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Florida Memorial University Athletics

Scoreboard

Generic
69
Fla. Memorial FM 0-2
72
Winner FIU FIU 1-1,0-0 C-USA
Fla. Memorial FM
0-2
69
Final
72
FIU FIU
1-1,0-0 C-USA
Winner
Score By Periods
Team 1 2 3 4 F
Fla. Memorial FM 15 16 20 18 69
FIU FIU 17 15 21 19 72

Game Recap: Women's Basketball | | J.T. Wilcox, Sports Information Director

FMU WBB Nearly Upends Florida International University Friday, Edged Out 72-69

MIAMI – Clinging to a 69-66 lead over NCAA Division-I Florida International University with just over a minute to play in the fourth quarter, Florida Memorial University looked poised to pull off what would've been one of the biggest upsets in the program's recent history.
 
Instead, the Lions weren't able to produce any more points over the final 69 seconds of the game while FIU manufactured six crucial points and dealt FMU a 72-69 loss Friday afternoon in the Ocean Bank Convocation Center.
 
The Lions, who will have to shake of Friday's loss rather quickly since they have to return to the hardwood Saturday evening for their conference opener at St. Thomas University, took that slim three-point lead after senior guard Aliyah-Deen Ahmad nabbed away a steal and hit a short jumper in the lane.
 
Florida Memorial had chances to potentially extend its lead. Da'Marreya Johnson had a layup blocked, Keaynna Tolbert missed a floater in the lane, and Ahmad had a turnover over the course of the Lions' final three offensive possessions while the Panthers got a layup, took the lead from FMU on a pair of free throws, then pushed their lead to the final 72-69 margin on another pair of free throws with five seconds left in the game.
 
While the Lions were denied what would've been their first – and perhaps biggest – win of the season, there was a lot of positive to take away from the tilt against the Panthers.
 
Tolbert led all scorers with 26 points and did so on a fairly efficient shooting night – going 10-for-19 from the field (2-of-7 from three-point range) and a perfect 4-for-4 from the free throw line. The 2021 Sun Conference First Team selection also finished with 7 rebounds, a steal, and an assist.
 
Diamond Mays gave the Lions 14 points off the bench in 19 minutes of action and was the only other FMU player to finish with a double-digit point total.
 
Ahmad had a "floor game", finishing with 9 points, a team-high 8 rebounds, and a game-high 6 assists while playing 38 minutes.

Also, Florida Memorial was able to disrupt what the Panthers were trying to do on offense and held FIU to just 43 percent shooting from the field and 23 percent shooting from three-point range while forcing Florida International into 22 turnovers.
 
To their credit, the Lions (0-4) stood toe-to-toe with the D-I Panthers throughout. Florida International's largest lead was a brief 8-point advantage late in the third quarter, but FMU never looked out outmatched and held the lead against FIU at some point in all four quarters.
 
While the result wasn't what he wanted, especially given the fact that his team held a lead in the waning minutes, Florida Memorial head coach Gregory Stanback has to be encouraged by what he saw from this team Friday.
 
Bouncing back from its wonky, non-counting exhibition loss at Florida Gulf Coast University this past Tuesday, FMU showed a level of competitiveness that could be a building block for the remainder of the season – beginning Saturday in the first game of the "Battle of Miami Gardens" rivalry series against St. Thomas University.
 
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Instagram: @GoFMULions/@FMUWBB | Twitter: @GoFMULions | YouTube: Official FMU Lions
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