No. 7 Georgia 70, Fla. International 56

12/30/2007 10:11 PM

MIAMI (AP) -Ashley Houts doesn't want anyone to think that No. 7 Georgia should be compared with the best teams in school history. It's too early for that.

Houts scored a career-high 24 points and No. 7 Georgia remained undefeated, beating Florida International 70-56 to win the FIU Sun & Fun Classic on Sunday.

Georgia's 12-0 start is the third-best start in school history and tied the mark set by the Lady Bulldogs 1995 Final Four team. Georgia is one of three undefeated teams remaining - Connecticut and Arkansas are the others.

That's no reason to start thinking about where they might be in March.

``I think the best thing to do is take it one game at a time,'' Houts said. ``We can't look ahead, can't look behind. We need to focus on the game at present.''

Houts shot 9-of-14 from the field - 4-of-5 from 3-point range - and had four assists and four steals. Angel Robinson added 12 points and six rebounds, and Angela Puleo and Tasha Humphrey each contributed nine points.

``They did a nice job defensively inside,'' Georgia coach Andy Landers said. ``Houts was the beneficiary of that at times.''

LaQuetta Ferguson led the Golden Panthers (4-9) with 18 points and four 3-pointers. Fanni Hutlassa had 16 points and went 4-of-5 from 3-point range. FIU set a school record with 11 three-pointers, shooting 66.7 percent from 3-point range in the second half.

``I think this game did a lot for us,'' said Ferguson, the only FIU senior who started. ``You see that this young team can play with the best in the nation.''

With Georgia up 15, the Golden Panthers cut the lead down to nine with two consecutive 3-pointers by Hutlassa and Monika Bosilj that cut Georgia's lead to 45-36 with 10:04 left. The Lady Bulldogs responded with a 19-8 run, taking a 64-44 lead on Puleo's 3-pointer from the left baseline with 3:23 left. Houts hit two 3-pointers during the run.

``When teams focus on the inside, that leaves room on the outside,'' Houts said. ``It opens up lanes and opens up shooting and we needed to take advantage of that.''

FIU opened the second half cutting Georgia's double-digit lead to 37-30 on Ferguson's layup on a give-and-go pass from Jasmine Jenkins. The Lady Bulldogs scored the next six points, taking a 43-30 lead on Houts's 3-pointer with 12:25 left.

Georgia outscored FIU in the paint 33-18 and shot 48 percent in the game. Florida International shot 28.1 percent in the first half, but made 48.1 percent of their shots in the second.

``We were playing three guards now,'' Russo said. ``We needed to get some people in there with a lot of meat on their bones. The skinny ones were not going to do it tonight.''