Printer-Friendly Format     E-mail this article     Genice Terry was named to the Sun & Fun Classic All-Tournament team.
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Lady Rebels Fall To Florida International, 76-68, In Sun & Fun Classic Title Game

Junior guard Genice Terry earned All-Tournament honors.

Dec. 29, 2002

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MIAMI, Fla. - Poor field goal shooting in the first half and rebounding throughout the game doomed the Ole Miss Lady Rebels as they were defeated, 76-68, by Florida International in the title game of the Sun & Fun Classic on Sunday. Ole Miss moves to 9-2 following the loss, while FIU improved to 9-3 on the season.

"We were really slow moving the ball on offense to start the game," said Lady Rebel head coach Ron Aldy. "We had a hard time getting open shots and when we did it looked like we were really rushing them. It took us a long time to get into any kind of rhythm offensively."

Florida International on the other hand started out red hot. The Golden Panthers made 56 percent of their field goals in the first half and jumped out to an early 15 point lead at the 6:25 mark in the first half, before Ole Miss went on an 12-0 run to trim the lead to three with 4:15 left before intermission. A lay-up by freshman guard Ashley Johnson with 10 seconds left in the period left Ole Miss down five points at the break.

"Once we got in a rhythm and got some confidence in ourselves we were able to make some things happen," said Aldy. "I was happy with our effort the last few minutes of the half. It appeared we had gained the momentum heading into the break."

As it turned out, FIU used the break to reload and came out red hot again to start the second half. The Golden Panthers rattled off 11 unanswered points to start the second period. Behind 11 second half points from junior guard Genice Terry, Ole Miss would cut the lead to six points, but could not get any closer. FIU made 12-of-15 free throws in the last two minutes to preserve the 76-68 win and take home the championship trophy.

Terry, who earned All-Tournament honors, led Ole Miss with a season-high 20 points. She made 5-of12 shots from the field and cashed in on all eight of her free throws. Terry also collected team highs in steals with four and assists with three.

"Genice played well in both games this weekend," said Aldy. "She had a solid game against Georgia State and was the driving force that kept us in the FIU game. She was very deserving of the honor."

Johnson scored in double figures for the third-straight game with 16 points and sophomore guard Carletta Brown added 10 points. Sophomore center Amber Watts led Ole Miss on the backboards with eight rebounds. Junior forward Tywanna Inmon pulled down five boards.

Mandy Shafer scored 30 points to lead FIU. She was 11-of-13 from the floor, including 4-of-6 from beyond the arc. Ivelina Vrancheva and Dace Cinite scored in double digits for the Golden Panthers with 14 and 13 points, respectively. Cormisha Cotton led FIU on the boards with 19 caroms.

Ole Miss finished the game making just 22-of-71 shots from the field, good for 31.0 percent. The Lady Rebels made 19-of-25 free throws and committed a season-low nine turnovers. Ole Miss collected 10 steals to FIU's three.

FIU finished the game making 51.0 percent (25-of-49) from the field and 74.1 percent from the free throw line (20-of-27). The Golden Panthers controlled the boards, as they out-rebounded the Lady Rebels, 45-36. It was only the second time in 11 games that Ole Miss had been out-rebounded.

The Lady Rebels will return to action on Jan. 2, when they play host to the Temple Owls. Game time is scheduled for 7 p.m., at Tad Smith Coliseum.