2007-08 Women's Basketball - Year In Review | |
| Coaching Staff Sue Semrau, Head Coach Melissa Bruner, Director of Operations Cori Close, Associate Head Coach Rapheal Harris, Graduate Assistant Angie Johnson, Assistant Coach Dave Plettl, Strength and Conditioning Joanna Reitz, Graduate Assistant Lance White, Assistant Coach  Click here to see individual mug shots |
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Christian Hunnicutt, 5-10, G, Jonesboro, Ga.
Courtney Ward, 5-7, G, Montgomery, Ala.
2007-08 Roster - By Name
L
T PY
R No Name Pos Hgt Cl Ltr Hometown (Prior School)
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
* 20 Tanae Davis-Cain G 5-11 Jr ** Dawson, Ga. (Terrell County)
* 10 Mara Freshour G 6-1 Jr ** Nashville, Ind. (Brown County)
* 1 Angel Gray G 5-9 So * Stone Mountain, Ga. (Stone Mountain)
* 2 Alysha Harvin G 5-10 So * Dania (South Broward)
* 15 Antionette Howard G-F 5-11 Fr Snellville, Ga. (South Gwinnett)
* 5 Christian Hunnicutt G 5-10 Fr Jonesboro, Ga. (Landmark Christian)
* 33 Britany Miller C 6-4 Jr ** Tallapoosa, Ga. (Haralson County)
* 50 Jacinta Monroe F-C 6-4 So * Fort Lauderdale (Stranahan)
* 4 Cayla Moore F 6-2 So-R * Albany, Ga. (Westover)
* 12 Courtney Ward G 5-7 Fr Montgomery, Ala. (Jefferson Davis)
* 22 Shante Williams G 5-7 Sr-R *** Jacksonville (Ribault)
2007-08 Roster - By Number
L
T PY
R No Name Pos Hgt Cl Ltr Hometown (Prior School)
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
* 1 Angel Gray G 5-9 So * Stone Mountain, Ga. (Stone Mountain)
* 2 Alysha Harvin G 5-10 So * Dania (South Broward)
* 4 Cayla Moore F 6-2 So-R * Albany, Ga. (Westover)
* 5 Christian Hunnicutt G 5-10 Fr Jonesboro, Ga. (Landmark Christian)
* 10 Mara Freshour G 6-1 Jr ** Nashville, Ind. (Brown County)
* 12 Courtney Ward G 5-7 Fr Montgomery, Ala. (Jefferson Davis)
* 15 Antionette Howard G-F 5-11 Fr Snellville, Ga. (South Gwinnett)
* 20 Tanae Davis-Cain G 5-11 Jr ** Dawson, Ga. (Terrell County)
* 22 Shante Williams G 5-7 Sr-R *** Jacksonville (Ribault)
* 33 Britany Miller C 6-4 Jr ** Tallapoosa, Ga. (Haralson County)
* 50 Jacinta Monroe F-C 6-4 So * Fort Lauderdale (Stranahan)
2007-08 Conference Awards
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Tanae Davis-Cain Atlantic Coast Conference - All-Conference - Honorable Mention
All-Conference - 1
2007-08 Schedules and Results
GAME |
SCORE |
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|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Florida Gulf Coast | |||||
| North Florida | |||||
| DePaul DePaul Invitational |
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| FL International DePaul Invitational, Chicago, Ill. |
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| Fordham | |||||
| Florida | |||||
| Indiana ACC-Big 10 Challenge |
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| Oakland | |||||
| Texas A&M | |||||
| Alabama State | |||||
| Alabama-Birmingham | |||||
| Samford | |||||
| Georgia OT, FIU Fun & Sun Classic, Miami, Fla. |
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| Hofstra FIU Fun & Sun Classic, Miami, Fla. |
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| Louisiana State | |||||
| Virginia Tech | |||||
| Duke | |||||
| Wake Forest | |||||
| Clemson | |||||
| Miami OT |
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| Virginia OT |
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| Georgia Tech | |||||
| North Carolina State | |||||
| Virginia | |||||
| North Carolina | |||||
| Boston College | |||||
| Maryland OT |
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| Miami | |||||
| Clemson | |||||
| Wake Forest ACC, Greensboro, N.C. |
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| Duke ACC, Greensboro, N.C. |
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| Ohio State NCAA, Des Moines, Iowa |
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| Oklahoma State OT, NCAA, Des Moines, Iowa |
EOY StatsRef Overall Home Away Neutral ------------------------------------------------ FSU record is 19-14 8- 3 7- 8 4- 3 vs ACC 7- 7 5- 2 2- 5 0- 0
2008 Atlantic Coast Conference Results 1 North Carolina 14- 0 33- 3 2 Maryland 13- 1 33- 4 3t Duke 10- 4 25-10 3t Virginia 10- 4 24-10 5t Georgia Tech 7- 7 22-10 5t Boston College 7- 7 21-12 5t Florida State 7- 7 19-14 8 North Carolina State 6- 8 21-12 9 Clemson 4-10 12-19 10t Virginia Tech 2-12 15-15 10t Wake Forest 2-12 15-15 10t Miami 2-12 9-21
2008 CONFERENCE TOURNAMENT, Greensboro, NC Date Score Comments ========== ================================================== ================================== 03/06/2008 (5)Georgia Tech 76, (12)Miami 49 Round 1 03/06/2008 (9)Clemson 65, (8)North Carolina State 60 Round 1, OT 03/06/2008 (7)Boston College 57, (10)Virginia 47 Round 1 03/06/2008 (6)Florida State 57, (11)Wake Forest 52 Round 1 03/07/2008 (4)Virginia 52, (5)Georgia Tech 43 Round 2 03/07/2008 (1)North Carolina 97, (9)Clemson 77 Round 2 03/07/2008 (2)Maryland 93, (7)Boston College 81 Round 2 03/07/2008 (3)Duke 81, (6)Florida State 67 Round 2 03/08/2008 (1)North Carolina 80, (4)Virginia 65 Round 3 03/08/2008 (3)Duke 74, (2)Maryland 63 Round 3 03/09/2008 (1)North Carolina State 86, (3)Duke 73 Round 4
2007-08 EOY Stats
--3 Point--- ----REBOUNDS----- Name GP GS Min FGM FGA PCT FGM FGA PCT FTM FTA PCT PTS AVG OFF DEF TOT AVG PF DQ AST TO BLK STL =================================================================================================================================== Mara Freshour 33 33 1152 132 340 .388 66 154 .429 90 109 .826 420 12.7 72 94 166 5.0 43 0 71 72 2 27 Tanae Davis-Cain 24 23 718 135 336 .402 49 144 .340 42 59 .712 361 15.0 37 74 111 4.6 70 4 26 55 7 37 Jacinta Monroe 33 19 758 135 228 .592 0 1 .000 67 113 .593 337 10.2 66 137 203 6.2 86 0 10 41 78 27 Shante Williams 33 26 883 117 297 .394 5 18 .278 90 132 .682 329 10.0 24 92 116 3.5 48 0 125 106 14 54 Alysha Harvin 24 13 527 66 176 .375 18 58 .310 48 59 .814 198 8.3 30 59 89 3.7 53 0 18 48 4 17 Courtney Ward 33 21 816 61 193 .316 29 82 .354 34 47 .723 185 5.6 25 80 105 3.2 62 0 102 121 5 40 Antionette Howard 30 2 397 59 130 .454 5 20 .250 26 48 .542 149 5.0 27 56 83 2.8 34 0 8 40 1 16 Cayla Moore 31 13 497 46 88 .523 0 0 .000 16 48 .333 108 3.5 49 79 128 4.1 102 4 4 46 7 24 Christian Hunnicutt 30 7 540 35 104 .337 10 30 .333 17 32 .531 97 3.2 30 48 78 2.6 38 0 18 29 7 14 Britany Miller 6 4 124 25 49 .510 0 0 .000 7 14 .500 57 9.5 7 17 24 4.0 20 0 1 11 9 7 Angel Gray 22 4 313 13 28 .464 0 3 .000 16 23 .696 42 1.9 11 33 44 2.0 23 0 15 26 1 12 Team 68 87 155 0.0 9 ============================================================================================================== FSU 33 824 1969 .418 182 510 .357 453 684 .662 2283 69.2 446 856 1302 39.5 579 8 398 604 135 275 Opp 33 800 2020 .396 173 571 .303 373 589 .633 2146 65.0 471 816 1287 39.0 609 9 428 626 115 287
FSU Women's Basketball Opens Season With 93-53 Win Over Florida Gulf Coast.
Seminoles spoil Eagles' Division I debut; Monroe leads the way with 23 points.
FT MYERS, FL - On a historic night for Florida Gulf Coast University, it was the Florida State women's basketball team that was doing the celebrating. The Seminoles put a damper on the Eagles' Division I debut as they routed the hosts 93-53 on Friday (November 9) at Alico Arena.
Florida State won its 14th season opener in a row as it started the year at 1-0. Florida Gulf Coast drops to 0-1 to start its first season at the Division I level. The Eagles were the Division II runner-up last season.
The 93 points matches the Seminoles' total in last year's season opener against UAB. It's the second-largest opening-game victory - trailing a 107-28 win over Savannah State on November 23, 2003. In addition, it's the Seminoles' widest margin of victory since an 84-34 thumping of Fordham last season.
Leading the way for the Seminoles was sophomore forward Jacinta Monroe (Ft. Lauderdale, Fla.) as she tied a career-high of 23 points that she set in the season opener last year. Having nearly as good a debut was rookie Antionette Howard (Snellville, Ga.) as she scored 17 points. Also reaching double figures was guard Tanae Davis-Cain (Dawson, Ga.) with 18 points and center Britany Miller (Tallapoosa, Ga.) added 11.
Davis-Cain nearly had her first career double-double as she led the way on the boards with a career-high nine rebounds. FSU out-rebounded Florida Gulf Coast 48-22 as five different players had five or more rebounds, including Howard and Mara Freshour (Nashville, Ind.) at six. All 10 players on the roster scored at least two points. Shante Williams produced seven assists with only one turnover.
Florida State shot 70.8 percent in the second half from the floor to shoot 56.7 percent (34-of-60) for the night. The Seminoles hit an impressive 87.5 percent (21-of-24) at the free throw line, which is higher than any game last season.
The Seminoles got off to a fast start, scoring the first six points of the game before the hosts got on the board. A Davis-Cain jumper at the 15:59 mark gave FSU its first 10-point lead (12-2). The Eagles would get the margin back under double digits, but a three-point play by Monroe at the 10:05 mark - part of stretch of seven-straight points by the sophomore - pushed the lead to double digits for good (21-9).
Midway through the first half, the game became a battle of free throws as neither team would make a field goal from the 8:25 mark (Monroe jumper) to 5:48 on a three-point play by FGCU's Ashley Haegle. During the time the two teams combined to make 16 free throws. Florida State ended the half on a 9-0 run over the last 2:48 of the stanza to take a 46-24 lead into the locker room.
The Seminoles tough defense allowed them to record a 47.2 percent (17-of-36) to 25.0 percent (7-of-28) advantage in shooting percentage. Florida State was an impressive 11-of-12 from the free line. A distinct height advantage produced a 29-13 rebounding edge.
Monroe led all scorers with 15 points in the first 20 minutes while Howard (12) and Davis-Cain (11) also reached double figures. Davis-Cain pulled in seven rebounds and Howard added six more. Shante Williams dished out three assists.
Florida State continued to stretch the margin in the second half. The Seminoles held Florida Gulf Coast without a point for a four minute stretch during the middle of the second stanza. During that stretch, the lead grew to 36 (74-36) and first reached 30 points on a Davis-Cain three pointer at the 8:26 mark.
NO NAME GS MIN FGM FGA 3FGM 3FGA FTM FTA PTS OREB DREB REB PF AST TO BLK STL
== ==================== == === === === ==== ==== === === === ==== ==== === == === == === ===
10 Mara Freshour g 29 2 6 1 1 0 0 5 1 5 6 1 1 3 0 0
12 Courtney Ward g 21 2 6 0 0 2 2 6 0 2 2 3 6 4 0 3
20 Tanae Davis-Cain g 29 8 17 2 6 0 0 18 3 6 9 2 3 2 1 1
33 Britany Miller c 17 4 7 0 0 3 3 11 0 5 5 4 0 2 1 0
50 Jacinta Monroe f 26 9 9 0 0 5 6 23 4 1 5 2 0 0 1 0
1 Angel Gray 15 1 1 0 0 0 1 2 0 0 0 1 1 1 0 2
4 Cayla Moore 14 0 0 0 0 2 2 2 0 4 4 4 0 5 0 0
5 Christian Hunnicutt 13 3 4 1 1 0 0 7 0 3 3 1 2 0 0 0
15 Antionette Howard 20 5 9 0 0 7 8 17 3 3 6 1 1 0 0 0
22 Shante Williams 16 0 1 0 0 2 2 2 0 1 1 2 7 1 2 2
Team 3 4 7
=========================================================================
FSU 5 200 34 60 4 8 21 24 93 14 34 48 21 21 18 5 8
Opp 200 17 56 5 21 14 18 53 7 15 22 23 9 18 1 8
| 1 | 2 | Total | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Florida State | |||
| Florida Gulf Coast |
Florida State Women's Basketball Completes Weekend Sweep With 75-48 Triumph.
Jacinta Monroe records double-double in victory over North Florida.
TALLAHASSEE, FL - While it may not have been the crisp game the coaching staff was looking for, at the end of the day, the Florida State women's basketball team got the result it wanted. The Seminoles jumped out to an early lead and never looked back as they beat North Florida, 75-48, on Sunday (November 11) at the Donald L. Tucker Center.
With the victory, Florida State improved to 2-0 on the year. It's FSU's ninth-straight home-opening win. North Florida dropped to 0-1 in its season opener.
"It was a good test in that I thought we were exposed in a lot of ways on things that we need to work on," FSU head coach Sue Semrau said. "We are getting to know one another, understanding who it is we're going to play in rotations and we were able to take a look at combinations."
Notching her first double-double of the season was forward Jacinta Monroe (Ft. Lauderdale, Fla.) as she dropped in 13 points and grabbed 10 rebounds. Topping all scorers was guard Shante Williams (Jacksonville, Fla.) with 19 points to go along with 13 more from rookie guard Courtney Ward (Montgomery, Ala.).
Right behind Monroe in the rebounding column was sophomore Cayla Moore (Albany, Ga.) as she grabbed a career-high eight boards to help FSU out-rebounded the Ospreys 40-33. Every player on the roster grabbed at least one board. Ward and Mara Freshour (Nashville, Ind.) led the way with three assists while guard Tanae Davis-Cain (Dawson, Ga.) matched a career-high with four steals and Monroe had a pair of blocks.
"The fact that Shante is able to play more minutes - she played 16 on Friday night and 21 today - that's encouraging that she's feeling as good as she is," Semrau added. "As soon as we can get her in game shape I think she's going to be a factor for us. In the meantime, the kids we have, have to learn to play hard every possession and play together every possession."
Neither team held onto the ball particularly well as FSU had 20 turnovers to UNF's 25, but the Seminoles did a better job of taking advantage of the their opportunities with a 29-to-11 advantage in points off turnovers. Florida State was also more accurate from the floor, hitting 28-of-53 (52.8 percent) to 15-of-50 (30.0 percent). The Seminoles were also able to work the ball inside more, holding a 32-to-14 margin in points in the paint.
The Seminoles wasted no time in establishing that they were in control of the game as the hosts got out to a 15-0 lead to start the game. Five different players scored during the run, including five from Ward. North Florida did not score until after the first media time out on a jumper by Willonda Windham to make it a 15-2 contest at the 15:17 mark.
A Williams' three-pointer at the 9:13 mark staked FSU its largest lead of the half at 25-8. To the Osprey's credit, they did not back down and even went on a 6-0 run over the next two minutes to slice the lead to 11 (25-14). Florida State would bump the margin back up by a few points, but UNF would reduce it to 10 (35-25) with 3:38 left in the stanza. The Seminoles would take the momentum back going into the locker room as they went on a 6-0 run, including four points from Williams in the final 30 seconds, to take a 41-25 lead at the half.
Florida Stated took advantage of numerous North Florida miscues to the tune of 18 points off Osprey turnovers. The Seminoles also held a 58.6 percent (17-of-29) to 31.8 percent (7-of-22) lead in field goal percentage. FSU also won the battle inside with an 18 to four margin in points in the paint. One place where North Florida made up some ground was the free throw line where it 9-of-12 compared to 3-of-8 for the Seminoles.
Leading the way in double figures was Williams as she scored 10. Davis-Cain was next at eight and Ward added seven. No player had more than two boards, but nine of the 10 players had at least one. Freshour and Ward dished out two assists and Monroe added a pair of blocks.
Taking the steam it had picked up from the end of the first half, FSU built on its lead very quickly in the second half and erased any thoughts of a North Florida comeback. The lead got to 20 (49-29) on a Ward lay-up before the Ospreys would make a run to get the margin back to 14 (53-49). However, the Seminoles regrouped and put the game away with the lead never going below 20 for the last 8:54 of the game and growing to as many as 30 (73-43) on a Williams' lay-up.
NO NAME GS MIN FGM FGA 3FGM 3FGA FTM FTA PTS OREB DREB REB PF AST TO BLK STL
== ==================== == === === === ==== ==== === === === ==== ==== === == === == === ===
10 Mara Freshour g 24 2 11 1 6 0 0 5 1 0 1 1 3 3 1 0
12 Courtney Ward g 23 5 8 1 2 2 3 13 2 2 4 3 3 3 0 1
20 Tanae Davis-Cain g 23 3 6 1 4 1 2 8 1 2 3 3 1 3 0 4
33 Britany Miller c 19 3 6 0 0 0 0 6 1 1 2 2 1 2 1 0
50 Jacinta Monroe f 24 4 7 0 0 5 6 13 3 7 10 2 1 0 2 3
1 Angel Gray 12 0 1 0 0 2 4 2 0 2 2 3 0 0 0 1
4 Cayla Moore 17 1 2 0 0 1 5 3 3 5 8 4 0 3 0 0
5 Christian Hunnicutt 16 1 1 0 0 0 1 2 0 1 1 2 0 1 0 1
15 Antionette Howard 21 2 3 0 0 0 1 4 1 2 3 2 0 1 0 0
22 Shante Williams 21 7 8 1 1 4 6 19 1 1 2 0 1 4 0 2
Team 3 1 4
=========================================================================
FSU 5 200 28 53 4 13 15 28 75 16 24 40 22 10 20 4 12
Opp 200 15 50 2 12 16 24 48 16 17 33 23 7 25 1 13
| 1 | 2 | Total | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Florida State | |||
| North Florida |
#18 Seminole Women's Basketball Drops First Contest of the Year 79-68 to #24 DePaul.
Mara Freshour leads the way with 14 including 7-for-7 at the line.
CHICAGO, IL - For 37 minutes, the 18th-ranked Florida State women's basketball team played great against No. 24 DePaul on its home court. Unfortunately, it was those other three minutes that did the Seminoles in. The Blue Demons used an early second-half run to beat the Seminoles 79-68 on Friday (November 17) at McGrath Arena.
Florida State suffered its first loss of the season as it fell to 2-1. The Blue Demons won the DePaul Invitational title and improved to 3-0. DU beat Florida International on Thursday night in the first game of the tournament.
"I thought Doug (Bruno) did a great job of adjusting to our big kid being out," FSU head coach Sue Semrau said. "Jacinta Monroe had had the flu so we were really depleted in the post and he did a great job of adjusting and getting the ball to Natasha and she had a career night. We weren't defending the way we need to defend and we've got to grow up. They took advantage of that and that's what good teams do."
Scoring a season-high 14 points was guard Mara Freshour (Nashville, Ind.) to lead the Seminoles. The junior hit a career-high 7-of-7 from the free throw line and only needs to drill four of her next eight to take over the school record for free throw percentage. She is currently at 81.5 percent (75-of-92), but is eight attempts short of the 100-attempt minimum.
Next up was freshman Courtney Ward (Montgomery, Ala.) with 12 points while Antionette Howard (Snellville, Ga.) contributed nine and Jacinta Monroe (Ft. Lauderdale, Fla.), Tanae Davis-Cain (Dawson, Ga.) and Angel Gray (Stone Mountain, Ga.) each scored eight. The eight markers for Gary are a career-high. Ward, Davis-Cain and Shante Williams (Jacksonville, Fla.) grabbed a team-best five rebounds and Williams added four steals.
Florida State had a distinct advantage at the free throw line - 17-of-25 to 9-of-16 - but the Blue Demons countered by hitting five more three pointers (8-to-3). The Seminoles committed 21 turnovers - which led to 20 DePaul points - and were out-shot from the field for the first time this season, 50.0 percent (31-of-62) to 42.9 percent (24-of-56).
For the first time this year, Florida State found itself trailing as DePaul hit the first basket of the game, but the Seminoles went on an 8-2 run to capture the lead. Florida State's stifling defense held the host without a point for more than four and a half minutes.
The Seminoles would hold the margin around a half dozen points for the first part of the opening half. It would grow to as many as nine (21-12) on a Howard lay-up with 7:14 remaining on the clock. The Blue Demons would chip away at that margin and get it down to a point (25-24) on a three pointer by Missy Mitidiero.
The last three minutes was a flurry of scoring that included four lead changes. DePaul got its first lead (32-29) on the fourth three of the half from Mitidiero FSU would score the next four points on a Gray jumper and a pair of Freshour free throws, but DU answered with four of its own to take the lead back 36-35. A Monroe jumper with 18.1 seconds remaining put the advantage back in FSU's favor (37-36), but Allie Quigly hit a jumper as time expired to give DePaul a 38-37 half-time lead.
Florida State held the advantage in shooting at 53.8 percent (14-of-26) to 46.9 percent (15-of-32) and led 19-to-12 on the boards. FSU made five more free throws (9-to-4), but DePaul countered by hitting four more threes than the Seminoles (4-to-0).
Coming out the break DePaul got off to a quick start but the Seminoles stayed in the game as Freshour scored FSU's first four points. Unfortunately two of her free throws at the 17:35 mark would be the team's only points for the next 2:50 and that proved to be the turning point in the game. During that stretch, the Blue Demons went on a 9-0 run to give them a 12-point lead (54-42).
The margin grew to 15 (59-44) at the 12:32 mark, but Florida State fought its way back to get the lead under double digits. A pair of Ward free throws at the 9:36 mark sliced the lead to seven points (61-54), but that's the closest FSU would get the rest of the night. In the second half, DePaul out-shot FSU 16-of-30 (53.3 percent) to 10-of-30 (33.3 percent) and out-rebounded the Seminoles 25-to-17.
NO NAME GS MIN FGM FGA 3FGM 3FGA FTM FTA PTS OREB DREB REB PF AST TO BLK STL
== ==================== == === === === ==== ==== === === === ==== ==== === == === == === ===
10 Mara Freshour g 35 3 9 1 3 7 7 14 0 2 2 1 2 3 0 0
12 Courtney Ward g 24 4 11 0 1 4 5 12 1 4 5 0 3 7 0 2
15 Antionette Howard f 27 4 10 0 0 1 5 9 2 2 4 2 0 1 0 2
20 Tanae Davis-Cain g 26 3 7 2 4 0 0 8 1 4 5 5 0 1 0 1
50 Jacinta Monroe f 27 3 8 0 0 2 2 8 2 2 4 2 0 1 0 0
1 Angel Gray 26 4 5 0 0 0 0 8 0 3 3 2 0 2 0 0
4 Cayla Moore 15 1 1 0 0 1 4 3 2 1 3 4 0 2 0 0
22 Shante Williams 20 2 5 0 0 2 2 6 1 4 5 1 1 4 0 4
Team 1 4 5
=========================================================================
FSU 5 200 24 56 3 8 17 25 68 10 26 36 17 6 21 0 9
Opp 200 31 62 8 25 9 16 79 10 27 37 24 23 17 3 11
| 1 | 2 | Total | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Florida State | |||
| DePaul |
No. 18 FSU Women's Basketball Gets Split In The Windy City With 70-50 Win Over FIU.
Four players in double figures for FSU, including all-tournament selection Mara Freshour with 15.
CHICAGO, IL - A good defense can translate into good scoring opportunities and that's exactly what the Florida State women's basketball team used against Florida International. The No. 18 Seminoles shut out the Golden Panthers for five minutes during a key stretch in the second half to come away a 70-50 victory on Saturday (November 17) in their second game of the DePaul Invitational at McGrath Hall.
The victory improved Florida State's record to 3-1 on the season. The Seminoles have won their last nine games against in-state opponents. Florida International dropped to 1-2.
