winning steak against the Golden Panthers and dropped ASU's record to 1-8 all-time at FIU. It also marked the first time in the last four seasons that ASU has opened Sun Belt play with a loss.
The Lady Indians will look to get back on track on Thursday night as they play host to SBC intra-divisional rival Middle Tennessee. The game is set for a 7:05 p.m. tip-off at the Convocation Center.
####
