2014-15 Women's Basketball - Year In Review | |
| Coaching Staff Sue Semrau, Head Coach Lindsay Biggs, Dir of Recruiting Ops Melissa Bruner, Director of Operations Latara King, Graduate Assistant Tristin Linville, Graduate Assistant Dave Plettl, Strength and Conditioning Danielle Santos, Assistant Coach Morgan Toles, Graduate Assistant Lance White, Associate Head Coach Brooke Wyckoff, Assistant Coach  Click here to see individual mug shots |
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Ama Degbeon, 6-2, C, Grunberg, Germany
Chania Ray, 5-8, G, Alexandria, Va.
Leticia Romero, 5-8, G, Las Palmas, Spain
Shakayla Thomas, 5-11, G-F, Sylacauga, Ala.
2014-15 Roster - By Name
L
T PY
R No Name Pos Hgt Cl Ltr Hometown (Prior School)
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
* 34 Gabby Bevillard F 6-3 Fr-R Bishop, Ga. (Oconee County)
* 3 Emiah Bingley G 5-7 Jr * Kansas City, Mo. (Lee's Summit West/Iowa State)
* 12 Brittany Brown G 5-8 So * Fort Walton Beach (Choctawhatchee)
* 2 Adut Bulgak C 6-4 Jr Edmonton, Alberta, Canada (Archbishop O'Leary/Trinity Valley CC)
* 32 Lauren Coleman F 6-0 Sr-R *** Lawrenceville, Ga. (Parkview)
* 15 Maegan Conwright G 5-8 Sr-R Arlington, Tex. (Timberview/Kentucky)
* 25 Ama Degbeon C 6-2 Fr Grunberg, Germany (Grunberg)
* 42 Kai James C 6-5 So * West Palm Beach (Dwyer)
* 1 Morgan Jones G 6-2 Jr-R * Lake Mary (Lake Mary/Northwestern)
* 11 Chania Ray G 5-8 Fr Alexandria, Va. (Riverdale Baptist)
* 24 Shakena Richardson G 5-4 Jr-R Neptune, N.J. (Neptune/Rutgers)
* 10 Leticia Romero G 5-8 So Las Palmas, Spain (IES Joaquin Artiles/Kansas State)
* 23 Ivey Slaughter F 6-1 So * Macon, Ga. (Tattnall Square Academy)
* 20 Shakayla Thomas G-F 5-11 Fr Sylacauga, Ala. (Sylacauga)
2014-15 Roster - By Number
L
T PY
R No Name Pos Hgt Cl Ltr Hometown (Prior School)
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
* 1 Morgan Jones G 6-2 Jr-R * Lake Mary (Lake Mary/Northwestern)
* 2 Adut Bulgak C 6-4 Jr Edmonton, Alberta, Canada (Archbishop O'Leary/Trinity Valley CC)
* 3 Emiah Bingley G 5-7 Jr * Kansas City, Mo. (Lee's Summit West/Iowa State)
* 10 Leticia Romero G 5-8 So Las Palmas, Spain (IES Joaquin Artiles/Kansas State)
* 11 Chania Ray G 5-8 Fr Alexandria, Va. (Riverdale Baptist)
* 12 Brittany Brown G 5-8 So * Fort Walton Beach (Choctawhatchee)
* 15 Maegan Conwright G 5-8 Sr-R Arlington, Tex. (Timberview/Kentucky)
* 20 Shakayla Thomas G-F 5-11 Fr Sylacauga, Ala. (Sylacauga)
* 23 Ivey Slaughter F 6-1 So * Macon, Ga. (Tattnall Square Academy)
* 24 Shakena Richardson G 5-4 Jr-R Neptune, N.J. (Neptune/Rutgers)
* 25 Ama Degbeon C 6-2 Fr Grunberg, Germany (Grunberg)
* 32 Lauren Coleman F 6-0 Sr-R *** Lawrenceville, Ga. (Parkview)
* 34 Gabby Bevillard F 6-3 Fr-R Bishop, Ga. (Oconee County)
* 42 Kai James C 6-5 So * West Palm Beach (Dwyer)
2014-15 Conference Awards
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Leticia Romero Atlantic Coast Conference - All-Conference - 2nd Team
Atlantic Coast Conference - All-Tournament Team - 2nd Team
Sue Semrau Atlantic Coast Conference - Coach of the Year
Shakayla Thomas Atlantic Coast Conference - Sixth Player of the Year
Atlantic Coast Conference - All-Freshman
Atlantic Coast Conference - All-Tournament Team - 1st Team
All-Conference - 3
2014-15 All-Americans
Name Organization
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Adut Bulgak Associated Press - All-American - Honorable Mention
Women's Basketball Coaches Association - All-American - Honorable Mention
Leticia Romero Associated Press - All-American - Honorable Mention