Four different Seminoles reached double figures in the scoring column, led by 16 from freshman Antionette Howard (Snellville, Ga.) At point back was guard Mara Freshour (Nashville, Ind.) and she was named to the all-tournament team. Forward Cayla Moore (Stone Mountain, Ga.) had a career-high 13 points while Jacinta Monroe (Ft. Lauderdale, Fla.) added 11 in just 12 minutes of play.
Half of Florida State's rebounds came from three players as Moore and Monroe grabbed eight each and Howard added seven. Guard Shante Williams (Jacksonville, Fla.) had four assists while guard Courtney Ward (Montgomery, Ala.) led the way with two steals.
The Seminoles shot 50 percent in the second half to have a 46.7 (28-of-60) to 26.8 percent (19-of-71) in shooting. Florida International out-rebounded FSU 49-46, including 21 offensive boards, but the Panthers committed 19 turnovers.
After Florida International claimed a 5-4 lead at the 18:17 mark, the Seminoles went on a 9-0 run over the next 3:30 to pull out to a 13-5 advantage. Moore scored the Seminoles' first seven points. Both team struggled to put the ball in the basket for a 3:30 minute stretch as only three points were scored. Florida State was able to maintain the lead thanks to great defense that kept the Golden Panthers off the board.
After the Moore lay-up at the 15:06 mark, the Seminoles survived four scoring droughts of two minutes or more. FIU only scored five points during a nine-minute stretch and Florida State lead built the lead back up to five (27-25) thanks to another 2:30 dry spell by the Panthers before taking a 29-26 margin into the locker room.
The Seminoles nearly doubled FIU's shooting percentage - 42.9 percent (12-of-28) to 21.6 percent (8-of-37) - but the Panthers hit three more three-pointers (four-to-three). FIU also had a big advantage on the boards with 12 offensive rebounds, but it could only convert them to six second-chance points. FSU held a 10-4 margin in points in the paint.
Moore exceeded her career-high in the first half alone with 11 while Howard added seven. The duo also led the way with four rebounds each.
The first five minutes of the second half were a back and fourth contest with the lead changing hands six times. Florida State got the lead back at 40-39 on a lay-up by Moore that sparked a 9-0 to give the Seminoles a 47-39 advantage on a Freshour three-pointer. The game swung during a five-minute stretch where Florida International did not score from the 9:20 mark until 4:06. During that time an eight-point lead grew to 17 (64-47) with Monroe scoring five points in that run.
NO NAME GS MIN FGM FGA 3FGM 3FGA FTM FTA PTS OREB DREB REB PF AST TO BLK STL
== ==================== == === === === ==== ==== === === === ==== ==== === == === == === ===
4 Cayla Moore f 23 6 9 0 0 1 5 13 2 6 8 3 0 1 0 1
10 Mara Freshour g 34 5 14 3 5 2 2 15 1 3 4 1 2 1 0 0
12 Courtney Ward g 23 0 4 0 2 0 0 0 0 3 3 3 2 2 0 2
15 Antionette Howard f 24 7 13 1 2 1 3 16 2 5 7 1 0 5 0 0
20 Tanae Davis-Cain g 24 2 4 0 0 0 0 4 0 2 2 5 0 1 0 1
1 Angel Gray 27 2 3 0 0 2 2 6 0 5 5 1 1 1 1 0
5 Christian Hunnicutt 12 0 1 0 1 1 2 1 0 3 3 1 0 1 1 1
22 Shante Williams 21 2 4 0 0 0 0 4 0 2 2 1 4 2 1 1
50 Jacinta Monroe 12 4 7 0 0 3 8 11 3 5 8 2 0 1 2 0
Team 2 1 3
=========================================================================
FSU 5 200 28 59 4 10 10 22 70 10 35 45 18 9 15 5 6
Opp 200 19 71 6 23 6 12 50 21 28 49 21 11 19 5 9
| 1 | 2 | Total | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Florida State | |||
| FL International |
No. 20 FSU Women's Basketball Bucks The Rams With 77-42 Victory Over Fordham.
Mara Freshour leads the way with a career-high 25 points.
TALLAHASSEE, FL - With Thanksgiving just two days away, the No. 20 Florida State women's basketball team was looking for a feast before the holiday. Mara Freshour went over 20 points for the first time in her career as the Seminoles cruised to a 77-42 victory over Fordham on Tuesday (November 20) at the Donald L. Tucker Center.
Florida State won its second game in a row to improve to 4-1 while staying undefeated against the Rams. Fordham dropped to 0-4.
"I thought our effort was much better, I thought we got to be a better basketball team today," FSU head coach Sue Semrau said. "We still have a long ways to go and a lot to work on. I have to point out Mara Freshour and the way she stepped up. She played the four spot for us today; she's never played that up until this year. For her to be able to come out and play her game at another position was fantastic."
Reaching double figures for the third game in a row was Freshour (Nashville, Ind.) as she poured in a career-high 25 points on 10-of-12 shooting, including 5-of-7 from three point range. Guard Tanae Davis-Cain (Dawson, Ga.) added 16 points and forward Jacinta Monroe (Ft. Lauderdale, Fla.) contributed 15 in just 20 minutes of play.
Pulling in a game-high nine rebounds, scoring seven points and nabbing three steals was forward Cayla Moore (Albany, Ga.). Monroe added seven boards and had two blocks. Guard Shante Williams (Jacksonville, Fla.) dished out six assist and Courtney Ward (Montgomery, Ala.) added three helpers.
The Seminoles nearly doubled the Rams in the shooting department, hitting 53.8 percent (28-of-52) to the visitor's 27.1 percent (16-of-59). Florida State hit a season-high nine three-pointers and had a 41-to-26 rebounding advantage. The Seminoles scored 24 points off 17 Fordham turnovers and held a 30-to-14 margin for points in the paint.
After a strong start to the game, the Seminoles went more than four minutes without a point as Fordham took a 6-5 lead at the 14:27 mark. That would be the last time the Rams would have the lead in the entire game as Florida State found its offensive rhythm. A jumper by Moore at the 10:50 mark ignited a 14-3 run that mostly came from a pair of three pointers from Freshour and Davis-Cain.
The lead would grow to 15 on two occasions thanks to a pair of layups by Monroe before the Seminoles would put a defensive stranglehold on the Rams that would put the game out of reach. A jumper at the 2:19 mark was Fordham's last points of the half as FSU rattled of seven-straight points - including a layup by Christian Hunnicutt (Jonesboro, Ga.) with three seconds left - to end the period with a 40-20 advantage.
While both teams turned the ball over eight times, but Florida State did a better job of taking advantage of Fordham miscues to the tune of a 15-3 advantage in points off turnovers. The Seminoles were also better from behind the arch with five more three-pointers (6-to-1) and shot better from the field - 57.1 percent (16-of-28) to 25.0 percent (8-of-32).
Freshour nearly outscored Fordham by herself with 18 points while Davis-Cain tossed in 10. Tying for the lead in rebounds at three were 6-foot-4 Monroe and 5-foot-7 Williams. Williams and Moore had a pair of steals.
The second half was much of the same with Florida State putting the clamps on the Rams. Fordham did not score for the first 5:23 of the second stanza and that allowed the Seminoles to push the lead to 29 (49-20) on a Monroe free throw. The margin got above 30 (70-39) on a three-pointer from Davis-Cain at the 2:13 mark.
The crowed of 2,785 fans was mostly made up of local elementary and middle school children who were brought in for the game.
"I loved the atmosphere of today's game," Semrau said. "I thought that in my career at Florida State it was the kind of atmosphere that makes you feel proud to be a part of a community of people that want to give and we want to give back to them. I thought we got a lot of energy from them and was something we really needed."
NO NAME GS MIN FGM FGA 3FGM 3FGA FTM FTA PTS OREB DREB REB PF AST TO BLK STL
== ==================== == === === === ==== ==== === === === ==== ==== === == === == === ===
1 Angel Gray g 20 0 3 0 0 1 2 1 0 1 1 2 3 0 0 0
4 Cayla Moore f 25 3 7 0 0 1 2 7 3 6 9 2 0 0 0 3
10 Mara Freshour g 29 10 12 5 7 0 0 25 4 0 4 1 3 1 0 0
12 Courtney Ward g 28 1 5 1 3 0 0 3 0 5 5 1 4 9 0 2
20 Tanae Davis-Cain g 25 6 11 3 8 1 1 16 0 4 4 0 2 1 2 0
5 Christian Hunnicutt 12 1 3 0 0 0 0 2 0 2 2 1 0 1 0 0
15 Antionette Howard 19 1 2 0 0 0 0 2 1 2 3 1 0 1 0 0
22 Shante Williams 22 0 3 0 1 6 6 6 2 2 4 0 6 2 0 2
50 Jacinta Monroe 20 6 6 0 0 3 4 15 1 6 7 2 1 4 2 0
Team 2 2
=========================================================================
FSU 5 200 28 52 9 19 12 15 77 11 30 41 10 19 19 4 7
Opp 200 16 59 6 23 4 7 42 14 12 26 13 7 17 4 5
| 1 | 2 | Total | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Fordham | |||
| Florida State |
No. 20 FSU Women's Basketball Comes Away With 81-78 Victory At Florida.
Tanae Davis-Cain scores a career-high 27 points, including five three-pointers.
GAINESVILLE, FL - Similar to how the series between Florida State and Florida has swung in the Seminoles' favor the last few seasons, the ability for FSU to win at the O'Connell Center has grown in recent years. A Mara Freshour free throw with 5.3 seconds remaining put the Seminoles up three and a UF desperation heave fell short as No. 20 Florida State prevailed 81-78 on Friday (November 23).
The victory improved Florida State to 5-1 on the season. FSU has won four of the last five, after dropping the previous 16, against the Gators, who fell to 3-2. The win was just the second for the Seminoles in Gainesville since the 1990-91 season.
"That's two teams that played really, really hard," FSU head coach Sue Semrau said. "We told our team coming into this game that we felt that Florida was playing harder than we were and we had to match their intensity to win the basketball game."
Topping all scorers was guard Tanae Davis-Cain (Dawson, Ga.) as she poured in a career-high 27 points off 10-of-20 shooting, including 5-of-10 from three-point range. Forward Jacinta Monroe (Ft. Lauderdale, Fla.) scored 14 points, grabbed nine rebounds, had four blocks and two steals.
"I can't say enough about the play of Tanae Davis Cain," Semrau added. "She attacked on the offensive end and guarded Marshae Dotson on the defensive end - that's not something we've had her do a whole lot is defend the bigger post players. I thought she did a great job, especially in the second half."
Guard Shante Williams (Jacksonville, Fla.) added 11 points off the bench and tied guard Courtney Ward (Montgomery, Ala.) for tops on the team at six assists. Freshour had nine points and eight rebounds while rookie forward Antionette Howard (Snellville, Ga.) - who originally committed to UF - added nine points as well. Starting center Britany Miller (Tallapoosa, Ga.) missed her fourth game in a row with a sprained ankle.
Coming out the break, Davis-Cain single-handedly pulled the Seminoles even with the Gators as she scored FSU's first eight points, including a three-pointer at the 16:50 mark to tie the game at 45-45. A pair of Ward free throws gave the Seminoles their first lead of the half (15:41). Another Davis-Cain three pushed the margin to 55-48 at the 13:50 point in the half.
The lead grew to 10 points (74-64) on a Monroe jumper at the 3:11 mark. FSU would only score two points over the next minute and a half which allowed the Gators to go on a 6-0 run and cut the lead to 76-72 with 1:36 remaining. A pair of Angel Gray (Stone Mountain, Ga.) free throws bumped the margin back to five (77-22 at 1:03), but it got cut to two (78-76) with 42 seconds remaining. A Williams lay-up at 0:13 made it a two-possession game then Freshour canned the first of two from the charity stripe to seal the victory.
In the box score the two teams were nearly identical with FSU making two more field goals - 32-of-69 (46.4 percent) to 30-of-61 (49.2) percent. Florida edged Florida State 40-39 on the boards. The Seminoles were opportunistic, causing eight more turnovers (23-to-15) which led to 28 points and had a 17-14 advantage in offensive rebounds that translated into 22 second-chance points.
Florida State did a good job of taking care of the ball in the second half, only committing six turnovers after nine during the first stanza. The Seminoles also out-rebounded the Gators (20-19) and had six steals.
Both teams struggled to find their stride offensively in the opening minutes of the game. Florida State went 2:50 without a basket, but only found itself down two (5-3) as Florida only made one basket during a three-minute stretch. The Seminoles got the offense going with an 8-0 run to take a 17-9 advantage at the 11:11 mark on a Freshour jumper.
The lead would be short lived as the Gators stormed back over the next two and half minutes to reclaim the lead (20-19) at the 9:14 mark. A Davis-Cain jumper at the 7:15 point put the Seminoles up 23-20, but from there the Gators would outscore Florida State 12-4 over the next three minutes to take a 32-27 advantage. Davis-Cain scored five points in 15 seconds to get FSU back to 34-32 (2:44) but UF would hold on to take a 41-37 lead into the locker room.
Giving the Gators' their advantage in the half was three-point shooting as they made a pair more than FSU. The two teams were nearly identical in every other way, with UF holding slight advantages in shooting - 47.1 (16-of-34) to 46.9 percent (15-of-32) - and rebounding (21-19). The Seminoles capitalized on six steals to help their 13-8 margin in points off turnovers.
Putting up more than a third of the Seminoles' first-half points was Davis-Cain as she tossed in 14. Freshour added eight and tied with Williams for the team lead at four boards. Ward and Howard had a pair of steals.
NO NAME GS MIN FGM FGA 3FGM 3FGA FTM FTA PTS OREB DREB REB PF AST TO BLK STL
== ==================== == === === === ==== ==== === === === ==== ==== === == === == === ===
1 Angel Gray g 23 2 2 0 0 3 4 7 0 1 1 2 0 2 0 0
4 Cayla Moore f 15 0 2 0 0 0 0 0 2 0 2 4 0 3 0 1
10 Mara Freshour g 36 4 9 0 2 1 3 9 5 3 8 0 2 0 0 1
12 Courtney Ward g 26 1 9 0 0 2 2 4 0 3 3 2 6 2 0 2
20 Tanae Davis-Cain g 35 10 20 5 10 2 4 27 2 2 4 3 0 2 0 1
15 Antionette Howard 19 4 7 1 1 0 0 9 1 2 3 1 0 3 0 2
22 Shante Williams 23 4 8 0 0 3 7 11 0 4 4 2 6 3 0 2
50 Jacinta Monroe 23 7 12 0 0 0 2 14 5 4 9 3 0 0 4 3
Team 2 3 5
=========================================================================
FSU 5 200 32 69 6 13 11 22 81 17 22 39 17 14 15 4 12
Opp 200 30 61 8 17 10 16 78 13 27 40 20 15 23 3 5
| 1 | 2 | Total | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Florida State | |||
| Florida |
No. 21 FSU Women's Basketball Wins Fourth Straight, Taking Down Indiana 85-78.
Junior Mara Freshour breaks career free throw percentage record in her home state.
BLOOMINGTON, IN - Growing up just 20 miles away in Nashville, Ind., Mara Freshour always had dreams of playing in Assembly Hall. She just thought she'd be wearing Crimson and Cream instead of Garnet and Gold. The junior scored a game-high 21 points and broke the school free throw percentage record as No. 21 Florida State beat Indiana, 85-78, in the Inaugural Women's Big Ten/ACC Challenge on Friday (Nov. 30).
The Seminoles won their fourth game in a row to improve to 6-1 overall. The loss dropped the Hoosiers to 4-3 on the year.
"I thought I'd be alright after tip-off, but it took me a couple of minutes to calm down," Freshour said. "Those first two free throws that I missed, I had to shake that nervousness, butterflies out of the way and once we got going it definitely helped. Like coach said this is a tough place to play so to add the family and everything on top of that it was pretty tough, but I'm glad our team stuck it out, fought hard, were able to come back and win the game."
With her third free throw in the first half, Freshour reached the 100-attempt requirement to be eligible for the list. She finished the game 9-for-11 from the charity stripe for a career rate of .806 that beats Lisa Fogilos' mark of 78.8 percent. After never reaching 20 points through the first two years of her FSU career, Freshour has scored 20 or more in her last three outings.
Led by Freshour, Florida State had five players in double figures. Freshman Antionette Howard (Snellville Ga.) came off the bench to produce her first collegiate double-double with 12 points and 10 rebounds. Guard Shante Williams (Jacksonville, Fla.) scored 14 points off the bench. Junior Tanae Davis-Cain (Dawson, Ga.) scored all of her 13 points in the second half and forward Jacinta Monroe (Ft. Lauderdale, Fla.) reached double-digits for the sixth time in seven games with a dozen points.
"She had a big game tonight with 21 points," FSU head coach Sue Semrau said. "She got to the free throw line and hit nine out of 11 in a difficult environment for her. I'm sure she was thinking about a lot of things; the poise and focus she had to play a great basketball game was really big for us."
Monroe was next on the boards with a half dozen rebounds to go along with a pair of blocks to move her up to seventh in school history at 76 swats. Williams dished out a team-high five assists as she climbed to fifth in Seminole lore at 356 assists.
The game was marred by turnovers as the two teams combined to give the ball up 47 times and commit 49 fouls. Florida State scored 29 points - including 19 in the second half - off Hoosier miscues while Indiana converted FSU's mistakes to the tune of 25 points, but only seven in the second half. Indiana held a 40-35 margin in rebounding, but the Seminoles were up 18-12 for second-chance points.
"This is a really tough place to play," Semrau said. "When I was an assistant coach at Wisconsin I don't think we ever won here. It wasn't until I got some Indiana kids to come down and play at Florida State that we ever won. Tanae is such an unsung hero for this team. She guards every player that is going to be a problem for us. She guards guards, she guards posts and then she just comes down in drops in 13 on the offensive end."
Florida State shot well from the floor, hitting 53.8 percent (28-of-52) to Indiana's 45.3 percent (29-of-64). The Seminoles made more free throws (24), than the Hoosiers took (18), but neither team was sharp from the line as FSU hit 61.5 percent (24-of-39) to IU's 55.6 percent (10-of-18). Indiana made up for the difference behind the arc, hitting twice as many three-pointers as the Seminoles (10-to-5).
Miscues early on allowed the hosts to establish a 9-3 lead at the 16:27 mark of the first half. From there the Seminoles went on an 11-3 run to take a 14-13 advantage on a Freshour jumper at the 12:23 mark. Sparking the run off the bench was Howard as she poured in five points. The lead would switch hands three times and there would be three ties - the last coming on a Freshour three to make it 21-21 - before Indiana pulled away in the first half.
A free throw by Brittany Miller (Tallapoosa, Ga.) - who played nine minutes after missing the last four games with a sprained ankle - pulled FSU to within one (28-29) at the 4:41 mark, but the Seminoles would go two minutes without a basket and Indiana responded by going on an 8-0 run to take a 37-28 advantage. Florida State battled back to get the deficit to five (37-32) on another Freshour jumper. The Hoosiers pushed the lead back to nine (41-32), but the Seminoles scored five points in the last 1:15 to close to 41-37 as Howard hit a three-pointer as the half expired.
Florida State out-shot the hosts 50.0 percent (14-of-28) to 45.9 percent (17-of-37), but it was the turnovers that were the difference. The Seminoles committed 11 miscues which led to 18 Indiana points. Indiana was also more prolific outside the arc, hitting five threes to just one for the Seminoles.
Leading the way offensively for the Seminoles was Howard as she dropped nine with a team-best four rebounds. Freshour was next at eight points. Williams added six points and dished out a team-best four assists.
Coming out of the break the Seminoles made several attempts to take back the lead, but every time Indiana seemed to can a big three-pointer. A 7-0 run during a three-minute Indiana dry spell gave Florida State the lead with a jumper by Davis-Cain at the 12:02 mark supplying the 54-53 margin. Williams would convert a three-point play at the 9:49 mark to put the Seminoles ahead 60-54.
Florida State continued to hold on to the lead and built it to nine points (75-66) on a pair of Monroe free throws at the 4:20 point. Indiana tried to get back in the game and cut the lead to two on a pair of occasions, the last being 80-78 with 30 seconds left, but Freshour knocked down a pair of free throws and Williams canned two more to put the game out of reach. The Seminoles went four minutes without a field goal (4:48-to-0:46), but hit four free throws and played strong defense to keep Indiana from taking the lead.
NO NAME GS MIN FGM FGA 3FGM 3FGA FTM FTA PTS OREB DREB REB PF AST TO BLK STL
== ==================== == === === === ==== ==== === === === ==== ==== === == === == === ===
1 Angel Gray g 21 2 3 0 0 0 0 4 1 1 2 1 3 2 0 2
10 Mara Freshour g 35 5 7 2 3 9 11 21 1 2 3 2 3 5 1 2
12 Courtney Ward g 14 1 3 0 0 0 0 2 1 2 3 1 0 5 0 1
20 Tanae Davis-Cain g 27 5 11 2 3 1 3 13 0 3 3 3 1 3 0 0
50 Jacinta Monroe f 28 4 7 0 0 4 8 12 4 2 6 2 0 1 2 0
4 Cayla Moore 12 2 2 0 0 0 0 4 0 1 1 2 0 2 1 2
15 Antionette Howard 25 4 7 1 1 3 4 12 3 7 10 3 2 4 0 1
22 Shante Williams 29 4 8 0 0 6 11 14 2 1 3 2 5 0 0 0
33 Britany Miller 9 1 4 0 0 1 2 3 1 1 2 3 0 0 0 1
Team 2 2
=========================================================================
FSU 5 200 28 52 5 7 24 39 85 13 22 35 19 14 22 4 9
Opp 200 29 64 10 21 10 18 78 18 22 40 30 17 25 2 8
| 1 | 2 | Total | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Florida State | |||
| Indiana |
Seminoles Can Not Complete Comeback, Falling 85-75 At Oakland.
Four players reach double figures for Seminoles, topped by 16 from Davis-Cain.
ROCHESTER, MI - It was just too much of a hole for the No. 21/22 Florida State women's basketball team to dig itself out from underneath. The Seminoles did their best to come back from a 17-point deficit to Oakland, but they came up just short, dropping an 85-75 decision to the Grizzlies on Sunday (December 2).
The loss snapped Florida State's winning streak at four games as it fell to 6-2. Oakland won its first game against a ranked team in three tries as it improved to 4-2.
Leading four players in double figures was guard Tanae Davis-Cain (Dawson, Ga.) as she scored a team-high 16 points. Next was Mara Freshour (Nashville, Ind.) as she had 14 to go along with a team-high six rebounds. Matching Freshour was forward Jacinta Monroe (Ft. Lauderdale, Fla.) and she grabbed five boards. Center Britany Miller (Tallapoosa, Ga.) came off the bench for her best game since spraining her ankle two weeks ago as she scored 11.
Guard Shante Williams (Jacksonville, Fla.) had a solid all-around game, scoring eight points, grabbing five rebounds, dishing out three assists and producing two steals. Fellow ball handler Courtney Ward (Montgomery, Ala.) had eight assists with just two turnovers.
Neither team could hold onto the basketball as the Seminoles committed 20 turnovers to the Grizzlies' 18. OU had a 22-13 advantage in points off turnovers and 40-30 in second-chance points. The home team was also 18-of-26 at the free throw line compared to 7-for-10 by FSU. The Seminoles did out-shoot the Grizzlies 8-of-20 (40.0 percent) to 5-of-16 (31.3 percent) from behind the arc. Oakland had a slight edge in rebounding (37-35) and field goal shooting - 52.5 percent (31-of-59) to 45.5 percent (30-of-66).
After the Seminoles got the first two baskets of the game, they would not score for more than five minutes. That allowed the host to go on a 14-0 run to claim a 10-point lead. Breaking the streak was a jumper by Davis-Cain. Another Davis-Cain jumper got the margin down to five (25-20) at the 9:11 mark. During the run Florida State was able to work the ball inside to Monroe and Miller as they combined for six points.
Unfortunately that's as close as the Seminoles would get for the half. Following the Davis-Cain jumper, Florida State would go another 3:21 without a basket. The drought helped the Grizzlies pull out to a 30-20 lead at the 6:14 mark. The closest FSU would get for the remainder of the half was 12 (39-27) on a Davis-Cain jumper with 2:57 left. Oakland would outscore the Seminoles 11-4 the rest of the way to take a 48-31 advantage into the half.
For the third game in a row, first-half turnovers plagued the Seminoles as they committed 13 turnovers, which led to 13 points for the Grizzlies. Despite having a distinct height advantage - Oakland did not start a player over 5-foot-11 - Florida State allowed 24 points in the paint which contributed to the hosts out-shooting FSU 63.6 percent (19-of-30) to 43.8 percent (14-of-32). Oakland also benefited from a 7-of-11 to 1-of-3 bump at the free throw line.
Out of the half the Seminoles worked to cut the Oakland lead. Over the first eight minutes of the second half, Florida State out-scored the Grizzlies 23-14. A Freshour three-pointer at the 11:57 mark slice the margin to eight points (54-62). The Grizzlies got the margin back up to 11 (73-62), but the Seminoles started chipping away again on the lead.
A pair of three-pointers from Freshour and another from Davis-Cain got the lead down to four (73-77) on a Freshour three-ball at the 4:35 mark. The two teams would trade free throws with a pair of Freshour getting the margin back to four (79-75) with 2:35 remaining but little did Florida State know that would be the last time it would score in the game. Unfortunately, the Seminoles could not get the offense going the rest of the way as they missed four shots and turned the ball over.
NO NAME GS MIN FGM FGA 3FGM 3FGA FTM FTA PTS OREB DREB REB PF AST TO BLK STL
== ==================== == === === === ==== ==== === === === ==== ==== === == === == === ===
1 Angel Gray g 18 1 1 0 0 0 0 2 1 2 3 3 0 4 0 1
10 Mara Freshour g 35 4 11 4 8 2 2 14 2 4 6 1 1 4 0 1
20 Tanae Davis-Cain g 32 7 16 2 8 0 0 16 0 3 3 4 1 0 0 1
22 Shante Williams g 28 3 7 1 1 1 2 8 0 5 5 0 3 2 1 2
50 Jacinta Monroe f 24 6 8 0 0 2 3 14 3 2 5 3 0 2 1 1
4 Cayla Moore 5 1 1 0 0 0 0 2 1 0 1 1 0 0 0 0
5 Christian Hunnicutt 3 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0
12 Courtney Ward 14 1 3 1 1 0 0 3 2 2 4 3 8 2 0 1
15 Antionette Howard 19 2 7 0 2 1 1 5 0 2 2 2 0 2 0 1
33 Britany Miller 22 5 12 0 0 1 2 11 2 1 3 4 0 3 1 1
Team 2 1 3 1
=========================================================================
FSU 5 200 30 66 8 20 7 10 75 13 22 35 21 13 20 3 9
Opp 200 31 59 5 16 18 26 85 13 24 37 13 11 18 4 9
| 1 | 2 | Total | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Florida State | |||
| Oakland |
Second Comeback Attempt Falls Short For FSU WBB In 81-67 Loss At #11 Texas A&M.
Three Seminoles get three into double figures, led by 16 from Shante Williams.
COLLEGE STATION, TX - For the second game in a row, the Florida State women's basketball team made a valiant effort to come back from a double-digit deficit on the road only to fall short. The Seminoles made a run at No. 11 Texas A&M in the second half, but dropped an 80-67 decision on Thursday (Dec. 6) at Reed Arena.
The loss dropped Florida State to 6-3 on the year as it suffered back-to-back losses for the first time this season. Texas A&M improved to 7-1.
Leading the way for the Seminoles in the scoring column was guard Shante Williams (Jacksonville, Fla.) with 18 points. Getting into double-digits for the second game in a row after missing four-straight contests was center Britany Miller (Tallapoosa, Ga.) as she scored 14 points. Also getting into double figures was guard Tanae Davis-Cain (Dawson, Ga.) at 13.
Topping the Seminoles in rebounding was Miller at six boards, followed closely by Davis-Cain with five. Handing out a career-best eight assists was guard Mara Freshour (Nashville, Ind.). Florida State had a season-high nine blocks with forward Jacinta Monroe (Ft. Lauderdale, Fla.) tying her career high of five blocks and Miller knocking down three more.
For the first time since February 23, 2000, Florida State shot 50 percent and lost a game. The Seminoles' out-shot Texas A&M 54.3 percent (25-of-46) to the Aggies 47.1 percent (33-of-70). FSU's last loss when shooting 50 percent was a 78-74 decision to North Carolina when FSU hit 55.7 percent.
The Seminoles had one of their better nights from the free throw line, hitting 78.9 percent (15-of-19), which was needed to overcome a 6-to-2 deficit in three-point shooting. Texas A&M also held a 33-28 advantage on the boards and scored 34 points off 24 Florida State turnovers.
It was a rough start to the game for the Seminoles as they had more turnovers (five) than points (four) in the first four minutes. A two-minute dry spell in between FSU baskets allowed Texas A&M to extend its lead to 10-2. The margin would hit double digits (17-6) at the 15:55 mark.
The lead would grow to as many as 16 points on two occasions with FSU cutting it to nine twice with the final coming with 13 seconds left on a traditional three-point play by Williams. Unfortunately, the Aggies hit a three at the buzzer to take a 50-38 lead into the locker room. The 50 points are the most scored by an FSU opponent since December 21, 2003, when Fordham scored 50. FSU came back to win that game 88-77.
Scoring half of FSU's points in the first half was the duo of Miller and Williams as they scored 10 points each. Davis-Cain added eight. Rookie Courtney Ward (Montgomery, Ala.) had a team-best three rebounds and three assists. Freshour dished out five helpers.
Thirteen Florida State turnovers led to 21 points for the Aggies, compared to just four points off turnovers for the Seminoles. FSU out-shot Texas A&M 65.2 percent (15-of-23) to 52.5 percent (21-of-40), but the Aggies compensated by hitting four three pointers to none for FSU.
Out of the break the Seminoles quickly cut into the Texas A&M lead. A Freshour jumper at the 14:57 mark sliced the margin to 58-52. Unfortunately, the Seminoles would not score another basket for nearly five minutes as the Aggies pushed the margin back to 14 (66-52). The closest FSU would get the rest of the way was 10 points (66-56) on a Monroe jumper with the lead growing to as many as 21 (79-58).
NO NAME GS MIN FGM FGA 3FGM 3FGA FTM FTA PTS OREB DREB REB PF AST TO BLK STL
== ==================== == === === === ==== ==== === === === ==== ==== === == === == === ===
10 Mara Freshour g 35 2 6 0 2 2 2 6 0 1 1 1 8 3 0 1
20 Tanae Davis-Cain g 30 5 11 1 6 2 2 13 0 5 5 3 1 2 0 0
22 Shante Williams g 29 5 9 0 0 8 9 18 0 5 5 0 3 5 1 1
33 Britany Miller c 34 7 9 0 0 0 2 14 0 6 6 3 0 3 5 0
50 Jacinta Monroe f 18 3 3 0 0 0 0 6 0 0 0 3 0 2 3 1
1 Angel Gray 25 1 1 0 0 0 0 2 0 2 2 3 2 3 0 0
5 Christian Hunnicutt 4 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 2 0 1
12 Courtney Ward 15 2 4 1 1 2 2 7 2 1 3 1 4 4 0 2
15 Antionette Howard 10 0 3 0 1 1 2 1 1 0 1 1 0 0 0 1
Team 3 2 5
=========================================================================
FSU 5 200 25 46 2 10 15 19 67 6 22 28 15 18 24 9 7
Opp 200 33 70 6 13 9 11 81 15 18 33 19 18 12 4 11
| 1 | 2 | Total | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Florida State | |||
| Texas A&M |
Williams dishes out career-high 13 assists and Monroe rejects personal-best seven shots.
TALLAHASSEE, FL - After losing its last two games during a four-game road trip that spanned 26 days, a return home was exactly what the Florida State women's basketball team needed. Five different players reached double figures as the Seminoles recorded their biggest victory of the year, beating Alabama State 94-42 on Sunday (December 16) at the Tucker Center.
With the victory, Florida State improved to 7-3 on the year. The win was the sixth-biggest in school history and the largest margin of victory since FSU beat Savannah State 107-28 on November 23, 2003. FSU has won all three games at home this year and its last four at the Tucker Center. Alabama State dropped to 2-4.
"It was a fun game to come back to after finals and a long layoff," FSU head coach Sue Semrau said. "I'm really proud of the way our team stepped it off defensively. That's something we really worked on when we got back from Texas A&M and I thought that showed today."
Contributing to more than a third of the Seminoles' baskets was guard Shante Williams (Jacksonville, Fla.) as she handed out a career-high 13 assists. Also having a career day was forward Jacinta Monroe (Ft. Lauderdale, Fla.) who blocked a career-high seven shots. Both players were just one away from trying the single-game school record.
All nine players in the games scored at least four points, led by guard Mara Freshour (Nashville, Ind.) who led the way with 16 points. Guard Alysha Harvin (Dania, Fla.) was next with 15 in her first game since serving a nine-game suspension for violation of team standards. Guards Tanae Davis-Cain and Angel Gray have been suspended for violation of team standards. Freshour did most of her damage from downtown, hitting four three-pointers as part of the Seminoles' season-high tying nine threes.
A pair of freshman had their best scoring games as Seminoles. Courtney Ward (Montgomery, Ala.) tossed in 14 points and Christian Hunnicutt (Jonesboro, Ga.) scored 10. Rounding out the double-digit scorers was center Britany Miller (Tallapoosa, Ga.) with a dozen.
"We're not real deep right now so we want to make sure that everybody feels confident in their game experience," Semrau added. "I thought the time that they spent going through the hard things of last week, they really gained confidence through doing the tough things. They all brought great energy to today's game and that comes with confidence."
Miller was one of three Seminoles to grab a team-high half dozen rebounds along with Hunnicutt and Monroe. Every player had at least two boards. Miller had a career-high five steals while Harvin also had a personal-best, swiping four balls.
The Seminoles had an outstanding second half shooting, as their 62.9 percent (22-of-35) rate led to 53.5 percent (38-of-71) for the game. Alabama State shot 22.6 percent (12-for-53), which is the lowest clip since Savannah State hit 22.2 percent (12-of-54).
Florida State dominated the boards, holding a 51-to-30 advantage, including 20 offensive rebounds. FSU also forced ASU into 30 turnovers, which led to 39 FSU points. The Seminoles held a 36-to-10 margin in points in the paint and 22-to-6 in second-chance points.
"I think we really mirror last year's team," Semrau added. "Last year we were a team that was really trying to find itself this time of year. We're a team that is continually trying to find their identity. I think we found an identity today with our defense. If our defense can make us go, things flow so more smoothly on offense."
Still knocking the rust off from their 10-day layoff, the Seminoles had numerous scoring opportunities in the first half, but could not convert a lot of them in the opening 10 minutes. Florida State was 7-of-20 during the first 10 minutes but held a 16-11 advantage at the 10:30 mark on a Williams' lay-up.
The next 10 minutes was a stark contrast as Florida State outscored Alabama State 23-6. The Seminoles went on a 16-4 run to open a 32-16 advantage at the 2:38 mark on a Cayla Moore (Albany, Ga.) lay-in. Keying the run offensively was Freshour as she scored half of FSU's points during that stretch. FSU took its biggest lead of the half right before the buzzer as Harvin canned a three-pointer with five seconds remaining to send the Seminoles into the locker room with a 39-17 advantage.
Reaching double digits before the half was over was Freshour as she dropped in 10 points while Harvin was one back. Both players grabbed a team-best five rebounds in the first half. Williams nearly got to her career-high in the first half as she handed out eight assists. Miller was tops at three steals.
Florida State nearly doubled Alabama State's shooting percentage, holding a 44.4 percent (16-of-36) to 23.3 percent (7-of-30) advantage. Rebounds were another big factor for Florida State as it grabbed 28 - including 12 on the offensive glass - to the Hornets' 16. Alabama State turned the ball over 14 times, which led to 18 points for the Seminoles.
A 6-0 run to start the second half got the Seminoles lead to 30 points at the 17:36 mark on a Williams' three-pointer. A pair of free throws briefly got the margin under 30, but that would be as close as ASU would get the rest of the game.
Florida State went on a 14-0 run midway through the half to push the margin to 67-23 (44) on a Monroe lay-up at the 10:15 mark. It would reach 50 (82-32) for the first time on an Antionette Howard (Snellville, Fla.) jumper at 5:04 and got as large as 56 (90-34) off a Miller lay-in with 2:22 to go. Ward scored all of her points in the second half, while Miller had eight in the second stanza and Howard added seven.
NO NAME GS MIN FGM FGA 3FGM 3FGA FTM FTA PTS OREB DREB REB PF AST TO BLK STL
== ==================== == === === === ==== ==== === === === ==== ==== === == === == === ===
2 Alysha Harvin g 26 6 12 1 2 2 2 15 2 3 5 4 3 4 0 4
10 Mara Freshour g 29 6 13 4 9 0 0 16 3 2 5 0 2 1 0 0
12 Courtney Ward g 24 5 10 2 7 2 2 14 3 2 5 0 3 2 0 3
22 Shante Williams g 28 2 5 1 3 0 0 5 0 5 5 1 13 7 0 2
33 Britany Miller c 23 5 11 0 0 2 5 12 3 3 6 4 0 1 1 5
4 Cayla Moore 12 2 2 0 0 0 0 4 1 1 2 4 0 1 0 1
5 Christian Hunnicutt 25 4 5 1 2 1 2 10 1 5 6 2 0 1 0 1
15 Antionette Howard 13 4 5 0 0 1 3 9 2 2 4 2 1 1 0 0
50 Jacinta Monroe 20 4 8 0 0 1 5 9 2 4 6 1 0 1 7 1
Team 3 4 7
=========================================================================
FSU 5 200 38 71 9 23 9 19 94 20 31 51 18 22 19 8 17
Opp 200 12 53 4 17 14 21 42 14 16 30 17 2 30 3 8
| 1 | 2 | Total | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Alabama State | |||
| Florida State |
Seminole Women's Basketball Breaks Out Of Road Drought With 66-52 Win At UAB.
Freshour records first career double-double with 15 points and 10 rebounds.
BIRMINGHAM, AL - Having hit a snag in its last two road games and without two of its top players, the prospects of going on the road may have seemed daunting to the Florida State women's basketball team, but the Seminoles were up to the challenge. Florida State played stingy defense and converted that into scoring opportunities as it beat UAB, 66-52, on Thursday (Dec. 20) at Bartow Arena.
The triumph improved the Seminoles to 8-3 on the year. UAB dropped to 4-8. FSU also snapped a streak of two-straight losses in the last game before Christmas.
"We talked about it in the locker room that when you hold a team to 17 percent shooting at half time you're doing something right," FSU head coach Sue Semrau said. "We gave up 50 points in a half at Texas A&M and tonight we only gave up 52 in the game so that says a lot."
Posting her first collegiate double-double was junior guard Mara Freshour (Nashville, Ind.) as she scored 15 points and grabbed 10 rebounds. Tying Freshour for the team-high with 15 points was senior Shante Williams (Jacksonville, Fla.). Grabbing a career-high 11 rebounds was forward Cayla Moore (Albany, Ga.) to go along with seven points.
"They are really two players who love to compete," Semrau said of Freshour and Williams. "They had a lot of help tonight. I thought Cayla Moore coming in was so big. She got some key buckets for us, but more importantly some big rebounds. Antionette Howard did some really nice things for us and that's after we threw her into a brand new position in the middle of the game because of some foul trouble."
Back in her home state, rookie guard Courtney Ward (Montgomery, Ala.) scored 11 points - giving her back-to-back double-digit games - and she was one of four players to tally a pair of assists. Williams led the way with four steals and a pair of blocks.
For the second game in a row Florida State held its opponent to under 30 percent shooting as UAB hit 28.2 percent (20-of-71). FSU needed that defensive effort as it shot a season-low 39.7 percent (23-of-58). FSU was sharp from outside, hitting 46.2 percent (6-of-13) and a solid 73.7 percent (14-of-19) from the free throw line.
The lone area where UAB had an advantage was on the boards (50-to-44), which led to a 14-7 margin in second-chance points. Florida State forced the Blazers into 20 turnovers, including 11 steals and had six blocks.
A barrage of three pointers allowed Florida State to establish an early lead on the Blazers. Alysha Harvin (Dania, Fla.) , Ward and Freshour hit one each to give FSU an 11-5 lead at the 16:33 mark. Florida State played tremendous defense through the first 11 minutes of the game, allowing UAB to make only one field goal and miss 16 in a row. The Blazers went almost seven minutes without scoring a point, which allowed the Seminoles to establish a 19-6 lead at the 9:25 on a Williams' jumper.
The lead would grow to as many as 14 (23-9) on a Freshour jumper with 6:38 remaining in the opening half. Unfortunately, the Seminoles would not score a point over the next 2:30 and that allowed the Blazers to go on an 8-0 stretch to close to 23-17. A Williams' jumper at the 4:06 mark stopped the run. The Seminoles would hold UAB to just two points the last 4:45 of the game as they took a 28-19 lead into the locker room.
A pair of threes helped Freshour lead the team with eight points while Williams was two back. The junior was also the leading rebounder with eight, to go along with four from Moore. Ward had a pair of assists and Howard contributed three steals.
Defense was the key for Florida State in the first half as it limited UAB to just 17.9 percent (5-of-28) to the Seminoles' 33 percent (11-of-33). FSU forced the Blazers into 12 turnovers - including seven steals - that it turned into 12 points. UAB did hold a significant 28-to-20 advantage on the boards.
The two teams would trade baskets through the first five minutes of the second half. UAB would get within six (35-29) on a three pointer by Diamond Rogers. Florida State put the defensive clamps on again, holding UAB to without a basket. During the Blazers' dry spell the Seminoles went on a 6-0 run to push the margin back to 12 (41-29) on a Jacinta Monroe (Ft. Lauderdale, Fla.) jumper.
The lead continued to grow for the Seminoles, reaching 17 (52-35) on a trio of free throw by Monroe. It got to 19 (57-38) with 7:34 remaining when Williams got a lay-up on a break following a great steal. Another Williams' jumper got the lead back to 19 and FSU would need the margin as it did not score a point for nearly six minutes. During that stretch, UAB got the Seminoles' advantage down to 11 (59-48) before Florida State hit seven free throws to seal the game.
NO NAME GS MIN FGM FGA 3FGM 3FGA FTM FTA PTS OREB DREB REB PF AST TO BLK STL
== ==================== == === === === ==== ==== === === === ==== ==== === == === == === ===
2 Alysha Harvin g 15 1 4 1 2 0 0 3 2 2 4 2 0 3 0 0
10 Mara Freshour g 36 5 10 3 6 2 2 15 1 9 10 1 2 3 0 1
12 Courtney Ward g 31 3 10 2 3 3 4 11 0 2 2 2 2 6 0 1
22 Shante Williams g 28 6 13 0 1 3 3 15 0 3 3 0 2 5 2 4
50 Jacinta Monroe f 15 2 4 0 0 3 4 7 1 2 3 4 1 1 2 0
4 Cayla Moore 20 3 6 0 0 1 2 7 3 8 11 4 0 0 1 2
5 Christian Hunnicutt 30 1 5 0 0 1 2 3 1 2 3 3 2 0 1 0
15 Antionette Howard 25 2 6 0 1 1 2 5 1 3 4 1 0 0 0 3
Team 1 3 4
=========================================================================
FSU 5 200 23 58 6 13 14 19 66 10 34 44 17 9 18 6 11
Opp 200 20 71 6 27 6 10 52 20 30 50 15 10 20 5 4
| 1 | 2 | Total | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Florida State | |||
| Alabama-Birmingham |
Monroe's Last-Second Shot Lifts FSU Women's Basketball To 52-51 Win Over Samford.
Seminoles go on 17-3 run in the second half to erase 13-point half time deficit.
TALLAHASSEE, FL - A put-back by Jacinta Monroe as time expired completed a 14-point comeback in the second half by the Florida State women's basketball team as it defeated Samford, 52-51, on Thursday (December 27) at the Donald L. Tucker Center.
With the victory, Florida State improved to 9-3 as it won its third game in a row. Samford lost its fourth game out of five tries as it fell to 7-5.
"We were really fortunate to come away with the win, Samford played an awesome game," FSU head coach Sue Semrau said. "It was a surprise to all of us that (Towns) missed (the free throw), but we were ready. Shante gathered them and showed a lot of poise to take that shot after just missing. Jacinta was in a great position to grab the ball and put it back in. We really stole this one."
After Shante Williams (Jacksonville, Fla.) missed a jumper with 16 seconds remaining that would have given FSU the lead, the Seminoles were forced to foul. Courtney Ward (Montgomery, Ala.) fouled Taryn Towns, who is No. 10 in the NCAA at 94 percent from the free throw line. Towns missed the first of a one-and-one and Alysha Harvin (Dania, Fla.) grabbed the rebound.
The senior Williams calmly walked the ball down the court then made her move down the lane with less than five seconds remaining. Her jumper caromed off the rim and was tipped around until Monroe (Ft. Lauderdale, Fla.) snatched and put it back as time expired to give the Seminoles the victory.
"Everything was going in slow motion," Monroe said. "I knew Shante was going to put it up so I tried to get myself into position to get a tip in. I just tried to tip it in before the buzzer. After the second tip I knew I had to get my hands on it so I grabbed it and put it in."
Leading all scorers was Monroe as she put in 17 and just missed a double-double with nine rebounds. She also had six blocked shots. Freshman Christian Hunnicutt (Jonesboro, Ga.) was next with 12 points and Williams added 10. Following Monroe on the boards was Mara Freshour (Nashville, Ind.) with seven boards and Harvin added six. Williams and Ward had four steals each and Freshour dished out three assists.
Florida State overcame a horrendous first-half of shooting to hit 45.2 percent in the second stanza for a rate of 32.3 percent (20-of-62). Samford was just as bad in the second half, hitting only 29.6 percent for a rate of 38.5 (20-of-52) for the game. The Seminoles used their height advantage for a 30-18 margin in points in the paint and 12-to-7 for second chance points and none bigger than Monroe's buzzer beater. FSU was also up 41-37 for rebounds and 14-to-19 in turnovers.
The Seminoles found themselves down 36-22 with 15:45 remaining in the game and the Bulldogs led 38-26 at the 13:05 mark. That's when Florida State started to chip away at the margin. A three-pointer by Hunnicutt started the run then Monroe score five points in a row and Harvin added five more to slide it to 37-41.
Williams hit two free throws to pull FSU within two (39-41) then Monroe gave Florida State its first lead (43-41) with back-to-back lay-ups with a put-back at 5:37 capping a 17-3 run. Samford quickly answered with a three-pointer to regain the lead and pushed it to four (49-45) with 2:20 remaining. The margin was three before Monroe hit a lay-up at 1:05 then put back the game-winner.
Perhaps it was the seven-day layoff that threw the Seminoles out of whack during the opening part of the first half. Florida State missed its first four shots while Samford hit its first five to give the visitors a 14-6 at the 16:20 mark. After a Hunnicutt putback made it 14-8, the Seminoles would go over four minutes without a point as the Bulldogs built at 20-8 lead.
Two Williams free throws and a Freshour jumper got the margin under 10 (12-20) with 9:05 remaining, but it would be another 7:43 before the Seminoles would score another point. Samford built its lead up to 27-12 before two Freshour free throws stopped the drought. The Bulldogs took a 29-16 lead into the locker room.
The most glaring difference in the first half was shooting. The Seminoles hit just 19.4 percent (6-of-31) to the Bulldogs' 48.0 percent (12-of-25). Samford was also aided by five three pointers to none for the hosts. The two teams were even with 20 rebounds apiece while Florida State committed two less turnovers (8-to-10).
Coming off the bench to lead Florida State in the scoring column was Hunnicutt as she had six while Monroe and Freshour were two back. Monroe, Hunnicutt and Harvin had four rebounds each. Ward and Williams had two steals each and Monroe added three blocks.
NO NAME GS MIN FGM FGA 3FGM 3FGA FTM FTA PTS OREB DREB REB PF AST TO BLK STL
== ==================== == === === === ==== ==== === === === ==== ==== === == === == === ===
2 Alysha Harvin g 32 2 13 1 6 0 0 5 0 6 6 2 1 3 0 1
10 Mara Freshour g 36 1 12 0 6 4 4 6 3 4 7 0 3 1 0 1
12 Courtney Ward g 28 1 5 0 1 0 0 2 1 1 2 3 0 1 1 4
22 Shante Williams g 24 3 9 0 1 4 4 10 2 2 4 2 1 2 0 4
50 Jacinta Monroe f 28 8 14 0 0 1 1 17 3 6 9 0 2 2 6 0
4 Cayla Moore 12 0 2 0 0 0 0 0 0 4 4 2 0 3 0 1
5 Christian Hunnicutt 31 5 6 2 2 0 0 12 4 1 5 2 0 1 0 0
15 Antionette Howard 9 0 1 0 0 0 2 0 1 1 2 1 1 0 0 0
Team 2 2 1
=========================================================================
FSU 5 200 20 62 3 16 9 11 52 14 27 41 12 8 14 7 11
Opp 200 20 52 8 23 3 8 51 8 29 37 10 11 19 1 3
| 1 | 2 | Total | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Samford | |||
| Florida State |
FSU Women's Basketball Can't Complete The Upset, Falling To #7 Georgia 71-62 In OT.