All-Americans - 2
2014-15 Schedules and Results
GAME |
SCORE |
||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Alabama-Birmingham | |||||
| Bethune-Cookman | |||||
| Eastern Illinois North Texas Tournament, Dallas, Tex. |
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| Massachusetts North Texas Tournament, Dallas, Tex. |
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| Washington Cancun Challenge, Cancun, Mexico |
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| Furman Cancun Challenge, Cancun, Mexico |
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| Hartford Cancun Challenge, Cancun, Mexico |
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| Purdue OT, ACC-Big 10 Challenge |
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| Florida | |||||
| Temple | |||||
| North Florida | |||||
| Savannah State | |||||
| Tulane | |||||
| Jacksonville | |||||
| Notre Dame | |||||
| Clemson | |||||
| Duke | |||||
| Pittsburgh | |||||
| Virginia Tech | |||||
| Louisville | |||||
| Wake Forest | |||||
| Georgia Tech | |||||
| Syracuse | |||||
| Miami | |||||
| North Carolina | |||||
| Virginia | |||||
| Clemson | |||||
| Boston College | |||||
| North Carolina State | |||||
| Miami | |||||
| Virginia Tech ACC, Greensboro, N.C. |
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| Louisville ACC, Greensboro, N.C. |
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| Notre Dame ACC Championship, Greensboro, N.C. |
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| Alabama State NCAA |
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| Florida Gulf Coast NCAA |
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| Arizona State NCAA, Sweet 16, Greensboro, N.C. |
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| South Carolina NCAA, Elite 8, Greensboro, N.C. |
EOY StatsRef Overall Home Away Neutral ------------------------------------------------ FSU record is 32- 5 16- 0 9- 2 7- 3 vs ACC 14- 2 8- 0 6- 2 0- 0
2015 Atlantic Coast Conference Results 1 Notre Dame 15- 1 36- 3 2 Florida State 14- 2 32- 5 3 Louisville 12- 4 27- 7 4t Duke 11- 5 23-11 4t Syracuse 11- 5 22-10 6 North Carolina 10- 6 26- 8 7 Pittsburgh 9- 7 20-12 8 Miami 8- 8 20-13 9t Virginia 7- 9 17-14 9t North Carolina State 7- 9 18-15 9t Georgia Tech 7- 9 19-15 12 Boston College 5-11 13-17 13 Wake Forest 2-14 13-20 14t Clemson 1-15 9-21 14t Virginia Tech 1-15 12-20
2015 CONFERENCE TOURNAMENT, Greensboro, NC Date Score Comments ========== ================================================== ================================== 03/04/2015 (13)Wake Forest 69, (12)Boston College 53 Round 1 03/04/2015 (15)Louisville 57, (10)North Carolina State 56 Round 1 03/04/2015 (11)Georgia Tech 80, (14)Clemson 53 Round 1 03/05/2015 (13)Wake Forest 85, (5)Syracuse 79 Round 2 03/05/2015 (8)Miami 62, (9)Virginia 52 Round 2 03/05/2015 (15)Virginia Tech 51, (7)Pittsburgh 45 Round 2 03/05/2015 (6)North Carolina 84, (11)Georgia Tech 64 Round 2 03/06/2015 (4)Duke 77, (13)Wake Forest 68 Round 3 03/06/2015 (1)Notre Dame 77, (8)Miami 61 Round 3 03/06/2015 (2)Florida State 82, (15)Louisville 43 Round 3 03/06/2015 (3)Louisville 77, (6)North Carolina 75 Round 3, OT 03/07/2015 (1)Notre Dame 55, (4)Duke 49 Round 4 03/07/2015 (2)Florida State 66, (3)Louisville 51 Round 4 03/08/2015 (1)Notre Dame 71, (2)Florida State 58 Round 5