Freshour one of three Seminoles in double figures with 20 points.
MIAMI, FL - A valiant effort came up just short for the Florida State women's basketball team in its upset bid of No. 7 Georgia on the first day of the FIU Fun and Sun Classic. The Seminoles took the Bulldogs to over time, but UGA outscored them 14-5 in the extra period for the 71-62 triumph on Saturday (December 29).
The loss snapped Florida State's three-game winning streak as it fell to 9-4. The Seminoles are still looking for their first victory over a ranked team in the regular season since February 26, 2006, when they beat No. 17 Boston College. Georgia stayed undefeated at 11-0.
"I'm very excited about the way that we came out and played," FSU head coach Sue Semrau said. "Obviously we're way over moral victories, that's certainly not what we were looking for. We wanted to beat this team and really believed we could. I am proud of the way we're progressing as an eight-player basketball team. We rebounded the ball better than we have all year. To be undersized and to be able to get 22 offensive rebounds against the number seven team in the country, that's good stuff for us to build on."
Topping the Seminoles was junior Mara Freshour (Nashville, Ind.) as she scored 20 points, grabbed seven rebounds and had four assists. Having equally as well a game was rookie Courtney Ward (Montgomery, Ala.) with 12 points, six rebounds and six assists. Senior Shante Williams was the third player in double figures at 10 points and seven rebounds.
South Florida native Jacinta Monroe (Ft. Lauderdale, Fla.) had eight points, six in the second half, and eight rebounds. Antionette Howard (Snellville, Ga.) had six points and three rebounds off the bench.
"Absolutely this was her best game of the year against high competition," Semrau said of Ward. "Courtney went out there and was fearless. She penetrated, didn't hesitate to shoot and she played great defense. I'm really excited about her development."
Matched up against a taller Bulldog squad, Florida State out-rebounded Georgia 47-41 including 22 offensive rebounds, which it converted to 13 second-chance points. FSU also had 13 points from 12 Bulldog turnovers. Neither team shot well with Georgia holding a 40.0 percent (24-of-60) to 31.4 percent (22-of-70) advantage. Both teams hit seven three pointers while Georgia knocked down 16 free throws to the Seminoles' 11.
A two-minute drought allowed Georgia to establish a 9-4 lead at the start of the game but the Seminoles responded with their own defensive stand that held the Bulldogs scoreless for three minutes. Jumper by Williams and Howard tied the game at nine with 14:28 left in the half. A three pointer by Ward at the 9:45 mark gave Florida State it's first lead (12-11).
Unfortunately, the Seminoles would only make one basket during a three-minute period that allowed Georgia to reestablish a 15-20 margin with 9:30 remaining. A basket by Cayla Moore (Albany, Ga.) and Ward's second three-pointer of the half pulled FSU to 21-22 with 4:53 to play. Florida State got the lead back (23-22) at the 1:52 mark on a Howard jumper. The two teams would trade baskets the rest of the half with Georgia taking a 26-25 margin into the locker room.
Even though Florida State had a sub-par half of shooting at 34.5 percent (10-of-29) it limited Georgia to 40.0 percent (10-of-25). Both teams hit a trio of three pointers and Georgia had one more free throw (3-to-2). Florida State out-rebounded the Bulldogs to the tune of 20-16, including 11 on the offensive glass. Georgia used its height advantage on the inside for a 12-to-2 advantage in points in the paint.
Leading all scorers in the first half was Ward as she put up nine, followed by Freshour with six. Monroe grabbed five rebounds while Ward was one behind and had a trio of assists.
Out of the locker room Georgia quickly established the lead again as it scored five points in the first minute for a six point lead (31-25). Freshour and Williams cut the deficit, but Georgia went on a 7-0 run to get it back to 36-29. Back-to-back threes by Ward and Freshour sliced the lead to three (38-35). Alysha Harvin (Dania, Fla.) knocked down two free throws then a great a pass by Freshour led to a Howard lay-up that gave FSU a 39-38 lead at the 14:04 mark.
Georgia got the lead back, 41-39, but FSU played tremendous defense and didn't allow Georgia to score a point for over four and a half minutes. Freshour hit a trio of free throws to give the lead back to Florida State, 42-4. A put back by Monroe gave the Seminoles a three-point lead (48-45), but Georgia scored five unanswered points to take a 50-48 lead.
Monroe tied the game at 50 and 52 then Freshour gave Florida State the lead back, 55-52 with a three pointer at the 2:45 mark. Williams nailed a jumper 40 seconds later to put the Seminoles up 57-52. Georgia answered with five points in the last 1:11 and Williams' jumper came up short as the game went into overtime.
In the overtime the Bulldogs scored the first four points of the period before Williams hit a jumper to make it a 61-59 game at the 3:41 mark. Unfortunately, Georgia went on a 7-0 run to take a 68-59 advantage and the Seminoles only points the rest of the overtime were a Freshour three pointer. Georgia grabbed three offensive rebounds during one possession to keep the ball out of FSU's hands and hit eight free throws to close out the game.
NO NAME GS MIN FGM FGA 3FGM 3FGA FTM FTA PTS OREB DREB REB PF AST TO BLK STL
== ==================== == === === === ==== ==== === === === ==== ==== === == === == === ===
2 Alysha Harvin g 22 0 9 0 3 4 4 4 2 2 4 2 0 2 0 1
10 Mara Freshour g 39 6 14 4 8 4 6 20 4 3 7 3 4 2 0 1
12 Courtney Ward g 40 4 15 3 6 1 2 12 3 3 6 3 6 3 0 0
22 Shante Williams g 25 5 19 0 2 0 0 10 3 4 7 4 1 2 0 1
50 Jacinta Monroe f 36 3 4 0 0 2 2 8 3 5 8 2 0 1 0 1
4 Cayla Moore 18 1 2 0 0 0 0 2 1 4 5 4 0 1 0 0
5 Christian Hunnicutt 31 0 3 0 2 0 0 0 1 2 3 3 1 0 1 0
15 Antionette Howard 14 3 4 0 1 0 0 6 2 1 3 1 0 0 0 0
Team 3 1 4 2
=========================================================================
FSU 5 225 22 70 7 22 11 14 62 22 25 47 22 12 13 1 4
Opp 225 24 60 7 21 16 23 71 16 25 41 16 17 12 7 3
| 1 | 2 | OT | Total | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Florida State | ||||
| Georgia |
FSU Women's Basketball Caps Off FIU Fun & Sun Classic With 72-54 Win Over Hofstra.
Howard post second double-double of year with 15 points and 11 rebounds.
MIAMI, FL - With a Sweet 16 rematch against No. 8 LSU looming in the horizon, and coming off a tough loss to No. 7 Georgia, it wouldn't have been out of the question for the Florida State women's basketball team to overlook its consolation game of the FIU Fun & Sun Classic with Hofstra. Instead, the Seminoles took care of business and beat the Pride, 72-54, on Sunday (December 30).
Florida State reached double digit wins before New Year's for just the third time in school history as they improved to 10-4 on the year. Hofsta dropped 2-9.
"Obviously it was an emotional loss for us last night, but we looked at the whole thing coming together as an opportunity for us to prepare for the ACC Tournament," FSU head coach Sue Semrau said. "We had the opportunity to win last night and going in, what was it going to feel like playing three games in four days in the championship game. I really felt they met the challenge. We're not where we want to be in March, but we stepped up and got better today."
Turning in her best all-around game in some time was freshman Antionette Howard (Snellville, Ga.) as she turned in a double-double with 15 points and 11 rebounds. Equaling her point total was classmate Courtney Ward (Montgomery, Ala.) to go along with six assists. South Florida natives Alysha Harvin (Dania, Fla.) and Jacinta Monroe (Ft. Lauderdale, Fla.) got into double-digits with 13 and 12 points, respectively. Monroe had a half dozen rebounds to go along with four blocks while guard Mara Freshour (Nashville, Ind.) also pulled in six boards.
"They just continue to grow," Semrau said of Howard and Ward. "I have to complement the tutelage of the other players on our team. When Courtney is on the court with Shante (Williams), Courtney is learning a ton. When Shante was questioning whether to come back with her hip injury, Courtney was texting her and telling her `I need you back." You can see what a great student Courtney has been.
"It's the same thing with Antionette and Alysha Harvin and Mara Freshour. She's learned a lot from those two players and being willing to be pushed and that's something the freshmen need to do."
Florida State played strong defense as it held the Pride to just 33.9 percent shooting (20-of-59) while hitting 41.7 percent (25-of-60) itself. FSU continued its improvement from the free throw line, hitting 72.7 percent (16-of-22). The Seminoles controlled the paint, holding a 42-38 rebounding advantage while scoring 31 of its points in there. FSU forced Hofstra into 20 turnovers, which it converted to 19 points. The Seminoles also had 10 steals and eight blocks.
A 10-0 run by the Seminoles broke the game open early as they established a 13-2 margin at the 16:20 mark on a lay-up by Cayla Moore (Albany, Ga.). Florida State went 3:30 without a basket, but it played good enough defense that Hofstra only cut the margin to seven (13-6) at the 13:59 mark. After the two teams traded baskets, Florida State went on a 4-0 run to push the lead back to double digits (19-8) on a steal and lay-up by Harvin.
The lead never went below double digits the rest of the half. Playing with two fouls in the half, Monroe nailed back-to-back jumpers within 30 seconds of each other to push the margin to 15 points (33-18). Hofstra made a little four point run to get the deficit back to 10 (33-23), but Monroe canned a jumper seconds before the half expired to send FSU into the locker room leading 35-23.
Tying for the first first-half lead was Monroe and Harvin as they threw in eight points each while every player in the game scored at least two points. Howard grabbed six rebounds and Ward had four assists.
Florida State shot 42.3 percent (11-of-26) and held the Pride to 25.8 percent (8-of-31). The Seminoles able to control the inside, holding a 22-to-17 rebounding edge while scoring 14 of their points in the paint. Another area where Florida State dominated was free throws as it hit an impressive 92.3 percent (12-of-13).
Out of the locker room, the Seminoles appeared as they were going to run away with the game as Monroe and Ward hit two early shots to build a 16-point lead (39-23), just 1:27 into the second half. Hofstra made an effort to get back into the game as it went on a 9-2 run to get the lead under double digits (41-32). Howard stopped the run with a pair of basket then Ward canned a three put the lead back to 16 (48-32) at the 12:45 mark.
The Seminole kept the peddle down on offense as it increased its lead. The lead reached 20 points (58-38) for the first time at the 6:59 mark on a jumper in the lane by Christian Hunnicutt (Jonesboro, Ga.), who scored eight points. The margin got as high as 21 (61-40 at the 6:12 mark) and Hofstra could only get it down to 12 (66-54).
NO NAME GS MIN FGM FGA 3FGM 3FGA FTM FTA PTS OREB DREB REB PF AST TO BLK STL
== ==================== == === === === ==== ==== === === === ==== ==== === == === == === ===
2 Alysha Harvin g 31 5 13 1 2 2 3 13 1 1 2 3 0 2 1 1
10 Mara Freshour g 26 2 10 1 5 0 2 5 2 4 6 1 1 1 0 1
12 Courtney Ward g 27 4 8 2 3 5 5 15 0 2 2 3 6 3 1 1
22 Shante Williams g 22 1 3 0 1 0 0 2 1 2 3 1 3 2 0 1
50 Jacinta Monroe f 20 5 7 0 0 2 3 12 2 4 6 2 1 0 4 2
4 Cayla Moore 20 1 3 0 0 0 0 2 2 3 5 3 1 2 0 2
5 Christian Hunnicutt 27 2 8 1 4 3 4 8 0 1 1 1 1 0 1 0
15 Antionette Howard 27 5 8 1 3 4 5 15 2 9 11 2 1 5 1 2
Team 3 3 6
=========================================================================
FSU 5 200 25 60 6 18 16 22 72 13 29 42 16 14 15 8 10
Opp 200 20 59 5 16 9 14 54 13 25 38 21 15 20 7 6
| 1 | 2 | Total | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Florida State | |||
| Hofstra |
Sweet 16 Rematch Goes To No. 11 LSU As FSU Women's Basketball Falls 73-61.
Shante Williams puts up first 20-point game of the season.
TALLAHASSEE, FL - For more than nine months, the Florida State women's basketball team has had January 3 circled on its calendar. The Seminoles were looking to get back at LSU for knocking it out of the 2007 NCAA Tournament, but they'll have to wait a bit longer for redemption as the No. 11 Tigers held off FSU's second-half run for the 73-61 victory on Thursday (January 3).
The loss dropped Florida State to 10-5 on the year with four of the five losses coming to ranked teams. The Seminoles are still looking for their first victory over a ranked team in the regular season since February 26, 2006, when they beat No. 17 Boston College. LSU improved to 11-3.
"That's a very good basketball team, especially with Sylvia Fowles in the middle," FSU head coach Sue Semrau said. "She really changes the game in the middle. We learned a lot tonight. I thought we got great looks at the basket, we just didn't knock it down, much like the NCAA Tournament game against them last year."
Posting her first 20-point game of the year was senior Shante Williams (Jacksonville, Fla.) with 20 points, including 8-of-8 at the free throw line. She tied Mara Freshour (Nashville, Ind.) for the team lead at three assists. Next up in the scoring column was rookie guard Antionette Howard (Snellville, Ga.) at 11 points. Forward Cayla Moore (Albany, Ga.) just missed posting 10 rebounds with a game-high nine boards.
"I love that kid," Semrau said of Williams. "She fights, she guts, she's grown so much as a player. I think she probably wanted that game more than anybody. It's her senior year and having the opportunity on her home court, a lot of the folks from Jacksonville had come over, and she really rose to the occasion."
Even though it shot dramatically better in the second half, FSU only hit 35.7 percent (20-of-56) from the floor and 28.6 percent (4-of-14) from three point range. The Seminoles continued their strong shooting at the free throw line with a rate of 77.3 percent (17-of-22). LSU was just the opposite, nailing 54 percent (27-of-50) on the floor and 53.3 percent (8-of-15) from three point-range - both season-highs for FSU opponents - but 50 percent (11-of-22) at the line.
Florida State was better than the Tigers on the boards, holding a 36-to-31 advantage, including 13 offensive boards, which it converted to 11 second-chance points. Both teams turned the ball over 16 times, but LSU held a 25-to-17 advantage in points off turnovers.
The Seminole dug themselves a hole early as LSU started the game on an 8-0 run. Five-straight free throws by Williams and Courtney Ward (Montgomery, Ala.) cut the deficit to three (5-8), but the Tigers ran off six more points to bump the margin to nine (5-14).
The lead grew to as many as 16 on a pair of occasions with the latest coming at 6:39 (15-31). Florida State worked to trim the lead and got it down to 10 (22-32) on a Williams' jumper at the 3:12 mark. Williams scored six of FSU's last 11 points, including a jumper with four seconds remaining to cut the LSU lead to 26-38 at the half.
Florida State out-rebounded the Tigers 21-to-19, including eight offensive boards. LSU's stingy defense limited the Seminoles to just 26.7 percent shooting (8-of-30) in the first half and just 1-of-7 behind the arc. On the flipside, the Tigers hit 50 percent (14-of-28) and were even better behind the three-point line at 54.5 percent (6-of-11). The visitors forced FSU into eight turnovers, including six steals, and turned them into 14 points. FSU mustered just four points off LSU's eight turnovers.
Out of the break the Seminoles continued their improved play as they went on an 11-5 run to cut the lead to four points (43-39) at the 14:42 mark on a jumper by Ward. Six different players contributed to the fast second-half start. A pair of Williams free throws got the margin back to four (41-45) with 12:35 remaining, but that's as close as FSU would get. The Seminoles had two chances to get it to a one-possession game, but LSU went on an 9-2 run to push the margin back to 11 (43-54). FSU would only get as close as 10 the rest of the game.
NO NAME GS MIN FGM FGA 3FGM 3FGA FTM FTA PTS OREB DREB REB PF AST TO BLK STL
== ==================== == === === === ==== ==== === === === ==== ==== === == === == === ===
2 Alysha Harvin g 19 2 3 1 2 1 2 6 1 3 4 3 0 1 0 0
10 Mara Freshour g 36 2 9 1 4 2 2 7 2 2 4 1 3 4 0 0
12 Courtney Ward g 25 2 7 1 3 1 2 6 1 2 3 0 2 6 0 0
22 Shante Williams g 29 6 16 0 1 8 8 20 0 2 2 1 3 1 0 0
50 Jacinta Monroe f 15 2 7 0 0 2 2 6 3 1 4 4 0 0 0 2
4 Cayla Moore 26 2 4 0 0 1 2 5 2 7 9 4 0 0 0 1
5 Christian Hunnicutt 33 0 3 0 2 0 0 0 1 3 4 1 0 1 0 1
15 Antionette Howard 17 4 7 1 2 2 4 11 1 1 2 2 0 3 0 0
Team 2 2 4
=========================================================================
FSU 5 200 20 56 4 14 17 22 61 13 23 36 16 8 16 0 4
Opp 200 27 50 8 15 11 22 73 6 25 31 14 17 16 4 11
| 1 | 2 | Total | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Louisiana State | |||
| Florida State |
Williams Sets FSU Assist Record As Seminoles Beat Virginia Tech 67-63 In ACC Opener.
Senior dishes out six assists to take over number one spot on career list.
TALLAHASSEE, FL - Since she came to Florida State five years ago, guard Shante Williams was destined to become the Seminoles' career leader in assists. On Sunday (January 6) she completed that journey as she handed out six assists in Florida State's 67-63 victory over Virginia Tech in the Seminoles' Atlantic Coast Conference opener.
The Seminoles start the conference schedule with a win for the second year in a row and improve to 11-5 overall. The Hokies dropped their second game in a row as they fell to 12-4 overall, 0-2 in the league.
"It feels great to finally get that monkey off my back," Williams said. "Our SID has been telling me game in and game out 'Let's do it, let's do it' and I just haven't gotten it done. It feels good to get it done on national television."
Williams' dished out her 389 assist at the 11:21 mark of the second half. She drove to the lane from the left wing and dished to Mara Freshour (Nashville, Ind.) who knocked down a jumper from just inside the free throw line. Williams broke the old mark of 388 set by Jen Robinson. The six assists pushed her record to 391.
"When I saw her in high school I thought she'd probably do it in her junior year," FSU head coach Sue Semrau said about Wiliams' accomplishment. "She's really had a scoring load on her that we didn't anticipate she'd have to have. If she didn't have that same kind of scoring load then she would have been the all-time assist leader a year ago."
Three players scored in double figures for the Seminoles, led by guard Alysha Harvin (Dania, Fla.) with a career-high 16 points. Next up was forward Jacinta Monroe (Ft. Lauderdale, Fla.) at 15 points, followed by Freshour with 13, including 8-of-8 at the free throw line. Monroe grabbed eight boards and Harvin had seven. Williams had five points and two steals to go along with her half-dozen assists.
Despite a cold second half of shooting, Florida State held a 41.9 percent (26-of-62) to 39.1 percent (27-of-69) advantage. The Seminoles continued their great free throw shooting, hitting 78.6 percent (11-of-14) while the Hokies were just 5-of-10. Both teams made four three pointers.
One biggest things the Seminoles did in the second half was not turn over the ball. After 10 in the opening 20 minutes - which Virginia Tech converted to 16 points - FSU only committed three in the second stanza and the Hokies did not get a single point off them. In contrast, the Seminoles got nine points off eight VT miscues. Virginia Tech out-rebounded FSU 43-to-37 and had a 21-14 advantage in second-chance points.
The Hokies battled back from a 15-point deficit to tie the game at 44 with 14:07 remaining in the game. Freshour's basket off the record-breaking assist gave the lead back to FSU, 46-44, but Virginia Tech went on an 11-3 run to claim a 55-49 advantage. The Seminoles would get the margin back to one on a pair of occasions and reclaimed the lead at the 2:35 mark when Freshour knocked down a pair of free throws.
Florida State would hold the Hokies off the scoreboard for nearly three minutes and take a four-point lead, 63-59, on a Williams' jumper at the 1:46 mark. After a Virginia Tech basket, two more Freshour free throws got the margin back up to a deuce, but the Hokies would make another jumper at the 1:01 mark to cut it to two again. Williams missed a jumper and VT got the ball back, but Freshour tipped an entry pass to Williams then canned her last two free throws to seal the victory.
"We're extremely happy to pull it out," Semrau said. "I thought we really had some kids who kept their heads in the game. Any game in the ACC is big and to be our opener, at home, is extremely big. They had only lost three games all year and have a great RPI and it will help us in a lot of different ways."
Virginia Tech took control of the game early thanks to Florida State miscues - the Hokies got seven of their first 10 points off FSU turnovers - but the Seminoles righted the ship on the offensive end of the floor and got their first lead at 6-5 on a lay up by Cayla Moore (Albany, Ga.). A combination of good defense and good execution on offense allowed the Seminoles build on their lead.
The margin would reach double digits, 21-10, for the first time on a Monroe putback at the 9:29 mark. It grew to as many as 15 (25-10) with 8:29 remaining on a Monroe lay up that was a product of Williams' third assist of the game that tied the record. Virginia Tech wouldn't lie down as they went on 13-4 over the last five minutes of the half cut FSU's lead to 36-32 at the intermission.
Leading the Seminoles was Monroe as she put in over 40 percent of Florida State's points with 14. She also grabbed a team-best four rebounds. Harvin added nine points. Williams produced three assists and had a pair of steals.
The Hokies' ability to convert Florida State turnovers into points was the biggest difference in the first half. Both teams committed 10 miscues, but Virginia Tech got half of its points (16-of-32) from turnovers. The Seminoles out-shot Virginia Tech 53.3 percent (16-of-30) to 40 percent (14-of-35). Both teams were 2-of-7 from three points range and 2-for-2 at the free throw line. The Hokies had 20-to-17 rebounding advantage that included 11 offensive boards.
NO NAME GS MIN FGM FGA 3FGM 3FGA FTM FTA PTS OREB DREB REB PF AST TO BLK STL
== ==================== == === === === ==== ==== === === === ==== ==== === == === == === ===
2 Alysha Harvin g 30 7 13 1 3 1 2 16 3 4 7 2 2 2 0 0
10 Mara Freshour g 39 2 12 1 5 8 8 13 2 2 4 1 0 1 0 1
12 Courtney Ward g 31 3 8 2 4 0 0 8 2 2 4 0 0 3 0 1
22 Shante Williams g 32 2 9 0 1 1 2 5 1 1 2 0 6 2 0 2
50 Jacinta Monroe f 25 7 11 0 0 1 2 15 4 4 8 4 1 0 1 1
4 Cayla Moore 19 2 3 0 0 0 0 4 0 3 3 2 0 2 0 0
5 Christian Hunnicutt 3 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 1 1 0 0 0 0 0
15 Antionette Howard 21 3 6 0 2 0 0 6 0 3 3 2 1 3 0 0
Team 5 5
=========================================================================
FSU 5 200 26 62 4 15 11 14 67 12 25 37 11 10 13 1 5
Opp 200 27 69 4 13 5 10 63 20 23 43 14 14 18 1 5
| 1 | 2 | Total | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Virginia Tech | |||
| Florida State |
FSU Women's Basketball Drops First ACC Game Of The Year 70-38 At No. 12 Duke.
Guard Mara Freshour grabs a game-high 10 rebounds.
DURHAM, NC - Scoring droughts can hurt a team, especially when you're taking on a top-25 Atlantic Coast Conference team on their home court. The Florida State women's basketball team had two big dry spells in the first half and No. 12 Duke capitalized as it came away with the 70-38 victory on Friday (January 11) at Cameron Indoor Stadium.
The Seminoles suffered their first loss in conference action as they dropped to 1-1 and 11-6 overall. Duke improved to 2-0 in the league and 13-3 overall. The Blue Devils extended the nation's longest home-court winning streak to 23 games.
"I don't care that we only had one senior and one junior and we were without a couple of starters, when our shots weren't following we allowed ourselves to go into a big, big hole," FSU head coach Sue Semrau said. "We got some great looks and we didn't knock down the shots."
The loss was the Seminoles' worse since February 21, 2002, when this same Duke team beat them by 33 (88-55) in Durham. It's Florida State's lowest point total since it was held to 36 by NC State in a 75-36 loss on January 26, 1997, the season before Semrau came to Florida State.
Leading the way for the Seminoles offensively with eight points was freshman Antionette Howard (Snellville, Ga.). Up next was Alysha Harvin (Dania, Fla.) at seven. Grabbing a game-high 10 rebounds was guard Mara Freshour (Nashville, Ind.) who also had a team-best three steals. Freshman Courtney Ward handed out three assists.
Thwarted by a taller Duke presence in the post, the Seminoles only shot a season-low 23.4 percent (15-of-64) from the floor to the Blue Devils' 42.9 (30-of-70). Duke's height also led to a 57-to-45 rebounding advantage as well as margins in points in the paint (52-to-18).
The Blue Devils played a full-court defense most of the evening which forced the Seminoles into a season-high 25 turnovers and Duke converted those to 24 points. Neither team shot well from the free throw line with Duke holding a 47.4 percent (9-of-19) to 18.8 percent (5-of-20). Florida State made three of the game's four three-pointers.
Both teams got off to a slow start offensively as there were only 10 points scored before the first media time out. Even though Florida State would go nearly four minutes without a basket, it played strong enough defense to keep the Blue Devils off the board. Duke would get an early four-point lead (8-4), but buckets by the rookies Howard and Christian Hunnicutt (Jonesboro, Ga.) tied the game at the 13:38 mark.
Unfortunately, the Seminoles would go six more minutes without a basket but this time Duke would take advantage. The Blue Devils went on a 10-1 run to open up a 21-11 advantage at the 9:14 mark. The Seminoles battled back and cut the lead to eight (18-26) on a lay up Howard and a Ward free throw at the 3:44 mark but that would be FSU's last points of the half. Duke ended the half on a 10-0 run to go into the locker room up 36-18.
Coming off the bench to lead the Seminoles was Howard with six points. The only other Florida State player to get more than two was Harvin at four. Freshour had a team-high five rebounds and tied Cayla Moore (Albany, Ga.) with a pair of steals.
Florida State was held to under 20 points in the first half for just the second time this season as it shot 21.2 percent (7-of-33) to the Blue Devils 43.2 percent (16-of-37). FSU had a chance to make up some points at the free throw line, but shot just 30.8 percent (4-of-13) while Duke wasn't much better at 57.1 percent (4-of-7). Neither team hit a three pointer.
The poor shooting led to a lot of rebounding opportunities with Duke holding a 31-to-23 advantage. Duke held a 30-14 advantage in points in the points and got nine points off FSU's 11 turnovers while Florida State only got two from nine Duke miscues.
Florida State's first basket of the second half didn't come until 15:01 mark when Freshour hit a jumper. By that time Duke had pushed the lead to 20 points for the first time at 39-19. The lead hit 30 (55-25) for the first time at the 7:45 mark with Seminoles only getting it down to 26.
NO NAME GS MIN FGM FGA 3FGM 3FGA FTM FTA PTS OREB DREB REB PF AST TO BLK STL
== ==================== == === === === ==== ==== === === === ==== ==== === == === == === ===
2 Alysha Harvin g 24 3 6 1 4 0 0 7 1 4 5 2 1 2 0 1
10 Mara Freshour g 35 1 8 0 2 2 3 4 3 7 10 1 1 4 0 3
12 Courtney Ward g 31 1 13 1 7 1 4 4 2 3 5 3 3 4 0 0
22 Shante Williams g 25 1 10 0 0 2 6 4 0 3 3 1 1 5 1 1
50 Jacinta Monroe f 28 2 7 0 0 0 3 4 1 5 6 3 0 4 3 0
4 Cayla Moore 15 1 3 0 0 0 2 2 2 2 4 4 0 1 1 2
5 Christian Hunnicutt 18 2 5 1 2 0 2 5 2 2 4 2 0 2 0 0
15 Antionette Howard 24 4 12 0 1 0 0 8 1 0 1 1 0 3 0 0
Team 3 4 7
=========================================================================
FSU 5 200 15 64 3 16 5 20 38 15 30 45 17 6 25 5 7
Opp 200 30 70 1 12 9 19 70 14 43 57 16 17 18 11 19
| 1 | 2 | Total | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Florida State | |||
| Duke |
Seminole Women's Basketball Bounces Back For 80-54 Win Over Wake Forest.
Williams and Freshour lead four players in double figures with 18 a piece.
TALLAHASSEE, FL - Coming off one of the toughest losses in recent history, the Florida State women's basketball could have easily hung its heads in its next outing. Instead, the Seminoles responded with their best offensive game in over a month as they defeated Wake Forest, 80-54, on Thursday (January 17) at the Donald L Tucker Center.
Florida State improved to 2-1 in the conference and 12-6 overall. Wake Forest suffered its 22nd ACC loss in a row as it dropped to 0-5 in the league, 12-7 overall.
"This was a big win for our team," FSU head coach Sue Semrau said. "Playing short-handed and finding a way to score 80 points against a team that is top five in the nation in scoring defense was very important. Our team found some chemistry with different players on the floor, on the defensive end of the floor mainly, to cause them to turn the ball over and to get 17 points off turnovers in the second half was big."
After not having a single player in double figures against Duke - a first since 1994 - Florida State had four players in double digits. Topping all scorers were guards Shante Williams (Jacksonville, Fla.) and Mara Freshour (Nashville, Ind.) at 18 points each. Alysha Harvin (Dania, Fla.) was next with 14 while Jacinta Monroe (Ft. Lauderdale, Fla.) scored all 12 of her points in the second half.
Williams had seven assists and no turnovers as well as four steals. Guard Courtney Ward (Montgomery, Ala.) grabbed a team-high six rebounds while Monroe nabbed five. Four different players had four or more rebounds as FSU out-rebounded Wake Forest 32-31, including 19-14 in the second half.
The Seminoles shot 66.7 percent in the second half to shoot 54 percent (27-of-50) for the game, its highest rate since 54.3 percent at Texas A&M. Wake Forest was held to 32.1 percent (17-of-53). FSU also hit 74.1 percent (20-of-27) from the line and 46.2 percent (6-of-13) from three point range. Florida State converted 20 Wake Forest turnovers into 21 points and got 24 points in the paint.
"It was fun to coach them tonight," Semrau added. "Their effort was there from the opening team. They played together on both ends of the floor, really working to make each other better. That, I think, is extremely important when you're talking about a team and it made everybody better.
Florida State jumped out to a quick 6-2 lead at the 16:20 mark on a put back by Cayla Moore (Albany, Ga.). A jumper by Harvin made it an 8-5 game, but that would be the Seminoles' last back for the next three minutes. The drought allowed Wake Forest to go on a 6-0 run and establish an 11-8 lead. Harvin would convert a three-point play and Williams had a steal and a lay-up to give FSU the lead back 13-11.
A jumper by Antionette Howard (Snellville, Ga.) gave FSU a three-point advantage (18-15) at the 8:37 mark. Even though the Seminoles only went less than a minute and a half without a basket, it was enough for the Demon Deacons to grab the lead at 20-18.
Camille Collier's basket at the 7:25 mark would be Wake Forest's final basket of the half as the Seminoles went on a 16-0 to take a 34-20 lead into the half. Sparking the run was Freshour as she hit a three to start the spurt and added a jumper and a pair of free throws.
Topping all scorers with a dozen points in the opening 20 minutes was Freshour followed by seven from Harvin. Freshmen Ward, who also scored five points, and Christian Hunnicutt (Jonesboro, Ga.) grabbed three rebounds. Williams dished out three assists and scored six points.
A tight Florida State defense forced Wake Forest in 16 turnovers that the Seminoles converted into 17 points. FSU also had a 12-2 margin in points in the paint despite being out-rebounded 17-13. The Seminoles out-shot WFU 44.8 percent (13-of-29) to 33.3 percent (7-of-21), but five of Wake Forest's field goals were three pointers. FSU was also 5-of-6 at the free throw line.
Wake Forest went on a 12-6 run to start the second half and cut the lead to eight points (40-32). The Demon Deacons sliced it nine (45-36) but that's the closest they would get the rest of the night. From there, Florida State went on a 16-6 run to open up a 61-42 advantage on a Monroe jumper. A Freshour jumper pushed the margin to 20 (70-50) for the first time at the 4:06 mark. Monroe knocked down a pair of free throws with 36 second left for FSU's biggest margin of the game and the final score.
NO NAME GS MIN FGM FGA 3FGM 3FGA FTM FTA PTS OREB DREB REB PF AST TO BLK STL
== ==================== == === === === ==== ==== === === === ==== ==== === == === == === ===
4 Cayla Moore f 14 2 3 0 0 1 2 5 2 2 4 4 0 2 1 0
5 Christian Hunnicutt g 30 1 6 0 1 2 4 4 1 3 4 2 2 2 0 0
10 Mara Freshour g 37 6 9 4 6 2 2 18 0 1 1 0 1 3 0 0
12 Courtney Ward g 36 2 5 1 3 2 3 7 0 6 6 1 1 4 0 2
22 Shante Williams g 27 6 12 0 0 6 7 18 1 1 2 1 7 0 0 4
2 Alysha Harvin 28 6 8 1 2 1 1 14 0 2 2 1 0 3 0 0
15 Antionette Howard 16 1 4 0 1 0 0 2 0 1 1 1 0 2 0 1
50 Jacinta Monroe 12 3 3 0 0 6 8 12 1 4 5 3 0 1 2 1
Team 3 4 7
=========================================================================
FSU 5 200 27 50 6 13 20 27 80 8 24 32 13 11 17 3 8
Opp 200 17 53 11 24 9 13 54 12 19 31 20 14 20 3 6
| 1 | 2 | Total | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Wake Forest | |||
| Florida State |
Tremendous First-Half Defense Leads Florida State To 63-39 Win At Clemson.
Monroe produces double-double with 11 points and 10 rebounds; Davis-Cain scores 14 in her return.
CLEMSON, SC - With only eight players the previous nine games, the Florida State women's basketball team turned to the defensive end to the floor for its success. The return of two key players didn't stifle the Seminoles' defensive effort as they held Clemson to just nine points in the first half on their way to a 63-39 win over the Tigers on Sunday (January 20) at Littlejohn Coliseum.
Florida State got its first conference road victory of the year as it improved to 3-1 in the ACC, 13-6 overall. Clemson had its two-game ACC win streak halted to fall to 2-3 in the ACC, 9-11 overall.
"I thought we played really well on defense," FSU head coach Sue Semrau said. "Having Tanae Davis-Cain back in the line-up really sparked us in that way. I thought Cayla Moore played a fantastic game all around, especially the 11 rebounds. I thought we did a great job in the first half of cleaning the glass."
Leading the Seminoles in her first game back was guard Tanae Davis-Cain (Dawson, Ga.) with a game-high 14 points. Forward Jacinta Monroe (Ft. Lauderdale, Fla.) turned in her second double-double of the year with 11 points and 10 rebounds. Guard Mara Freshour (Nashville, Ind.) was the third Seminole in double figures at 11 as well.
Five different players grabbed five or more rebounds, led by forward Cayla Moore (Albany, Ga.) with a game-high 11, as Florida State out-rebounded Clemson 52-to-37. Shooting was the key to the game as the Seminoles held the Tigers to 21.4 percent (15-of-70), which kept the hosts out of their full-court press defense. Florida State shot 52.2 percent in the second half for an overall rate of 42.6 percent (23-of-54).
"Cayla just gave us so much," Semrau added. "She was a hustle player, she really pursued the basketball and was efficient when she had the ball inside; she scored on three out of four attempts."
Guards Shante Williams (Jacksonville, Fla.) and Courtney Ward (Montgomery, Ala.) dished out four assists each. Monroe had a trio of blocks and Moore had a pair. Despite turning the ball over six more times (22-16), FSU had a 16-10 advantage in points off turnovers. Florida State got 28 of its points in the paint.
Good defense by the Seminoles to start the game kept Clemson off the scoreboard for over three minutes. A pair of free throws and a lay-up by Davis-Cain staked Florida State to a 4-0 lead. FSU held the Tigers scoreless for another 3:33 that allowed it to push the margin to 13-5 on a lay-up by Cayla Moore at the 12:27 mark as five different players scored for the Seminoles during the run.
Clemson's cold shooting continued as it hit only two of its first 27 shots. Moore added another lay-up and Monroe hit the second of two free throws to give FSU a 16-5 advantage at the 9:25 mark. Despite playing great defense, the Seminoles couldn't translate it to the offensive end of the floor. Florida State went 3:30 itself without a basket before Harvin canned a three to establish a 19-5 lead.
A basket by Clemson's Whitney Hood made the score 21-9 with 4:21 remaining, but that would be the last points the hosts would score in the opening 20 minutes. The Seminoles went on a 9-0 run to end the half - 19 to 4 over the last 13 minutes - to take a 30-9 lead into the locker room. Monroe's jumper with 1:11 remaining pushed FSU's margin to 20 for the first time. The nine Tiger points in the first half are the lowest ever in a half. Their previous low had been 14 against North Carolina during the 1991 season.
Seven of the eight Seminoles that got into the half scored at least three points, led by seven from Harvin and five from Monroe. Monroe grabbed six rebounds and blocked two shots while Courtney Ward pulled in five. Williams had three assists.
Florida State's defense limited Clemson to just 11.4 (4-of-35) but the Seminoles weren't that much better at 35.5 percent (11-of-31). Florida State out-rebounded Clemson 30-to-21 and had nine points off nine Tiger turnovers. The Seminoles were dominant inside, scoring 14 points in the paint and rejecting five shots.
The second half started out very similar to the first with Freshour's three pointer giving the Seminoles their biggest lead of the game, 37-11, at the 16:49 mark. Clemson found its offensive rhythm and got the lead to 17 (41-24), but Freshour hit another three at the 10:47 mark to snap a 3:46 dry spell and get the lead back to 20, 44-24. An 8-0 run that was capped off by a Monroe jumper at the 5:46 mark pushed FSU's lead to 52-30 and erased any hope of a Tiger comeback.
NO NAME GS MIN FGM FGA 3FGM 3FGA FTM FTA PTS OREB DREB REB PF AST TO BLK STL
== ==================== == === === === ==== ==== === === === ==== ==== === == === == === ===
4 Cayla Moore f 19 3 4 0 0 0 2 6 3 8 11 1 1 1 2 1
10 Mara Freshour g 35 3 7 3 3 2 2 11 0 3 3 2 2 1 0 1
12 Courtney Ward g 27 0 6 0 4 0 0 0 0 5 5 1 4 3 1 1
20 Tanae Davis-Cain g 19 4 9 0 3 6 6 14 1 2 3 2 0 2 0 1
22 Shante Williams g 25 3 7 0 0 0 0 6 0 5 5 2 4 3 1 1
1 Angel Gray 2 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 1
2 Alysha Harvin 22 3 5 1 1 2 2 9 2 3 5 2 1 6 1 1
5 Christian Hunnicutt 21 2 5 1 2 1 1 6 0 3 3 1 2 2 0 0
15 Antionette Howard 4 0 1 0 1 0 0 0 0 1 1 1 1 0 0 0
50 Jacinta Monroe 26 5 10 0 0 1 4 11 1 9 10 3 0 2 3 1
Team 2 4 6 2
=========================================================================
FSU 5 200 23 54 5 14 12 17 63 9 43 52 15 15 22 8 8
Opp 200 15 70 3 19 6 10 39 15 22 37 13 10 16 4 13
| 1 | 2 | Total | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Florida State | |||
| Clemson |
Florida State Women's Basketball Prevails In Overtime 75-70 At Miami.
Jacinta Monroe scores 21 points in homecoming to South Florida.
CORAL GABLES, FL - Great defense by the Florida State women's basketball team in the extra period plus key missed free throws by Miami proved to be the difference as the Seminoles prevailed 75-70 in overtime against the Hurricanes on Thursday (January 24) at the BankUnited Center.
The Seminoles won their third game in a row and fifth-straight over Miami to improve to 14-6 overall, 4-1 in the conference. Miami dropped 8-12, 1-4 in the ACC.
"We all felt like we had to get the job done," FSU head coach Sue Semrau said. "I'm really proud of this team and we feel very fortunate to get out of here with a win. We talked that we've been hearing that overtime is our time and we decided that we would be the ones that would take on that mantra. I thought every player on the team stepped up in that overtime period."
In the overtime, the Seminoles grabbed the lead on a Mara Freshour (Nashville, Ind.) jumper at the 3:47 mark. Four missed free throws by the Hurricanes allowed FSU to grab a 71-68 advantage on a Tanae Davis-Cain (Dawson, Ga.) three pointer. Alysha Harvin (Dania, Fla.) got a basket on a three-on-one break to put FSU up 73-68. Miami scored to make it 73-70 and had a chance to tie but Florida State's defense forced Miami into a shot-clock violation. Freshour canned two free to seal the victory.
In a return to her home area, forward Jacinta Monroe (Ft. Lauderdale, Fla.) led all scorers with 21 points and grabbed a game-high eight rebounds. Three more Seminoles reached double figures with Freshour scoring 14 while Davis-Cain and Shante Williams (Jacksonville, Fla.) added 10 each.
One of the best all-around games was turned in by freshman guard Courtney Ward (Montgomery, Ala.). She scored nine points, dished out a career-high eight assists, nabbed four steals and four rebounds. Williams also had five assists and two steals. Monroe contributed four blocks shots.
The difference in the game was free throw shooting. The Seminoles hit 70.8 percent (17-of-24) to just 47.4 percent (9-of-19) by Miami, who was 2-of-6 in the overtime. FSU also held a 44.1 percent (26-of-59) to 39.7 percent (27-of-68) margin in shooting as well as 54.5 percent (6-of-11) to 35 percent (7-of-20) from behind the arc. The two teams tied with 41 rebounds with FSU getting 10 offensive boards in the second half and overtime.
"We have really locked in and said how important free throw shooting is to us being a better basketball team this year," Semrau added. "You've got players like Shante and Jacinta who have really improved at the free throw line and when they get up you know they're going to knock it down. What a big confidence boost that is."
Neither team started the second half well offensively as there were only three baskets scored in the first four minutes of the stanza. Maurita Reid scored the Hurricanes' first six points of the half to give UM its first lead, 37-36. Williams and Monroe hit a pair of free throws each to pull FSU to 40-41, but Hurricanes went on a 7-0 run to claim the game's biggest lead at 48-40 at the 11:56 mark.
Florida State buckled down on the defensive end of the floor and stopped Miami for four and a half minutes to take the lead. Monroe scored the first six points of a 9-0 run then Harvin made her first basket of the game with her three-pointer putting FSU up 49-48 with 7:45 to play.
The game would see-saw back and fourth the rest of the way. A reverse lay-up by Harvin put FSU up 54-51, but Miami came back to grab a 55-54 advantage. Williams hit the first of two free throws to tie the game and a minute later Monroe hit two more to even the score at 59-59. Monroe hit a jumper on FSU's next possession to regain the lead 61-59.
Reid nailed a three-pointer to Miami up 62-61 then Monroe hit the second of two tosses from the charity stripe to knot the game at 62. A lay-up by Carla Williams put Miami ahead 64-62. Off an in-bounds play to the side of the basket, Harvin took Ward's pass and laid it in to tie the game at 64-64 with 46 seconds remaining. The Hurricanes scored on an in-bound pass of their own to reclaim the lead then Williams hit an acrobatic lay-up with eight seconds remaining to send it to overtime.
The Seminoles got off to a fast start, scoring five points within the first minute of the game, but they went cold for nearly five minutes as the Hurricanes went on a 9-0 run to take a 9-5 lead. Freshour's second three pointer sparked another 5-0 FSU run with Monroe's jumper giving the Seminoles a 10-9 lead. Miami answered with a pair to recapture the advantage.
The lead would change hands five times before the Seminoles took advantage of a two-minute Hurricane slump to go on a 6-0 run and take a 24-19 advantage at the 5:29 mark on a pair of Davis-Cain free throws. Miami battled back with a 5-0 run during a two-minute FSU dry spell to tie the game at 27-27 with 4:02 remaining in the half. A baseline jumper by Monroe and a pair of Ward free throws with 1:15 left staked Florida State to a 32-31 halftime lead.
Nearly two-thirds of Florida State's first-half scoring came from three players. Freshour had eight points with Davis-Cain one back and Monroe at half a dozen. Monroe added four rebounds and four blocks. Ward and Williams handed out two assists each and Ward had a pair of steals.
The Seminoles played well on the defensive end of the floor, holding Miami to just 39.4 percent (13-of-33) shooting while hitting 48 percent (12-of-25) themselves. Both teams nailed a trio of three pointers with Florida State making three more free throws. Three FSU steals led to seven points off Miami turnovers and a 7-3 advantage in fast break points. Miami out-rebounded Florida State 21-17.
NO NAME GS MIN FGM FGA 3FGM 3FGA FTM FTA PTS OREB DREB REB PF AST TO BLK STL
== ==================== == === === === ==== ==== === === === ==== ==== === == === == === ===
2 Alysha Harvin g 27 4 7 1 2 0 0 9 2 3 5 3 0 2 0 1
4 Cayla Moore f 7 1 2 0 0 0 0 2 2 0 2 3 0 0 0 0
10 Mara Freshour g 39 5 7 2 2 2 2 14 2 2 4 1 1 4 0 1
20 Tanae Davis-Cain g 24 3 12 2 4 2 2 10 2 2 4 3 1 2 1 0
22 Shante Williams g 31 3 7 0 0 4 9 10 0 4 4 1 5 2 0 2
1 Angel Gray 7 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 2 2 0 0 0 0 0
5 Christian Hunnicutt 23 0 5 0 1 0 0 0 2 1 3 1 1 1 0 0
12 Courtney Ward 29 3 6 1 2 2 2 9 0 4 4 4 8 4 0 4
50 Jacinta Monroe 38 7 13 0 0 7 9 21 1 7 8 3 0 4 4 0
Team 2 3 5 2
=========================================================================
FSU 5 225 26 59 6 11 17 24 75 13 28 41 19 16 21 5 8
Opp 225 27 68 7 20 9 19 70 16 25 41 19 17 14 4 13
| 1 | 2 | OT | Total | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Florida State | ||||
| Miami |
Seminole Women's Basketball Falls 69-66 In Overtime To Virginia.
Four players score in double figures for FSU, led by 15 from Jacinta Monroe.
TALLAHASSEE, FL - For the second game in a row the Florida State women's basketball team needed five extra minutes to decide its Atlantic Coast Conference contest. Unfortunately, this time the Seminoles could not pull out the victory. Virginia shot perfect in the overtime to beat Florida State, 69-66, on Saturday (January 26) at the Donald L Tucker Center.
Florida State had its three-game winning streak, and four-game run over Virginia, snapped as it fell to 14-7 overall, 4-2 in the ACC. The Cavaliers improved to 15-5, 4-1 in the conference.
"I was proud of my team for the way we fought back," FSU head coach Sue Semrau said. "Credit Virginia, they hung in there when we went up five they came back and were able to tie the basketball game."
Four different players scored in double figures for the Seminoles, led by forward Jacinta Monroe (Ft. Lauderdale, Fla.) with 15 to go along with a team-high nine rebounds. Guard Mara Freshour (Nashville, Ind.) scored 14 points for the second game in a row while Tanae Davis-Cain (Dawson, Ga.) had 12 and Shante Williams (Jacksonville, Fla.) scored all 10 of her points in the second half.
The Cavaliers scored 46 points in the paint - a season-high for an FSU opponent - to help the visitors hold a 46.9 percent (30-of-64) to 35.9 percent (23-of-64) advantage from the floor. Virginia also out-rebounded Florida State 44-to-36 with Aisha Mohammed grabbing 21 boards. Florida State was sharp from the free throw line, hitting 72.7 percent (16-of-22).
Florida State overcame a 12-point second half deficit to push the game to overtime. In the extra frame, the two teams traded baskets with Mohammed's lay-up knotting the game at 64-64. A turnover and missed shot allowed Virginia to claim a 69-64 lead with 2:21 remaining. A jumper by Davis-Cain stopped a two-minute dry spell and pulled the Seminoles within three (69-66), but they missed their last three shots in the finale minute.
Down 34-22 just 26 seconds into the second half, Florida State battled back to cut the Virginia margin to one (43-42) on a Davis-Cain three pointer. The Cavaliers responded with an 8-1 run to take a 51-43 advantage, but the Seminoles answered with a run of their own. Six different players scored in a 13-0 run with Williams' lay-up giving FSU a 56-51 advantage. Virginia came back to tie the game and the two teams exchanged a pair of baskets to send the game to overtime.