2014-15 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 =================================================================================================================================== Adut Bulgak 35 35 956 162 329 .492 25 75 .333 83 110 .755 432 12.3 113 219 332 9.5 90 3 15 67 54 27 Maegan Conwright 36 36 1084 152 380 .400 68 189 .360 43 58 .741 415 11.5 7 57 64 1.8 56 0 112 85 5 55 Ivey Slaughter 36 36 848 135 269 .502 0 0 .000 117 165 .709 387 10.8 111 108 219 6.1 102 4 33 54 27 53 Shakayla Thomas 37 3 704 161 304 .530 0 0 .000 48 90 .533 370 10.0 75 103 178 4.8 90 1 11 49 25 24 Leticia Romero 24 17 654 99 183 .541 18 40 .450 48 62 .774 264 11.0 33 93 126 5.3 42 0 127 91 5 28 Brittany Brown 37 35 826 94 240 .392 21 56 .375 48 80 .600 257 6.9 81 87 168 4.5 62 1 64 78 2 53 Morgan Jones 37 21 770 91 241 .378 41 116 .353 16 32 .500 239 6.5 41 97 138 3.7 32 0 71 67 6 16 Emiah Bingley 37 1 575 53 145 .366 30 83 .361 23 40 .575 159 4.3 16 34 50 1.4 57 1 40 34 1 29 Shakena Richardson 34 1 397 37 98 .378 3 16 .188 24 38 .632 101 3.0 2 33 35 1.0 54 0 90 55 5 27 Kai James 31 0 211 31 66 .470 0 0 .000 15 29 .517 77 2.5 34 41 75 2.4 32 0 5 20 2 4 Lauren Coleman 27 0 213 18 40 .450 8 23 .348 1 2 .500 45 1.7 13 29 42 1.6 19 0 11 4 1 10 Ama Degbeon 22 0 151 18 33 .545 0 0 .000 6 15 .400 42 1.9 15 12 27 1.2 11 0 3 11 2 3 Chania Ray 6 0 34 1 8 .125 1 7 .143 1 3 .333 4 0.7 0 3 3 0.5 5 0 3 6 0 2 Gabby Bevillard 1 0 2 1 4 .250 1 4 .250 0 0 .000 3 3.0 0 0 0 0.0 0 0 0 0 0 0 Team 84 70 154 0.0 6 ============================================================================================================== FSU 37 1053 2340 .450 216 609 .355 473 724 .653 2795 75.5 625 986 1611 43.5 652 10 585 627 135 331 Opp 37 757 2026 .374 162 573 .283 444 644 .689 2120 57.3 381 767 1148 31.0 720 22 378 724 131 285
Noles Blaze Past UAB in Season Opener.
Redshirt senior guard Maegan Conwright scores a career-high 19 points in her Seminole debut to lead FSU
Women's Hoops to a 92-62 win.
TALLAHASSEE, FL – Redshirt senior guard Maegan Conwright set the tone for the Florida State Women’s Basketball team on opening night, scoring a career-best 19 points to lead FSU to a 92-62 win over UAB on Friday evening at the new and improved Donald L. Tucker Center.
With plenty of excitement over the huge overhaul of the Noles’ basketball facility flooding the offseason talk, the Seminoles (1-0) proved that they can provide just as much hoopla on the court. Florida State followed up its exhibition glimpse against Faulkner by once again creating easy buckets on offense through the running game, generating 19 fast-break points while UAB was held to zero.
The turning point in Friday’s contest came midway through the first quarter. UAB went on an 8-0 run to cut FSU’s lead to 14-13 on a 3-pointer from Janae Smith. In the blink of an eye, the Seminoles responded with a 16-0 flurry that lasted just 2:44 and created a 30-13 advantage. Conwright led FSU with six points during the run.
Conwright, an Arlington, Texas, native, played her first game at FSU after transferring from Kentucky. Her career-high as a Wildcat ironically came on this day four years ago when she scored 15 points against Miami-Ohio. Since coming to FSU, the experienced guard has learned to become more assertive on the offensive end and showed that Friday night by shooting 7-of-12 from the field and 4-of-5 from 3-point range.
“It felt great,” Conwright said of playing in her first regular-season game in nearly two years. “I was nervous at first but as soon as the jump ball came I got zoned back in and I was serious and told myself, ‘I can’t mess up.’ I was nervous at first but it felt fine after that.”