It took Florida State a few minutes to find its offensive rhythm to start the game as they only made two baskets through the first four minutes and were down 4-8. Keyed by a lay-up and two free throws by Freshour, the Seminoles went on a 9-0 run to claim a 13-8 lead at the 13:55 mark. Unfortunately, the Seminoles would go cold for the next six and a half minutes without a basket. The Cavaliers would not play much better on offense as they could only muster a 13-16 advantage. Another Freshour jumper stopped the slide and started a 6-0 run that allowed the Seminoles to take a 19-16 advantage.
A Cayla Moore (Albany, Ga.) put back made it a 21-18 game with 4:51 remaining, but FSU would not score for another four and a half minutes. Virginia went on an 11-0 run during that stretch to open up a 29-21 lead. A free throw by Davis-Cain with 24 seconds remaining would be the Seminoles' lone point the last five minutes as Virginia took a 31-22 lead into the locker room.
The difference in the first half was the play inside as Virginia got 24 of its points in the paint, compared to just 12 for the Seminoles. As a result, the Seminoles were out-shot by Virginia 41.2 percent (14-of-34) to 25.8 percent (8-of-31). Both teams only made one three pointers and committed eight turnovers. Virginia held a 25-to-21 advantage on the boards. Leading the Seminoles offensively was Freshour with six points while Ward was a point back. Monroe had four points, five rebounds and three blocks. Williams dished out three assists.
NO NAME GS MIN FGM FGA 3FGM 3FGA FTM FTA PTS OREB DREB REB PF AST TO BLK STL
== ==================== == === === === ==== ==== === === === ==== ==== === == === == === ===
2 Alysha Harvin g 20 1 11 0 3 0 0 2 2 2 4 1 2 1 0 0
4 Cayla Moore f 16 1 1 0 0 2 2 4 3 1 4 4 0 0 1 0
10 Mara Freshour g 43 4 14 1 4 5 6 14 1 2 3 0 3 0 0 1
20 Tanae Davis-Cain g 39 3 13 2 7 4 6 12 4 2 6 1 0 1 1 3
22 Shante Williams g 33 4 10 0 0 2 2 10 0 1 1 3 3 5 0 1
5 Christian Hunnicutt 9 1 1 0 0 0 1 2 0 0 0 0 1 1 0 0
12 Courtney Ward 34 2 5 1 3 2 2 7 0 4 4 1 1 3 0 0
15 Antionette Howard 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0
50 Jacinta Monroe 31 7 9 0 0 1 3 15 2 7 9 4 0 3 4 1
Team 2 3 5
=========================================================================
FSU 5 225 23 64 4 17 16 22 66 14 22 36 14 10 14 6 6
Opp 225 30 64 5 15 4 9 69 15 29 44 22 13 21 3 7
| 1 | 2 | OT | Total | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Virginia | ||||
| Florida State |
Seminole Women's Basketball Drops 83-73 Decision At Georgia Tech.
Davis-Cain reaches double-digits for ninth-straight game with career-high 28 points.
ATLANTA, GA - An eight-minute stretch without a basket to start the second half spoiled an otherwise solid offensive showing by the Florida State women's basketball team in its Atlantic Coast Conference affair at Georgia Tech. Unfortunately, that second-half dry spell was the difference as the Seminoles dropped a 83-73 decision to the Yellow Jackets on Sunday (February 3) at the Alexander Memorial Coliseum.
The Seminoles had their three-game winning streak over Georgia Tech snapped as they fell to 14-7 overall, 4-3 in the ACC. The Yellow Jackets improved to 18-4 overall, 5-3 in the conference.
"I thought a couple of our young freshmen came in and really sparked us," FSU head coach Sue Semrau said. "Otherwise I don't think we got the effort we needed from any player on the bench or on the court. I could give you any number of reasons why that happened, but it was inexcusable."
Leading the team with her ninth game in double figures in a row was junior Tanae Davis-Cain (Dawson, Ga.) as she put up a career-high 28 points on a personal-best six three-pointes. Following her was sophomore Alysha Harvin (Dania, Fla.) with 13 points and forward Jacinta Monroe (Ft. Lauderdale, Fla.) added 12.
Monroe also grabbed a team-high seven rebounds. Guard Shante Williams (Jacksonville, Fla.) issued a team-high four assists while Courtney Ward (Montgomery, Ala.) and Mara Freshour (Nashville, Ind.) handed out three each.
An impressive first half from the floor led the Seminoles to a 50 percent (23-of-46) to 45.3 percent (29-of-64) advantage in shooting. Florida State was nearly automatic from free throw line, hitting 78.3 percent (18-of-23). The Seminoles were also sharp from three-point range, nailing 52.9 percent (9-of-17).
After Harvin made the first basket of the game just 15 seconds into the contest, the Seminoles went more than two minutes with out a point. That allowed Georgia Tech to go on a 8-0 run to claim an 8-3 advantage. The Yellow Jackets stretched their lead to seven (10-3), but the Seminoles turned the tide by playing strong defense to pull even.
Harvin nailed a pair of three pointers and Davis-Cain knocked down two herself to even the game at 15-15 with 12:55 remaining. Florida State would go on a 7-3 run with Monroe's lay up at the 11:21 mark giving the Seminoles a 22-18 advantage. The Yellow Jackets went on a 5-0 run of their own to claim a 23-22 advantage with 10:24 to play.
The two teams would trade baskets over the next eight minutes. Georgia Tech went on a 7-0 to grab a 35-31 advantage at the 4:56 mark, but rookies Courtney Ward and Christian Hunnicutt (Jonesboro, Ga.) each nailed a pair of free throws to knot the game at 35-35. A Ward jump with 2:42 remaining tied the game at 37, but the Seminoles would only get two points the rest of the way as Georgia Tech took a 44-39 advantage into the intermission.
Leading all scorers in the first half was Davis-Cain as she poured in 15 points, including a trio of three pointers. Harvin was next with 11 points while Monroe added six. Williams dished out four assists and Mara Freshour was the leading rebounder with three.
Both teams were blazing from the field in the first half with Florida State holding a 64.7 percent (11-of-17) to 51.5 percent (17-of-33), but the difference was Georgia Tech made as many field goals as Florida State took. The Seminoles shot 85.7 percent from the line (12-of-14) and a first-half season-high 71.4 percent (5-of-7) from behind the arc.
The two teams grabbed 11 rebounds, but six of Georgia Tech's came on the offensive glass. FSU had 15 turnovers - eight coming from Yellow Jacket steals - to Georgia Tech's 10, but the Seminoles actually got more points off turnovers, 13-8. The Yellow Jackets had an 18-10 margin in points in the paint.
Similar to the start of the game, the Seminoles got the first points of the half, only to let Georgia Tech respond with a run. Following a pair of Freshour free throws at 19:13, the Yellow Jackets went on a 17-0 run over the next 8:17 to open up a 61-41 lead. Florida State would get as close as seven twice during the last two and half minutes, including 80-73 at the 1:15 mark on a Harvin lay-up, but it could not complete the comeback.
NO NAME GS MIN FGM FGA 3FGM 3FGA FTM FTA PTS OREB DREB REB PF AST TO BLK STL
== ==================== == === === === ==== ==== === === === ==== ==== === == === == === ===
2 Alysha Harvin g 27 4 8 2 4 3 4 13 1 2 3 3 0 4 1 0
4 Cayla Moore f 7 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 2 0 0 0 0
10 Mara Freshour g 36 2 4 0 1 3 4 7 2 2 4 1 3 1 0 0
12 Courtney Ward g 18 1 4 0 1 2 2 4 0 0 0 4 3 6 0 0
22 Shante Williams g 19 0 2 0 0 0 0 0 0 1 1 2 4 5 0 1
1 Angel Gray 6 0 1 0 1 0 0 0 0 2 2 0 0 3 0 0
5 Christian Hunnicutt 18 2 4 1 1 3 3 8 1 1 2 0 0 3 0 1
15 Antionette Howard 5 0 2 0 0 1 2 1 1 2 3 2 0 1 0 0
20 Tanae Davis-Cain 30 9 15 6 9 4 5 28 1 3 4 5 2 3 0 2
50 Jacinta Monroe 34 5 6 0 0 2 3 12 1 8 9 2 0 2 2 2
Team 1 1 2
=========================================================================
FSU 5 200 23 46 9 17 18 23 73 8 22 30 21 12 28 3 6
Opp 200 29 64 5 18 20 27 83 17 17 34 20 12 18 2 17
| 1 | 2 | Total | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Florida State | |||
| Georgia Tech |
Late Surge Propels Seminole Women's Basketball to 57-54 Victory Over NC State.
Tanae Davis-Cain scores 15 second-half points for a team-high 17.
TALLAHASSEE, FL - For the first 35 minutes of its Atlantic Coast Conference game with NC State, the Florida State women's basketball team couldn't establish anything more than a three-point lead. Then in the last five minutes the Seminoles jumped out to a nine-point advantage it would hold on to the rest of the way for the 57-54 victory over the Wolfpack on Thursday (February 7) at the Donald L. Tucker Center.
Florida State snapped its two game losing streak as it improved to 15-8 overall and 5-3 in the ACC. The win also stopped a three-game slide against NC State, who dropped to 14-9, 2-6 in the league.
"This was a huge win for our team," FSU head coach Sue Semrau said. "It was a huge team effort and a great win for us. We were as tight as tight could be in the first half, everybody knew how big this game was for us. For us to step up to the line with confidence, especially with the way we shot in the first half, was huge."
Leading all scorers with 17 points was guard Tanae Davis-Cain (Dawson, Ga.) who got 15 of her points in the second half. Next up was guard Shante Williams (Jacksonville, Fla.) with 10 points while Mara Freshour (Nashville, Ind.) added nine. Williams also had four steals while Freshour was one of two players with two assists.
Every player on the team had at least one rebound, led by rookie Christian Hunnicutt (Jonesboro, Ga.) with a career-high seven. Freshour and forward Jacinta Monroe (Ft. Lauderdale, Fla.) grabbed six each. Monroe was strong on the defensive end of the floor, blocking six shots.
"The effort our team had on (Khadijah) Whittington with very little prep time to put some new things in, I thought they did a fantastic job," Semrau added. "I have to complement Cayla Moore and Jacinta Monroe for taking away her strength. She loves to go over that right shoulder. To always be there and not have any lack of focus was really big."
Both teams played good defense as FSU held a slight 35 percent (21-of-60) to 31.1 percent (19-of-61) shooting from the floor. Second-half free throw shooting was a determining factor as FSU was 10-for-10 at the stripe as part of its 13-of-19 (68.4 percent). Florida State forced 21 NC State turnovers, which it converted to 20 points. FSU also had a 32-to-18 advantage in points in the paint. NCSU out-rebounded the Seminoles 47-40.
Coming out of the break, the two teams battled back and fourth with six ties in the first 12 minutes as neither team could get control of the game. Tied at 38-38 with 8:23 remaining, the Seminoles went on an 11-2 run to capture a 49-40 lead on a Cayla Moore (Albany, Ga.) lay-up with 3:40 remaining. Nine of the 11 points in the run came from Davis-Cain and Moore.
Over the next two minutes NC State sliced the lead to three with an 8-2 run. The visitors got the margin down to one (53-52) with 37 seconds left, then Freshour knocked down a pair of free throws to extend the lead to 55-52. On NC State's ensuing possession, Niktta Gartrell appeared to have an open shot at a three-pointer that would have tied the game when Hunnicutt swooped in and blocked the shot. The Wolfpack missed two shots before Hunnicutt came up with a rebound and sealed the victory with a pair of free throws.
Against the conference's top defensive team - NC State came into the game giving up an ACC-low 55.8 points per game the Seminoles got off to a slow start offensively. A jumper and three pointer by Courtney Ward (Montgomery, Ala.) accounted for all but one of FSU's points for the first eight minutes. To the Seminoles' credit, they played equally as good a defense and limited NC State two just 10 points in the opening 12 minutes.
Florida State got its first lead since the first minute of the game on a jumper by Williams at the 5:19 mark to stake FSU to a 15-13 advantage. The Seminoles would hold on to the lead for the next two minutes until NC State finished the half on a 9-2 run to take a 22-20 advantage into locker room.
The only Seminole to make more than one basket - and one of only three players in the game - was Williams with four points. Monroe had a great half on the defensive end of the court, grabbing five defensive rebounds - as part of her six total - to go along with three blocked shots. Williams was also good on defense, nabbing a trio of steals.
NO NAME GS MIN FGM FGA 3FGM 3FGA FTM FTA PTS OREB DREB REB PF AST TO BLK STL
== ==================== == === === === ==== ==== === === === ==== ==== === == === == === ===
10 Mara Freshour g 37 2 6 0 2 5 6 9 2 4 6 3 2 0 0 0
12 Courtney Ward g 25 1 2 1 2 1 2 4 1 2 3 1 2 4 0 0
20 Tanae Davis-Cain g 27 7 17 1 7 2 2 17 1 1 2 2 0 2 0 0
22 Shante Williams g 30 4 13 0 1 2 4 10 0 4 4 1 1 3 1 4
50 Jacinta Monroe f 23 2 9 0 0 0 2 4 1 5 6 4 0 1 6 0
2 Alysha Harvin 10 1 4 0 2 0 0 2 0 1 1 2 0 0 0 0
4 Cayla Moore 14 3 4 0 0 0 0 6 0 3 3 3 0 2 0 1
5 Christian Hunnicutt 29 0 3 0 2 2 2 2 3 4 7 2 0 1 1 1
15 Antionette Howard 5 1 2 0 0 1 1 3 1 1 2 0 0 1 0 0
Team 2 4 6
=========================================================================
FSU 5 200 21 60 2 16 13 19 57 11 29 40 18 5 14 8 6
Opp 200 19 61 4 13 12 17 54 17 30 47 19 7 21 2 7
| 1 | 2 | Total | |
|---|---|---|---|
| North Carolina State | |||
| Florida State |
Seminoles Women Basketball Falls on the Road 77-58 At Virginia.
Davis-Cain goes over 20 points for the second time in three games with 21.
CHARLOTTESVILLE, VA - An eight-minute stretch in the second half with just five points turned a close game into a tough loss for the Florida State women's basketball team. The Seminoles were down by a pair to Virginia at the 15:29 marking but over the next eight minutes the Cavaliers went on a 16-2 run to hand the Seminoles a 52-77 loss on Sunday (February 10) at John Paul Jones Arena.
Florida State was swept by Virginia for the first time in three years as the Seminoles dropped to 15-9 overall, 5-4 in the conference. Virginia held on to fourth place in the ACC as it improved to 18-7, 6-2 in the league.
Leading the team with 21 points was guard Tanae Davis-Cain (Dawson, Ga.) at 21 as she went over the 20-point plateau for the second time in three contests. Nearly half of her points came on a career-high 9-of-10 from the free throw line. Joining her in double figures was guard Mara Freshour (Nashville, Ind.) with 15 points. Shante Williams (Jacksonville, Fla.) was one point shy with nine markers.
Five different players grabbed four or more rebounds, led by Davis-Cain with seven. She also had a career-high four assists and a career-high tying four steals.
After a great first half of shooting, Florida State was cold from the field in the second half, shooting 20.7 percent, which allowed Virginia to have a 40.9 percent (27-of-66) to 34 percent (18-of-53) advantage. The Cavaliers also held a 41-to-39 margin on the boards. The two teams were nearly identical from the line with the Seminoles getting a slight advantage at 70.8 percent (17-of-24) to 69 percent (20-of-29).
Second-half turnovers by the Seminoles helped Virginia go on its run as Florida State committed 14 miscues in the final 20 minutes that Virginia converted to 15 points for a 24-to-15 margin in points off turnovers. The host also had a 44-to-14 margin for points in the paint, including 30-4 in the second half.
"I thought we did an excellent job of defending them in their half-court sets," Freshour said. "We really locked down in the half court, but it was just transition, transition, transition that really took the wind out of our sails,"
Florida State got off to a start as it ran out to a 9-0 lead on a Williams' jumper from just inside the three-point line. The Seminoles played strong defense, holding Virginia off the scoreboard for nearly the first three and half minutes. A seven-minute Florida State drought with only one basket allowed the Cavaliers to get back in the game. Virginia would get the margin to one (10-9) but Jacinta Monroe (Ft. Lauderdale, Fla.) hit back-to-back jumpers to give the Seminoles a five-point advantage (14-9) with 9:30 remaining.
"We really executed our game plan," Freshour said of the Seminoles' fast start. "They got a few times in the transition. Our goal was to rebound and keep them out of their transition game. We had some great execution at the offensive end that helped go into the locker room on top. We just didn't' have that same execution at the start of the second half."
The hosts went 9-0 run during a three-minute Florida State scoreless streak to claim a 23-18 lead. The run was fueled by six Virginia free throws. Davis-Cain knocked down three free throws to stop the drought and get FSU back to within two (23-21). Virginia opened a 28-23 advantage with 2:30 remaining, but Florida State got the defense stops it needed to take the lead back. Freshour virtually brought the Seminoles back herself, hitting two free throws, a three pointer and a jumper at the buzzer that gave FSU a 32-31 advantage going into the break.
Thanks to its defense, Florida State held a 50 percent (12-of-24) to 29 percent (9-of-31) advantage in shooting. Both teams hit a pair of three pointers with Virginia neutralizing FSU's shooting advantage by hitting more free throws (11) than the Seminoles took (nine).
The Cavaliers had a 20-17 advantage on the boards with all 17 of Florida State's coming on the defensive glass. Florida State committed 14 turnovers, but also had seven steals for an 11-9 advantage in points off turnovers. UVA had a 14-10 margin in points in the paint.
Leading all scorers in the first half with 12 points was Davis-Cain with Freshour just a point back as they accounted for 72 percent of FSU's first-half scoring. All but two players grabbed at least one rebound with Williams snagging three. Davis-Cain had a trio of assists and steals.
"It's always a downer for the opposing team when the other hits a big shot right before half time," Freshour noted. "That was really good for us to take some momentum into the locker room. Unfortunately, we just didn't come out of the locker room with that same momentum."
Just like in the first meeting of the year, Virginia got off to a hot start in the second half as it went on a 7-0 stretch to take a 38-32 lead. The Seminoles would get the margin back to two (42-40) on a Freshour jumper at the 15:29 mark, but Virginia would push the lead back to six for the next three minutes and extend it to double digits for the first time at 54-44 with just over 10 minutes remaining. The Cavaliers would push their lead to as many as 21 with the Seminoles getting it down to 14.
NO NAME GS MIN FGM FGA 3FGM 3FGA FTM FTA PTS OREB DREB REB PF AST TO BLK STL
== ==================== == === === === ==== ==== === === === ==== ==== === == === == === ===
10 Mara Freshour g 37 5 11 1 4 4 4 15 1 3 4 1 1 3 0 0
12 Courtney Ward g 19 1 3 0 1 0 0 2 1 3 4 2 1 5 0 1
20 Tanae Davis-Cain g 37 5 19 2 7 9 10 21 3 4 7 3 4 5 0 4
22 Shante Williams g 31 4 9 1 1 0 0 9 0 3 3 4 1 5 1 1
50 Jacinta Monroe f 20 2 4 0 0 1 3 5 0 5 5 4 0 2 1 2
1 Angel Gray 2 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 2 0 0
2 Alysha Harvin 9 1 2 1 1 0 0 3 0 3 3 4 0 3 0 0
4 Cayla Moore 20 0 1 0 0 1 2 1 2 3 5 5 1 2 0 0
5 Christian Hunnicutt 20 0 4 0 2 2 5 2 1 3 4 0 0 1 1 1
15 Antionette Howard 5 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0
Team 2 2 4
=========================================================================
FSU 5 200 18 53 5 16 17 24 58 10 29 39 23 8 28 3 9
Opp 200 27 66 3 13 20 29 77 13 28 41 20 17 20 1 9
| 1 | 2 | Total | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Florida State | |||
| Virginia |
No. 3 North Carolina Tops Florida State, 97-77.
Davis-Cain leads the Seminoles with 25 points.
CHAPEL HILL, NC - Even with a 30-point lead, Erlana Larkins showed there is no let-up in the third-ranked North Carolina Tar Heels as she crashed into press row in pursuit of a turnover.
Larkins had 18 points, eight rebounds, seven assists and six steals to lead North Carolina to a 97-77 win over Florida State on Sunday to remain unbeaten in the Atlantic Coast Conference.
"As a team, we're just trying to work on execution and closing games when we're up," said Larkins, who had 18 points, eight rebounds, seven assists and six steals. "And also, (we're) trying to keep Coach (Sylvia) Hatchell off our backs.
"She likes to say, 'Intensity for 40 minutes.' So it's good for her to see me with a 25-point lead, as a starter, diving across the table. I think other people feed off of that."
Hatchell still saw room for improvement for her Tar Heels.
"I thought at times we did some good things there, but we were a little bit fatigued," Hatchell said. "It's a good team effort. Everybody got to play a good bit."
Rashanda McCants added 18 points and Cetera DeGraffenreid contributed 15 for the Tar Heels (24-2, 11-0 Atlantic Coast Conference), who controlled the game after the Seminoles' Jacinta Monroe scored the first basket.
North Carolina went on a 13-0 run and cruised the rest of the way. The only suspense was a search for DeGraffenreid's contact lens, which she had dislodged late in the first half. With three teammates searching for it on the floor, DeGraffenreid found it in her eye. She took it out and, playing with one contact, hit the back end of a two-shot foul to help the Tar Heels take a 48-32 halftime lead.
With North Carolina holding an 85-55 lead with 6:24 left, Larkins dived for a ball and wiped out a table and chairs on press row. She emerged unharmed and wearing a sheepish grin. While Larkins appeared unscathed, some Tar Heels left the game banged up.
McCants left the game with a bruised shin and the Tar Heels' LaToya Pringle injured her hand. Hatchell didn't have an update on Pringle, other than she would be getting x-rays.
The large lead did allow Hatchell to give freshman backup point guard Italee Lucas more playing time to prepare her for stretch run in the ACC.
Tanae Davis-Cain led the Seminoles (15-10, 5-5) with 25 points. Florida State has been plagued by suspensions and injuries to its starters, but coach Sue Semrau said the team feels that it is ready for the remainder of the regular season.
Now we know what we have," Semrau said. "We've known for the last five or six games. We're really coming together. You know, it's tough to be a team that's only been together for five or six games and go on the road in the ACC."
NO NAME GS MIN FGM FGA 3FGM 3FGA FTM FTA PTS OREB DREB REB PF AST TO BLK STL
== ==================== == === === === ==== ==== === === === ==== ==== === == === == === ===
10 Mara Freshour g 24 3 7 1 1 0 0 7 4 1 5 2 3 5 0 0
12 Courtney Ward g 18 1 3 0 1 0 3 2 0 1 1 4 3 5 0 0
20 Tanae Davis-Cain g 29 11 20 3 8 0 3 25 3 4 7 4 1 2 0 3
22 Shante Williams g 20 3 7 0 0 0 0 6 2 2 4 4 7 5 0 0
50 Jacinta Monroe f 26 1 2 0 1 2 2 4 0 1 1 3 0 1 2 1
1 Angel Gray 15 0 2 0 2 2 2 2 0 0 0 1 1 1 0 3
2 Alysha Harvin 12 0 3 0 2 8 10 8 2 2 4 3 0 2 1 0
4 Cayla Moore 19 2 5 0 0 0 0 4 2 1 3 4 0 2 0 1
5 Christian Hunnicutt 25 5 10 0 1 1 1 11 1 1 2 1 1 3 0 0
15 Antionette Howard 12 3 7 0 0 2 5 8 1 1 2 2 0 2 0 3
Team 3 2 5 1
=========================================================================
FSU 5 200 29 66 4 16 15 26 77 18 16 34 28 16 29 3 11
Opp 200 34 65 3 12 26 38 97 17 26 43 22 17 23 5 12
| 1 | 2 | Total | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Florida State | |||
| North Carolina |
Seminole Women's Basketball Takes Over Fifth Seed In ACC With 71-65 Win Over BC.
Four players reach double figures, led by Davis-Cain with 20 points.
TALLAHASSEE, FL - Facing a nearly must-win game to keep its hopes of getting the fifth seed in the ACC Tournament and a bid to the NCAA Tournament, the Florida State women's basketball team was happy to be back at the Donald L. Tucker. The Seminoles used a scoring spurt at the end of the first half to grab the lead then held on in the second half for the 71-65 victory over Boston College on Thursday (February 21).
The Seminoles snapped a two-game losing streak to improve to 16-10 on the year and 6-5 in the ACC. FSU moved a half game ahead of Boston College for fifth place in the league as the Eagles dropped to 18-9 overall, 6-6 in the conference.
"I'm proud of our basketball team," FSU head coach Sue Semrau said. "This keeps us in the hunt for what we want to do which is go to the NCAA Tournament. I thought it was a great team effort with Cint (Jacinta Monroe) going out with the ankle injury and Cayla (Moore) going out with fouls. We cut our turnovers down. I think this team is starting to get comfortable with playing together and who we are."
Crossing the 20-point plateau for the third game in a row was guard Tanae Davis-Cain (Dawson, Ga.) with 20 points. Four Seminoles scored in double figures with Mara Freshour (Nashville, Ind.) at 14 markers while Alysha Harvin (Dania, Fla.) tossed in 11 and Shante Williams (Jacksonville, Fla.) had 10.
All but one Seminole had at least one rebound and five different players grabbed four or more led by Jacinta Monroe (Ft. Lauderdale, Fla.) with a half dozen. She also scored nine points and had four blocks. The four swats moved her up to number two on the FSU single-season charts at 68. Williams had four assists.
Helping the Seminoles hang on in the second half was their free throw shooting. The charity stripe was the difference in the game as Florida State hit 18-of-28 (64.3 percent) to Boston College's 9-of-15 (60 percent).
The Seminoles hit 70.6 percent in the second half and upped their field goal percentage to 47.6 percent. For the game, FSU shot 44.4 percent (24-of-54) from the field to the Eagles' 49.1 percent (26-of-53). Florida State out-rebounded the Eagles' 33-to-31, including 14 on the offensive glass. After 25 plus turnovers in three of their last four games, the Seminoles limited themselves to just 15 turnovers against Boston College.
"I think it was the first step in that," Semrau said on getting to the NCAA Tournament. "We were middle of the pack, five losses, we couldn't afford to have a home loss and we still can't afford that. I do believe with everything we've been through if we take care of what we have at home and play our best basketball in the ACC Tournament that we'll be an NCAA Tournament team."
After the two teams traded buckets to start the game, the Seminoles went nearly four minutes with only one basket and that allowed Boston College to go on an 11-3 run to give the visitors a 19-8 lead. Florida State fought back with an 11-2 run of its own that included a trio of basket by Davis-Cain. A three-pointer by Courtney Ward (Montgomery, Ala.) tied the game at 20-20 with 9:50 remaining in the half and Harvin made a jumper to give the Seminoles their first lead since the first minute play.
The host's lead would hover around three points until the Seminoles ended the first half on an offensive flurry. Florida State held Boston College to just one basket the last six minutes of the first half and went on a 12-2 spurt to close the half with a 39-28 lead. Davis-Cain and Harvin scored 10 of the points during the run, including a three-pointer by Davis-Cain at the buzzer.
Leading all scorers with 16 points in the first 20 minutes was Davis-Cain while Harvin was next at 10 points. Davis-Cain also led the team with four boards while Williams handed out three assists. Monroe had a trio of blocks in just six minutes.
The Seminoles were very accurate from behind the three-point line as they hit 5-of-12 (41.7 percent) compared to just 28.6 percent (2-of-7) by BC. FSU held a 19-to-15 advantage on the boards, including 10 offensive rebounds, and committed five fewer turnovers. The Eagles held a 48 percent (12-of-25) to 42.4 percent (14-of-33) advantage in shooting.
"I have to talk about our leadership and our captains Shante, Tanae and Mara," Semrau added. "You look in their face and you know they've got it under control. They know what it takes in that situation to come back or hold the lead. When we had that 11-point lead and they cut it to six, they were the ones who were saying `Let's go and get it done.' I thought they did a great job creating energy coming into the game."
Out of the half, Boston College quickly got back in the game as it cut Florida State's margin to five (39-34) just 1:17 into the second stanza. The Seminoles halted the Eagles' momentum and push the margin back to 10 (47-37) on a Monroe lay-up at the 15:30 mark.
A jumper by Corey Rusin with 10:10 to play slice the Seminoles' lead to one (49-48) and BC would pull even (51-51) with 8:07 remaining. Florida State responded by going on a 7-1 run that was fueled by a pair of free throws from Freshour and Williams. The Eagles were within four (67-63) with 27 second remaining, but the Seminoles canned four free throws down the stretch to hold onto the victory.
NO NAME GS MIN FGM FGA 3FGM 3FGA FTM FTA PTS OREB DREB REB PF AST TO BLK STL
== ==================== == === === === ==== ==== === === === ==== ==== === == === == === ===
5 Christian Hunnicutt g 19 0 1 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 1 0 0 0 1
10 Mara Freshour g 34 3 11 1 4 7 7 14 3 2 5 0 1 0 0 2
20 Tanae Davis-Cain g 36 9 15 2 4 0 0 20 2 2 4 3 1 3 0 0
22 Shante Williams g 27 3 6 0 1 4 6 10 0 4 4 3 4 4 0 1
50 Jacinta Monroe f 21 4 4 0 0 1 4 9 2 4 6 3 0 0 4 1
1 Angel Gray 5 0 0 0 0 2 2 2 2 0 2 0 0 0 0 0
2 Alysha Harvin 20 3 7 1 2 4 5 11 1 3 4 0 2 1 0 2
4 Cayla Moore 13 1 3 0 0 0 4 2 2 0 2 5 0 3 0 2
12 Courtney Ward 23 1 6 1 3 0 0 3 2 1 3 2 2 2 0 0
15 Antionette Howard 2 0 1 0 0 0 0 0 0 1 1 0 0 2 0 0
Team 2 2
=========================================================================
FSU 5 200 24 54 5 14 18 28 71 14 19 33 17 10 15 4 9
Opp 200 26 53 4 13 9 15 65 10 21 31 25 16 18 1 7
| 1 | 2 | Total | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Boston College | |||
| Florida State |
FSU Women's Basketball Can't Overcome Free Throw Discrepancy, Drops 92-84 Heartbreaker to No. 4 Terps.
Senior Shante Williams scores 14 points to go over the 1,000-point mark for her career.
COLLEGE PARK, MD - On a day when all the emotional momentum was with fourth-ranked Maryland on its senior day, the Florida State women's basketball team almost gave the fourth-ranked Terrapins tears for different reason. The Seminoles had an eight-point lead with under three minutes remaining, but they couldn't hold on for the upset as they fell, 92-84, in overtime on Sunday (February 24).
The loss dropped Florida State to 16-11 on the year and 6-6 in the ACC. Maryland improved to 28-2 overall, 12-1 in the conference. The game was played in front of 16,135 fans at the Comcast Center, which is the fourth-largest crowd for a women's game in ACC history.
"I'm extremely proud of my team," Florida State head coach Sue Semrau said. "We've been through an interesting bout of adversity this year. This is the eighth game we've played with the same group of kids. I think we'd be a little better if we had the same group the entire year. I'm proud of the way we competed."
A jumper by Mara Freshour (Nashville, Ind.) gave Florida State a 73-65 lead with 2:59 remaining. Maryland outscored the Seminoles 11-3 the rest of regulation - including five free throws - to push the game into overtime. After Maryland tied the game at 76-76 with just four seconds left, Shante Williams' (Jacksonville, Fla.) game-winning attempt bounced off the back rim. FSU grabbed a quick lead in the extra period on a Freshour three-pointer, however Maryland went on a 7-1 run to take the lead and went to the free throw line 10 times in the overtime to seal the victory.
"We were playing tentative," Semrau said of the last three minutes. "We had two starters on the bench who had fouled out and three more on the floor with four fouls. It's pretty difficult to play at the same level of defensive intensity. In that situation I thought we backed off a bit and gave them the opportunity to get that final shot that put it into overtime."
The free throw line was the biggest difference in the game. Florida State was whistled for 27 fouls - compared to 19 by Maryland - which allowed the Terrapins to shoot 27-of-38 from the stripe. The 27 made free throws are the most by an FSU opponent this year while FSU's 27 fouls and Maryland's 38 attempts are the second most. Maryland got 25 of its 60 points in the second half and overtime from the line.
Lost in the tough defeat was a milestone for the senior guard Williams. Her lay-up at the 14:20 mark was her sixth point of the day and gave her 1,000 for her career. The school's all-time leader in assists, she is the 21st player in school history to reach 1,000 points. Williams scored 14 points to finish the game with 1,008.
Williams was one of five players in double figures for the Seminoles, who were led by Freshour with 23. Forward Jacinta Monroe (Ft. Lauderdale, Fla.) added 12 points and Alysha Harvin (Dania, Fla.) poured in 12. Topping double-digits for the 14th game in a row was guard Tanae Davis-Cain (Dawson, Ga.) with a dozen to go along with a team-high seven rebounds and four steals. Rookie Courtney Ward (Montgomery, Ala.) had six assists while classmate Christian Hunnicutt (Jonesboro, Ga.) added four helpers.
Maryland's free throw discrepancy offset a tremendous effort on the defensive end by FSU. It forced Maryland into 26 turnovers that Florida State converted into 30 points. On the offensive end of the floor, the Seminoles committed a season-low seven turnovers. The Terrapins boasted a 51-to-30 advantage in rebounding as well as a big margin in shooting: 56.6 percent (30-of-53) to 39.2 percent (31-of-79).
As has been the case on the road, Florida State was sluggish to start the second half. Maryland went on a 17-7 run over the first 4:47 of the second half to take a 49-36 advantage. Unlike those previous games, the Seminoles stayed resilient and went on a 12-0 run of their own. Davis-Cain got a lay-up off a steal then knocked down a jumper to give the Seminoles a 50-49 lead at the 12:48 mark.
The game was close until 4:58 remaining when a Williams' jumper ignited a 6-0 run by the Seminoles that gave them a 71-63 lead on a Davis-Cain jumper at the 4:08 mark. Unfortunately, that would be the last two points the second-leading scorer in ACC games would contribute as she was soon whistled for fifth foul.
Freshour hit the jumper at the 2:59 mark, but that would be Florida State's last field goal of regulation. FSU only got two shots off the rest of the way while Maryland was 5-of-6 at the line and Marissa Coleman hit a lay-up with four seconds remaining to send the game into overtime. At the start of the game it took both teams a few minutes to find their offensive rhythm as there were only six points scored through the first three minutes of play. Maryland went on a 7-0 run to take a 7-3 lead, but Williams hit two jumpers and Freshour capped off a 9-0 run with a three-pointer to put FSU ahead 12-7 at the 13:29 mark.
Maryland would go on a 5-0 stretch to tie the game and eventually got the lead at 16-14 with 9:57 remaining. From there the two teams would battle back and fourth the rest of the half. Florida State got the lead back, 23-22, on a Harvin three-pointer at the 4:56 mark. The next five minutes featured four lead changes and two ties with Maryland grabbing a brief four point lead, 32-28, before Freshour threw in a three-point right before the half to make it 32-31 in favor of Maryland going into the break.
Offsetting Maryland's big shooting advantage - the Terrapins out-shot FSU 53.8 percent (14-of-26) to 31.6 percent (12-of-38) - was the Seminoles' ability to take advantage of UM miscues. Florida State got 17 points off 16 Maryland turnovers while the hosts only got six from FSU's first-half season-low three turnovers. Maryland out-rebounded FSU 26-to-16 while Florida State hit four three pointers compared two just a pair for the Terps.
The three-pointer at the buzzer pushed Freshour to the team lead with nine points in the first half. All but one player who got into the game scored at least two points. Pulling in a team-high give rebounds and grabbing two steals was Davis-Cain. Hunnicutt and Ward had two assists each.
NO NAME GS MIN FGM FGA 3FGM 3FGA FTM FTA PTS OREB DREB REB PF AST TO BLK STL
== ==================== == === === === ==== ==== === === === ==== ==== === == === == === ===
4 Cayla Moore f 22 2 4 0 0 0 0 4 1 0 1 5 0 0 0 0
5 Christian Hunnicutt g 25 1 3 1 2 0 0 3 1 1 2 2 4 0 0 0
10 Mara Freshour g 40 7 20 5 11 4 6 23 2 2 4 4 1 1 0 0
20 Tanae Davis-Cain g 33 6 16 0 5 0 0 12 2 5 7 5 0 1 0 4
22 Shante Williams g 31 6 16 0 1 2 4 14 1 2 3 1 1 2 0 0
1 Angel Gray 8 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 1 1 2 0 1 0 0 0
2 Alysha Harvin 20 2 7 1 1 6 8 11 2 2 4 2 2 0 0 2
12 Courtney Ward 26 2 7 1 6 0 0 5 1 1 2 4 6 3 0 0
50 Jacinta Monroe 20 5 6 0 0 2 2 12 0 4 4 4 0 0 0 0
Team 1 1
=========================================================================
FSU 5 225 31 79 8 26 14 20 84 12 18 30 27 15 7 0 6
Opp 225 30 53 5 14 27 36 92 11 40 51 19 14 23 6 2
| 1 | 2 | OT | Total | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Florida State | ||||
| Maryland |
Williams' Last-Second Shot Lifts FSU Women's Basketball to 50-49 Win Over Miami.
Senior scores 15 of her 17 points in the second half, including game-winner with 6.29 seconds left.
TALLAHASSEE, FL - She's earned the nickname "Big Game Te" and Thursday night (February 28) she lived up to the moniker. Senior Shante Williams drove the lane and hit a jumper with 6.25 seconds remaining to give the Florida State women's basketball team a 50-49 decision over Miami at the Donald L Tucker Center.
Florida State grabbed a half game lead over idle Georgia Tech in the race for the fifth seed in the ACC Tournament as it improved to 7-6 in the conference and 17-11 overall. Miami dropped its fifth game in a row to fall to 9-19 overall, 2-11 in the league.
A game after crossing the 1,000-point barrier, Williams (Jacksonville, Fla.) put the Seminoles on her back to keep their NCAA Tournament hopes alive as she scored half of Florida State's 30 second-half points. She was the only Seminole double figures with a game-high 17.
Guard Tanae-Davis-Cain (Dawson, Ga.) had her double-figure scoring streak stopped at 14 games as she came up a point short at nine. She was one of four Seminoles to produce a trio of steals. Florida State's lackluster shooting allowed it to go to the boards - FSU out-rebounded Miami 43-to- 39 including 22 offensive boards. Mara Freshour (Nashville, Ind.) led the way with nine rebounds - seven on the offensive glass - while Christian Hunnicutt (Jonesboro, Ga.) nabbed a career-high eight.
Turnovers and poor shooting were the difference in the game. The Seminoles forced Miami into 16 miscues in the second half, 25 for the game, which it converted into 22 of its 30 points. FSU committed 23 turnovers, but only allowed Miami to get 14 points off them. Neither team shot above 40 percent with the Hurricanes getting the edge 37.9 percent (25-of-58) to 30.5 percent (18-of-59). The poor shooting was contagious across the board as FSU shot 23.5 percent (4-of-17) from three-point range and 52.6 percent (10-of-19) at the line while Miami was 2-of-19 behind the arc (10.5 percent) and 3-of-7 (42.9 percent) at the stripe.
Things looked bleak for the Seminoles at the start of the second half as they only made two baskets in the first six minutes and found themselves down 11, 27-38, with 13:47 left to play. From there Florida State put the clamps on defensively and outscored the Hurricanes 23-11 the rest of the way. Four different players scored during a 9-0 run with a pair of Freshour free throws pulling FSU to with in two, 36-38.
The Hurricanes would respond and get the margin back up to five, 38-43, with 7:13 remaining, but they would fail to score for the next five minutes and that allowed Florida State to gain the lead. Williams alternated baskets between free throws by Alysha Harvin (Dania, Fla.) and Freshour with her jumper at the 3:33 mark putting the Seminoles ahead, 48-43.
Charmaine Clark hit a three-pointer then Damisha Moore got a lay-up off a steal then put back an offensive rebound to give Miami a 49-48 lead with 1:29 to play. FSU had two chances to take the lead, but turned the ball over each time. Forced to foul, Florida State sent Clark to the line for a one-and-one and she missed the first attempt. Miami is ranked 315th out of 325 Division I schools in free throw shooting. Davis-Cain grabbed the rebound and got it to Williams for the eventual game-winner. Maurita Reid's desperation shot missed the mark at the buzzer.
Neither team could get the offense going in the early part of the game. Through the first 10 minutes of the opening half, the Seminoles had as many turnovers (eight) as they did points, but they played strong enough defense to only be down by two. A lay-up by Cayla Moore (Albany, Ga.) pulled FSU within one, 15-16, at the 7:42 mark, but it would be another three minutes before it scored again.
That drought allowed Miami to build an eight point lead, 15-23, before a pair of Williams' free throws at the 4:23 mark stopped the dry spell. Each team would only make one basket the rest of the half with a Courtney Ward (Montgomery, Ala.) three-pointer pulling FSU to within 20-25 going into the locker room.
Both teams struggled to find the bottom of the basket with Miami holding a 37.9 percent (11-of-29) to 23.3 percent (7-of-30). Almost half of FSU shots were from behind the arc, but it hit just 27.3 percent (3-of-11). The cavalcade of missed shots allowed the Seminoles hold a 24-to-17 rebounding advantage, include 11 offensive boards. Florida State had nearly double the amount of turnovers in the first half (13) as it did the entire Maryland contest (seven).
Tying for the first half team-high was Davis-Cain and Hunnicutt with five each while the rookie Hunnicutt pulled in seven boards and had two steals. Williams handed out two assists.
NO NAME GS MIN FGM FGA 3FGM 3FGA FTM FTA PTS OREB DREB REB PF AST TO BLK STL
== ==================== == === === === ==== ==== === === === ==== ==== === == === == === ===
4 Cayla Moore f 20 1 2 0 0 1 3 3 2 1 3 2 0 3 0 1
5 Christian Hunnicutt g 18 2 4 1 1 0 2 5 5 3 8 2 1 4 0 3
10 Mara Freshour g 37 1 8 1 2 4 6 7 7 2 9 2 1 2 0 3
20 Tanae Davis-Cain g 33 4 19 1 8 0 1 9 1 2 3 2 0 6 0 3
22 Shante Williams g 31 7 14 0 0 3 5 17 2 3 5 1 2 6 0 0
1 Angel Gray 7 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 2 2 0 0 1 0 1
2 Alysha Harvin 18 1 5 0 3 2 2 4 0 1 1 2 0 0 0 0
12 Courtney Ward 24 1 3 1 3 0 0 3 0 2 2 0 1 1 1 3
15 Antionette Howard 5 0 1 0 0 0 0 0 0 2 2 0 0 0 0 0
50 Jacinta Monroe 7 1 3 0 0 0 0 2 3 0 3 0 0 0 1 0
Team 2 3 5
=========================================================================
FSU 5 200 18 59 4 17 10 19 50 22 21 43 11 5 23 2 14
Opp 200 22 58 2 19 3 7 49 16 23 39 18 10 25 2 13
| 1 | 2 | Total | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Miami | |||
| Florida State |
Last-Second Shot Does In FSU Women's Basketball With 70-72 Loss To Clemson.
Senior Shante Williams scores 22 points in her final regular season home game.
TALLAHASSEE, FL - Forty-eight hours ago the Florida State women's basketball team was celebrating a last-second shot to beat Miami. A put back by Clemson's Morganne Campbell as time expired gave the Seminoles the exact opposite feeling as they dropped a 70-72 decision to the Tigers on Saturday (March 1) at the Donald L Tucker Center.
The Seminoles loss gives them the sixth seed for the upcoming ACC Tournament as they dropped to 7-7 in the conference, 17-12 overall. Clemson improved to 4-10 in the league, 11-18 overall.
"Going into the ACC Tournament this is extremely disappointing, but we allowed that to happen in the second half," FSU head coach Sue Semrau said. "I have to complement Clemson. They had the kind of fire and desire in the second half that it took to win the ball game. Unfortunately, they had more of it than we did."
Florida State led by as many as 14 in the second half and was up 10, 66-56, with 4:42 to play. However, they were outscored by the Tigers 16-4 the rest of the way. Clemson tied the game at 68-68 at the 1:29 mark, but senior Shante Williams (Jacksonville, Fla.) put the Seminoles ahead, 70-68, with a jumper.
Christy Brown knotted the game on a lay-up with 37 seconds remaining. Williams went to the basket and was fouled with nine seconds remaining, but she missed both attempts. Jasmine Tate put up Clemson first attempted, but it caromed to Campbell who put it back as the horn sounded.
The loss dampened what should have been a celebration of Williams' career as she scored 22 points, grabbed five rebounds and handed out two steals. Leading all scorers with 23 was Mara Freshour (Nashville, Ind.) and Alysha Harvin (Dania, Fla.) added 13.
"She has really carried a big load this year as our lone senior," Semrau said of Williams. "We felt confident with her at the line, but that certainly wasn't the difference in the game. Giving up as many offensive rebounds as we did in the second half was really critical."
After holding an advantage in the first half, the Seminoles allowed Clemson to have a 27-18 edge, including 13 offensive boards, in rebounding in the second stanza for a 45-41 margin for the game. Florida State also shot poorly in the second half, only hitting 36.7 percent of its shots while the Tigers nearly hit 50 percent for the 42.4 percent (28-of-66) to 40.3 percent (25-of-62).
One area where FSU did have an advantage was at the free throw line where it hit 61.9 percent (13-of-21), compared to 42.9 percent (12-of-28 for the visitors. The Seminoles were whistled for 13 fouls in the second half, which sent Clemson to the line 20 times compared to just 12 trips for the home team. Clemson used its 13 second-half offensive rebounds for 11 second-chance points and got 11 more points from seven FSU turnovers.
It looked like Florida State's offense was going to start slow for the second game in a row as it only had one point through the first three minutes, but then Seminoles picked up the pace behind the three-point line. Freshour made a trio of three balls and Tanae Davis-Cain (Dawson, Ga.) added another to stake Florida State to a 15-5 lead just three and a half minutes later.
Clemson got the margin down to just two points, 17-15, during a five-minute stretch, but Williams and Freshour took over again to bolster the lead. Williams had six points and Freshour the other five as Florida State went on an 11-0 run to push the lead back to 13 (30-17). The Tigers made another run at the Seminoles, getting as close as two on a pair of occasions, before Harvin made three baskets to send FSU into the locker room ahead 40-26.
Scoring nearly half of Florida State's points during the first half was Freshour with 16 while Williams added eight and Harvin had six. Freshour and Harvin also grabbed a team-high four rebounds.
Florida State dramatically improved on its shooting from the first half of the Miami game, holding a 43.8 percent (14-of-32) to 36.7 percent (11-of-30) advantage. FSU was also sharp from outside, hitting 45.5 percent (5-of-11) and 77.8 percent at the line (7-of-9). The Seminoles were also up 23-to-18 in rebounding. The Seminoles capitalized on Clemson's mistakes, getting 17 points from 10 CU turnovers.
NO NAME GS MIN FGM FGA 3FGM 3FGA FTM FTA PTS OREB DREB REB PF AST TO BLK STL
== ==================== == === === === ==== ==== === === === ==== ==== === == === == === ===
4 Cayla Moore g 20 1 4 0 0 3 7 5 3 2 5 5 1 1 0 1
5 Christian Hunnicutt g 12 1 6 0 1 0 0 2 1 1 2 3 0 0 0 0
10 Mara Freshour g 34 8 12 5 6 2 3 23 2 3 5 3 0 2 0 1
20 Tanae Davis-Cain g 27 1 8 1 4 0 0 3 0 4 4 2 1 3 1 2
22 Shante Williams g 32 7 14 1 1 7 10 22 2 3 5 1 3 6 1 2
1 Angel Gray 11 0 3 0 0 0 0 0 2 1 3 0 0 1 0 0
2 Alysha Harvin 20 6 9 0 2 1 1 13 0 5 5 3 0 0 0 1
12 Courtney Ward 26 0 3 0 2 0 0 0 0 3 3 3 7 1 0 1
15 Antionette Howard 4 0 1 0 0 0 0 0 0 1 1 1 0 0 0 0
50 Jacinta Monroe 14 1 2 0 0 0 0 2 1 2 3 1 0 1 2 0
Team 2 3 5
=========================================================================
FSU 5 200 25 62 7 16 13 21 70 13 28 41 22 12 15 4 8
Opp 200 28 66 4 14 12 28 72 19 26 45 19 11 17 3 7
| 1 | 2 | Total | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Clemson | |||
| Florida State |
FSU Women's Basketball Prevails 57-52 Over WFU In First Round Of ACC Tourney.
Three Seminoles in double figures, led by 17 from Tanae Davis-Cain.
GREENSBORO, NC - Different score, same result. For the second year in a row, the Florida State women's basketball team met Wake Forest in the first round of Atlantic Coast Conference Tournament. While the Seminoles didn't win by the comfortable margin they had in 2007, they moved on to the quarterfinals with the 57-52 triumph over the Demon Deacons on Thursday (March 6) at the Greensboro Coliseum.
The Seminole ran their winning streak over Wake Forest to 11 games as they improved to 18-12. Wake Forest dropped to 15-15. Florida State moves on to play third-seeded and 11th-ranked Duke on Friday at 8 p.m.
"We just hung on," FSU head coach Sue Semrau. "Defensively I thought we did a great job and offensively we didn't get a lot going tonight, but it was enough to get it done."
Leading all scorers with 17 points - her high in an ACC Tournament game - was guard Tanae Davis-Cain (Dawson, Ga.) who got 14 of her points in the second half. Also reaching double digits was senior Shante Williams (Jacksonville, Fla.) with 12 points - also a tournament best - and Jacinta Monroe (Ft. Lauderdale, Fla.) added 10 points and a team-high seven rebounds.
Four different players had two or more assists - led by Davis-Cain and Williams at three - while Davis-Cain was one of three players with two steals. Monroe had a pair of blocks to take over the number two spot in school history with 136 blocks.
"In the first half I thought we were playing kind of slow," Davis-Cain said. "We went into the locker room and said we need to get after it like it's our last game. Then in the second half as a captain I just had to put my team on my back and play as hard as I could."
After a rough first half of shooting from the field, Florida State improved to 44.4 percent in the second half for an overall advantage of 38.5 percent (20-of-52) to 35.8 percent (19-of-53) for Wake Forest. FSU also had a better second 20 minutes on the glass as they out-rebounded the Demon Deacons 20-to-15 for a 36-to-35 margin for the evening.
The offense was not very prevalent during the opening minutes of the game as the Seminoles had just a 6-1 at the 15:51 mark of the first half. Wake Forest scored the next two baskets, but wouldn't get on the board for another three minutes as FSU took an 11-5 lead on a Davis-Cain three pointer.
FSU went three and half minutes without a basket itself but it played good defense and only limited the Demon Deacons to only two points. A Courtney Ward (Montgomery, Ala.) three pointer at the 7:45 mark broke the drought and staked the Seminoles to a 16-9 advantage. The Seminoles' defense didn't hold up during another offensive dry spell as Wake Forest went on a 10-2 run to capture a 24-22 lead that it would take into the half.
Only two Seminoles made more than one basket in the first half with Monroe putting in seven to go along with a team-best four rebounds. Williams contributed a pair of baskets while Davis-Cain had three assists and three rebounds.
Neither team shot the ball well with Wake Forest holding a 33.3 percent (7-of-21) to 32 percent (8-of-25) lead. Both teams also missed the mark at the free throw line as WFU was 66.7 percent (8-of-12) and FSU hit just 37.7 percent (3-of-8) The Demon Deacons also had a 20-16 margin in rebounds. FSU got 10 points off 13 WFU turnovers, but committed 10 miscues itself.
"I thought we got great post touches," Semrau said of the second half. "When we got the ball into the post I thought we did a better job. We've really had been nonexistent in there lately and I thought Jacinta Monroe played a good game for us in there."
Unlike the start to the first half, the beginning of the second 20 minutes started with an offensive flurry. There were three lead changes and two ties in the first five minutes of the half. The Seminoles held Wake Forest scoreless for two and half minutes to ignite a 7-0 run to take a 37-31 advantage at the 13:47 mark on a Williams' jumper.
Free throws by Williams and Davis-Cain pushed the margin to nine (46-37) then Alysha Harvin (Dania, Fla.) hit two from the stripe and a turnaround jumper to push the lead to double digits for the first time at 52-41 with 6:22 to play. The FSU defense held Wake Forest to without a basket for two and a half minutes.
The lead was back to 11 (54-43) with 3:46 to play on a Williams jumper. The Demon Deacons chipped away and got the deficit down to six, 54-48, but Davis-Cain answered with a jumper that push the margin back to eight and that proved to be too big of a lead for WFU to overcome.
NO NAME GS MIN FGM FGA 3FGM 3FGA FTM FTA PTS OREB DREB REB PF AST TO BLK STL
== ==================== == === === === ==== ==== === === === ==== ==== === == === == === ===
4 Cayla Moore f 10 0 2 0 0 0 2 0 1 2 3 4 0 1 0 1
5 Christian Hunnicutt g 13 0 3 0 0 0 0 0 2 0 2 2 0 1 1 2
10 Mara Freshour g 34 2 6 1 5 1 2 6 3 2 5 0 2 3 0 0
20 Tanae Davis-Cain g 31 6 15 3 7 2 4 17 2 3 5 1 3 2 0 2
22 Shante Williams g 30 5 9 0 0 2 2 12 1 1 2 1 3 3 0 0
1 Angel Gray 8 0 0 0 0 2 2 2 0 1 1 1 0 1 0 0
2 Alysha Harvin 14 1 5 0 1 2 2 4 2 1 3 0 1 1 0 0
12 Courtney Ward 32 2 3 2 3 0 0 6 0 3 3 1 2 4 0 1
50 Jacinta Monroe 28 4 9 0 0 2 5 10 1 6 7 3 1 1 2 2
Team 1 4 5
=========================================================================
FSU 5 200 20 52 6 16 11 19 57 13 23 36 13 12 17 3 8
Opp 200 19 53 4 10 10 14 52 11 24 35 18 16 19 1 11
| 1 | 2 | Total | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Florida State | |||
| Wake Forest |
FSU Women's Basketball Drops Hard-Fought 81-67 Decision To No. 11 Duke In ACC Tourney.
16-0 Duke run midway through the second half is the difference in the game.
GREENSBORO, NC - Long scoring droughts have plagued the Florida State women's basketball team this season and one ended FSU's shot at an Atlantic Coast Conference Tournament title. The Seminoles went more than five minutes without a point in the second half and that allowed No. 11 Duke to grab the lead and go on to the 81-67 quarterfinal win on Friday (March 7) at the Greensboro Coliseum.
The Seminoles had their run at the ACC Tournament stopped as they fell to 18-13 on the year. Duke ran its winning streak over FSU to five overall and in the league summit as it improved to 22-8.
"I'm proud of our players," FSU head coach Sue Semrau said. "I thought they came out with great energy. We were a better basketball team than the first time we played Duke. They had that little stretch when Abby Waner hit that three, that was the backbreaker."
Leading the Seminoles with 18 points was junior Mara Freshour (Nashville, Ind.) which tied her ACC Tournament high. She tied for the team lead at four rebounds with guard Tanae Davis-Cain (Dawson, Ga.) who scored 15 points to go along with two assists and two steals. Freshour dished out a team-best three assists. Alysha Harvin (Dania, Fla.) was the third player in double figures at 14.
Duke shot 60 percent in the second half for the 49.1 percent (28-of-57) to 38.6 percent (22-of-57) advantage. Each squad shot well from the charity stripe with Duke hitting 91.3 percent (21-of-23) to the Seminoles' 82.4 percent (14-of-17). FSU was also sharp from behind the arc at 47.4 percent (9-of-19).The Blue Devils had a 39-to-25 advantage in the boards and went inside to the tune of 42-to-16 for points in the paint, including 24 in the second half.
Both teams struggled to get back into a rhythm to start the second half as they combined for just eight points through the first media time out. FSU got the lead back, 38-37, on a Courtney Ward (Montgomery, Ala.) three pointer then built a five-point lead, 46-41, on a Freshour three-point play. The FSU margin grew to 51-45 when Harvin drilled a three pointer from the top of the key at the 12:38 mark.
Unfortunately, Duke came back with a 16-0 run to take a 63-53 lead as the Seminoles did not muster a point for 5:20 minutes until Ward ended the drought with another three pointer. The closest Florida State would get the rest of the way was eight points, 60-68.
"Throughout the adversity we've been through this year I'm really proud of my team," Semrau added. "I think we showed tonight that we can compete with anybody."
The three-pointer staked Florida State to an early lead as Freshour, Harvin and Davis-Cain each hit one during an 11-4 Seminole run. The three ball by Davis-Cain at the 15:47 mark gave the Seminoles a 13-6 advantage. Florida State went scoreless for three and a half minutes and that allowed Duke to get back into the game with a 6-0 run that brought the Blue Devils with 15-14.
Duke tied the game at 17 but Harvin answered with a jumper and Freshour knocked down another three pointer to get the lead to 22-17 with 9:25 to play in the half. The Blue Devils came back with a 9-3 run to get their first lead since the opening minute of the game at 26-25 at the 5:25 mark.
The two teams went back fourth the rest of the half. Duke had a 36-31 lead with 1:48 remaining, but FSU held the Blue Devils scoreless the rest of the half and Angel Gray (Stone Mountain, Ga.) knocked down a pair of free throws with 6.3 seconds left to pull FSU with in 35-36 going into the half.
Free throws made the biggest difference in the first half as Duke was 16-of-17 (94.1 percent) from the line, compared to just 7-of-8 (87.5 percent) by the Seminoles. The Blue Devils also had a 21-12 margin on the boards that helped them to an 18-10 lead in points in the paint.
Florida State's equalizer was the three pointer as they hit 4-of-8 (50 percent) compared to 0-for-6 by the Blue Devils. FSU had a 40 percent (12-of-30) to 37.0 percent (10-of-27) advantage from the field. The Seminoles converted 11 Duke turnovers into 15 points while DU got just seven from FSU's nine miscues.
Leading the way in the first half with 10 points was Freshour while Harvin was just one back at nine. Four different players had two rebounds and Freshour dished out two assists. Davis-Cain had a pair of steals.
"I think the conference we play in, our strength of schedule and our RPI are all good," Semrau said of FSU's NCAA Tournament prospects. "Eighteen wins is a lot, finishing .500 in the league and we're top five in the league. I feel like this is a team that has fought and really shown what we can do and we're coming together right now."
NO NAME GS MIN FGM FGA 3FGM 3FGA FTM FTA PTS OREB DREB REB PF AST TO BLK STL
== ==================== == === === === ==== ==== === === === ==== ==== === == === == === ===
4 Cayla Moore f 24 3 4 0 0 0 0 6 2 0 2 3 0 1 0 0
5 Christian Hunnicutt g 7 1 2 0 0 0 0 2 1 0 1 2 0 0 0 0
10 Mara Freshour g 40 6 15 3 7 3 3 18 2 2 4 1 3 2 0 1
20 Tanae Davis-Cain g 34 5 14 2 4 3 4 15 2 2 4 2 2 2 1 2
22 Shante Williams g 23 0 5 0 0 2 4 2 0 3 3 4 1 4 0 1
1 Angel Gray 6 0 0 0 0 2 2 2 1 1 2 0 0 0 0 0
2 Alysha Harvin 28 4 10 2 5 4 4 14 1 1 2 3 1 2 0 1
12 Courtney Ward 22 2 5 2 3 0 0 6 0 1 1 0 2 5 0 0
15 Antionette Howard 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0
50 Jacinta Monroe 16 1 2 0 0 0 0 2 1 0 1 2 1 0 2 1
Team 4 1 5
=========================================================================
FSU 5 200 22 57 9 19 14 17 67 14 11 25 17 10 16 3 6
Opp 200 28 57 4 11 21 23 81 17 22 39 17 16 15 6 7
| 1 | 2 | Total | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Florida State | |||
| Duke |
FSU Women's Basketball Runs Away With 60-49 Win Over Ohio State In NCAA Tourney.
Tanae Davis-Cain scores 27 points, Mara Freshour has double-double with 14 points, 12 rebounds
DES MOINES, IA - One of the knocks on the Florida State women's basketball team coming into the NCAA Tournament was that it didn't have a victory over an NCAA Tournament team. Well now the Seminoles do. Eleventh-seeded Florida State ran out to an early lead and never looked back as FSU beat the No. 6 seed and 25th-ranked Ohio State 60-49 on Saturday (March 22).
The Seminoles - the lowest seed on the field to win so far - stayed undefeated in the first round of the tournament under head coach Sue Semrau, winning their fifth in a row during her 11-year tenure, and improved to 19-13 on the year. Ohio State finished its season at 22-9 The Seminoles will take on the No. 3 seed in the New Orleans Regional, Oklahoma State, on Monday (March 24) at 6 p.m. (CST). The game can be seen on ESPN2.
"I am really proud of our team," Semrau said. "I think we really played a strong defensive game. Tanae (Davis-Cain) made plays on both ends of the floor all the time. To only give up eight offensive rebounds is a huge step for us. Our players did a really great job taking advantage of our strengths."
Just missing her career-high with 27 points - with nearly half of FSU's total - was guard Tanae Davis-Cain (Dawson, Ga.) to lead all players. Her 27 points is one off the FSU NCAA Tournament scoring record, trailing All-American Roneeka Hodges' 28 points at Connecticut in 2005. Davis-Cain tied a career-high by hitting six three-pointers.
Recording her second career double-double was junior Mara Freshour (Nashville, Ind.) with 14 points and 12 rebounds. Freshour was one of four players to grab six or more rebounds as the Seminoles' out-rebounded Ohio State 49-35, including 19 offensive rebounds. Forward Jacinta Monroe (Ft. Lauderdale, Fla.) had nine boards while Davis-Cain added seven and Angel Gray (Stone Mountain, Ga.) had a career-high six.
Guard Shante Williams (Jacksonville, Fla.) had a solid all-around game, scoring five points, grabbing four boards, dishing out six assists and grabbing four steals. Freshour also had three steals and three assists. The Seminoles' defense was stupendous, holding the number five shooting team in the country to just 35.1 percent (20-of-57) from the floor. Florida State shot just 32.8 percent (22-of-67) but was sharp from behind the arc, hitting 56.3 percent (9-of-16).
We came in with the mindset that we were going to upset them and show that we belonged in the tournament. "It was just a mindset from warm-ups. "Basically we just locked in our personnel. We just had to keep Ohio State off the boards. It was a big team effort."
Florida State came out a house of fire at the offensive end of the court. The Seminoles scored the first seven points of the game before Ohio State got on the scoreboard. A steal and a lay-up by Davis-Cain staked the Seminoles to a 16-4 at the 14:48 mark. A two-minute FSU drought allowed Ohio State to get back into the game as the Buckeyes pulled to within seven, 16-20, but Monroe snapped the slide with a jumper at the 12:26 mark.
Both teams tightened up on defense with only two baskets a piece over the next four minutes following the Monroe jumper. After a Harvin a free throw with 7:43 left, the Seminoles went cold and did not score for another 3:35 minutes. During that span, Ohio State went on a 6-0 run to pull within 24-20 which was the closest it would get the rest of the game. FSU held Ohio State to just one more basket the rest of the half and Davis-Cain nailed a three with 18 seconds left in the half to send FSU to the locker room up 30-22.
Leading all scorers for the first 20 minutes was Davis-Cain with 12 points while Freshour was close behind at eight. She and Monroe grabbed a team-best four rebounds. Williams was one of three players to hand out a pair of assists and had four steals.
Neither team shot well from the field with Florida State holding the 36.7 percent (11-of-30) to 30.8 percent (8-of-26) edge. FSU was also slightly sharper from behind the arc, nailing 4-of-9 (44.4 percent) to the Buckeyes' 3-of-7 (42.9 percent). The Seminoles out-rebounded Ohio State 21-17 and had a 10-4 advantage in points in the paint. Each team got seven points off turnovers with FSU forcing 11 OSU miscues while committing nine.
Coming out of the locker room Davis-Cain was the go to player for the Seminoles as she scored seven of Florida State's first nine points. Her three pointer at the 17:55 mark put FSU up 37-24. Davis-Cain continued to shoot lights out from the perimeter as her sixth three-ball put Florida State up 48-30 at the 12:08 mark. The lead blossomed to 20, 53-33, for the first time when Freshour nailed FSU's fifth three-pointer of the game with 9:23 remaining.
Unfortunately, the Seminoles would not find the bottom of the basket for over five minutes. During that drought, Ohio State went on an 11-0 run to cut the lead to 53-44. A Williams' free throw at the 4:17 mark stopped Florida State's dry spell. The senior came back with a jumper to get the margin back to 12, 56-44, with 3:38 remaining and Ohio State would not threaten the rest of the way.
NO NAME GS MIN FGM FGA 3FGM 3FGA FTM FTA PTS OREB DREB REB PF AST TO BLK STL
== ==================== == === === === ==== ==== === === === ==== ==== === == === == === ===
2 Alysha Harvin g 28 1 5 1 1 3 4 6 0 1 1 1 2 2 0 0
10 Mara Freshour g 34 5 14 3 5 1 2 14 4 8 12 3 3 2 0 3
20 Tanae Davis-Cain g 31 10 26 5 9 2 2 27 4 3 7 4 0 2 0 1
22 Shante Williams g 32 2 12 0 0 1 2 5 0 4 4 0 6 2 0 4
50 Jacinta Monroe f 28 4 8 0 0 0 0 8 2 7 9 2 1 2 2 0
1 Angel Gray 27 0 1 0 0 0 2 0 3 3 6 1 1 1 0 0
4 Cayla Moore 4 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 1 1 1 0 2 0 0
5 Christian Hunnicutt 4 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 1 1 0 0 0 0 0
12 Courtney Ward 9 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 1 1 0 0 1 1 0
15 Antionette Howard 3 0 1 0 1 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0
Team 6 1 7
=========================================================================
FSU 5 200 22 67 9 16 7 12 60 19 30 49 12 13 14 3 8
Opp 200 20 57 6 17 3 7 49 8 27 35 11 10 17 5 6
| 1 | 2 | Total | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Florida State | |||
| Ohio State |
Last Second Free Throw Steals Sweet 16 Trip From Florida State Women's Basketball.
Seminoles fall 73-72 to Oklahoma State in second round of NCAA Tournament.
DES MOINES, IA - Even in defeat the Florida State women's basketball team showed that it belonged in the NCAA Tournament. The 11th-seeded Seminoles battled for 45 minutes but couldn't pull off the upset of the No. 3 seed and 13th-ranked Oklahoma State as they fell, 73-72, in overtime of the second round of the New Orleans Regional at the Wells Fargo Arena on Monday (March 24). The Seminoles' season came to an end with a 19-14 record. Oklahoma State improved to 27-7 and will face LSU in the Sweet 16.
Junior Mara Freshour (Nashville, Ind.) canned a pair of three pointers in the final minute of overtime to tie the game at 72. As Oklahoma State sophomore Andrea Riley went to put up a shot at the end of overtime, Florida State guard Shante Williams (Jacksonville, Fla.) was whistled for a foul with 0.7 left on the clock. Riley missed her first free throw attempt but hit the second to give the Cowgirls the victory.
"I am proud of my team, we found a way to compete," FSU head coach Sue Semrau said. "It was a great game. There were 20 lead changes and 17 ties, it says a lot about the two teams. Look at Jacinta (Monroe) she put up a double-double with four fouls. Mara found a way to tie the game up. I'm excited about the future of Florida State women's basketball."
Three Seminoles reached double figures, led by 20 from Freshour. The guard nailed four three pointers to finish the season with a school record 66 three balls. Recording her third double-double of the season and the eighth of her career was forward Jacinta Monroe (Ft. Lauderdale, Fla.) with 14 points and 13 rebounds. Five players grabbed four or more board as FSU out-rebounded Oklahoma State 73-72.
Monday's game was the final of a spectacular career for Williams. Her seven assists on the night pushed her Florida State career record to 451. She also had 19 points and six rebounds as well two blocks. Monroe had one block to finish the season with 78, which is just two off the FSU single-season record set by Brooke Wyckoff in 1997-98.
Oklahoma State barely out-shot the Seminoles, 36.8 percent (28-of-76) to 36.6 percent (26-of-71), but FSU had the upper hand behind the arc - 28.6 percent (6-of-21) to 4-of-24 (16.7 percent) - and at the free throw line - 66.7 percent (14-of-21) to 59.1 percent (13-of-22). Missed free throws did hurt FSU late in the game as it was perfect from the line until Williams and Monroe missed four-straight over the last 20 seconds of regulation and the first 1:37 of overtime.
After keeping the Cowgirls out of the lane in the first half, Oklahoma State got 30 of its final 46 points in the paint as well as 10 second-chance points. Helping the Cowgirls in that department was that Monroe played most of the second half and overtime with four fouls. OSU also scored 14 points in the final 25 minutes off 13 Florida State turnovers.
In the overtime, the Seminoles did not score for the first 3:45 and by that time Oklahoma State had a five-point margin, 70-65. Following a Davis-Cain free throw, Freshour's first three ball pulled FSU within 70-69 with 59 seconds remaining. Megan Byford put back a rebound to push the margin back to three, but Freshour canned another three with 12 seconds remaining to tie the game before the call on Williams ended the game.
Thanks to offensive rebounding and Florida State miscues, Oklahoma State was able to jump out to a 12-7 lead. The Cowgirls got six of their first eight points from offensive rebounds and four more points from a pair of FSU miscues. The Seminoles tightened up the reins and went on a 10-3 run to grab a 17-15 advantage on a Courtney Ward (Montgomery, Ala.) steal and lay-up.
The teams traded baskets to keep the game even until Freshour went coast-to-coast after a steal then hit a jumper just before the shot clock expired to put FSU up 23-19 with 8:14 remaining in the half.
Unfortunately, that would be the Seminoles last buck for the next six and a half minutes as the Cowgirls went on a 7-0 run to take a 26-23 lead. Snapping the drought was a free throw by Alysha Harvin (Dania, Fla.) who added a put back to tie the game at 26 with 49 seconds left in the half.
Nearly reaching double figures in the first half was Freshour with a team-best nine points. Harvin was close behind with six markers. Monroe had four rebounds while Williams handed out four assists.
Neither team was sharp from the field with Florida State holding the 31.4 percent (11-of-35) to 26.5 percent (9-for-34). Despite being out-rebounded by Oklahoma State, 30-23, the Seminoles had a 16-10 advantage in points in the paint. FSU was also able to get out in transition with nine points off six OSU turnovers.
Out of the locker room the lead see-sawed back and fourth with neither team grabbing more than a three-point advantage until Oklahoma State went up by four, 48-44, at the 11:47 mark. Through the first nine minutes of the second stanza there were three ties and seven lead changes. Back to back Williams' basket after a Freshour three pointer gave FSU a 51-48 advantage with 10:01 remaining.
Another Florida State drought of just over three minutes allowed the Cowgirls to retake the lead 54-53 at the 6:19 mark. Williams came back with a pair of jumpers to put Florida State out front 57-54 with 5:10 to play. Oklahoma State briefly tied the game at 59 but Williams hit a jumper and converted a three-point play to stake FSU to a 62-59 lead with 3:22 to play.
The Seminoles took a 64-61 advantage at the 1:48 mark on a pair of Monroe free throws and Williams had a chance to put FSU up three with 20 seconds remaining, but she missed the second of two free throws. Danielle Green hit a jumper with 13 seconds left to tie the game then Williams' game-winner missed the mark at the buzzer.
A fifth-straight trip to the NCAA Tournament should be in the cards for the Seminoles. Williams is the only senior on the team and FSU had the eighth-ranked recruiting class in the nation this fall.
NO NAME GS MIN FGM FGA 3FGM 3FGA FTM FTA PTS OREB DREB REB PF AST TO BLK STL
== ==================== == === === === ==== ==== === === === ==== ==== === == === == === ===
2 Alysha Harvin g 25 2 7 0 2 2 3 6 3 2 5 3 0 2 0 1
10 Mara Freshour g 43 8 16 4 9 0 0 20 2 2 4 3 3 3 0 1
20 Tanae Davis-Cain g 37 3 15 1 9 1 2 8 2 4 6 3 2 4 0 1
22 Shante Williams g 39 7 17 0 0 5 9 19 2 4 6 1 7 2 2 1
50 Jacinta Monroe f 25 4 9 0 0 6 7 14 5 8 13 4 0 1 1 0
1 Angel Gray 22 0 1 0 0 0 0 0 0 3 3 2 2 1 0 1
5 Christian Hunnicutt 9 0 3 0 0 0 0 0 1 0 1 0 0 0 0 0
12 Courtney Ward 23 2 3 1 1 0 0 5 0 2 2 3 1 4 0 1
15 Antionette Howard 2 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 1 1 1 0 0 0 0
Team 4 6 10
=========================================================================
FSU 5 225 26 71 6 21 14 21 72 19 32 51 20 15 17 3 6
Opp 225 28 76 4 24 13 22 73 19 31 50 18 7 12 1 12
| 1 | 2 | OT | Total | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Florida State | ||||
| Oklahoma State |