Also feeling fine was Florida State’s inside tandem of Ivey Slaughter and Adut Bulgak. Both players had identical stat lines of 16 points and nine rebounds, while Slaughter added four steals and Bulgak recorded two blocks. The duo helped FSU gain a 41-30 edge on the glass against a UAB team with good size. The Noles also held a 56-24 advantage in the paint, with Slaughter using a variety of nice moves inside while Bulgak feasted on some nice passes from FSU’s guards.
The Noles shot 39-of-71 in the contest (54.9 percent), while UAB put up a respectable 41.2 percent (21-of-51) from the field. As FSU’s lead swelled in the first half, FSU head coach Sue Semrau was able to mix and match different lineups and get all 12 active players into the game.
“It’s fun to have the season opened and get an opportunity to get out there on the court,” Semrau said. “I’m really, really pleased with a lot of things that I saw and also we have a lot of room for improvement.”
Freshman forward Shakayla Thomas made her FSU debut against one of the schools from her home state of Alabama. The Sylacauga native totaled 10 points and six rebounds on 5-of-9 shooting in 19 minutes to round out FSU’s four double-figure scorers.
One of the anticipations for this season is FSU’s depth, allowing the Noles not to miss a beat when looking toward the bench. FSU scored 31 bench points Friday night, its most since scoring 35 at Virginia last season on Jan. 19, 2014. FSU also forced 26 UAB turnovers and converted them into 44 points.
Florida State took a 49-26 lead through the game’s first 20 minutes, shooting 21-of-38 (55.3 percent) from the floor and hitting five of its first nine 3-pointers. Conwright headed up FSU’s efficiency from the field, hitting three first-half treys and leading the way with 14 points on 5-of-9 shooting. UAB was held to 10-of-25 (40 percent) from the field but got eight points apiece from forward Janae Smith and Brittany Winborne.
The Noles took an 8-3 lead through the first media timeout, getting a 3-ball from Morgan Jones and a straightaway trey from Conwright. After taking a 14-5 lead, UAB went on an 8-0 run until FSU responded with a quick run of its own, thanks to a nifty no-look assist by Shakena Richardson and a fast-break layup for the New Jersey native. Her energy off the bench helped FSU to a 20-13 lead early in the first half, and FSU would end up scoring 10 more unanswered points.
FSU has now won its past 21 season openers, with Semrau owning an 18-0 record in the first game of the season. The Noles also extended their non-conference win streak at home to 17 games.
NO NAME GS MIN FGM FGA 3FGM 3FGA FTM FTA PTS OREB DREB REB PF AST TO BLK STL
== ==================== == === === === ==== ==== === === === ==== ==== === == === == === ===
1 Morgan Jones g 20 2 5 1 2 1 2 6 0 5 5 1 1 3 0 0
2 Adut Bulgak c 25 7 10 1 2 1 1 16 4 5 9 1 0 1 2 1
12 Brittany Brown g 22 2 6 0 2 0 0 4 4 1 5 2 3 2 0 4
15 Maegan Conwright g 28 7 12 4 5 1 2 19 0 0 0 1 3 3 0 1
23 Ivey Slaughter f 30 7 12 0 0 2 3 16 3 6 9 3 3 2 1 4
3 Emiah Bingley 14 1 6 0 2 2 2 4 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 1
11 Chania Ray 9 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 2 2 2 0 1
20 Shakayla Thomas 19 5 9 0 0 0 0 10 3 3 6 3 0 1 0 2
24 Shakena Richardson 17 3 5 0 1 0 1 6 0 1 1 2 5 3 0 0
25 Ama Degbeon 5 2 3 0 0 0 1 4 0 2 2 1 0 0 0 0
32 Lauren Coleman 6 2 2 1 1 0 0 5 1 1 2 3 0 0 0 0
42 Kai James 5 1 1 0 0 0 0 2 0 0 0 3 0 1 0 0
Team 2 2
=========================================================================
FSU 5 200 39 71 7 15 7 12 92 17 24 41 22 17 18 3 14
Opp 200 21 51 6 18 14 21 62 11 19 30 15 10 26 3 3
| 1 | 2 | Total | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Alabama-Birmingham | |||
| Florida State |
Florida State Runs Wild on 'Cats.
Seminole Women's Hoops puts up most points in over a decade as they pull away from the Bethune-Cookman Wildcats
with a 103-34 victory on Tuesday.
TALLAHASSEE, FL – The Florida State Women’s Basketball team used an explosive 65-point second half effort to break away with a 103-34 victory over in-state school Bethune-Cookman in a rare matinee matchup on Tuesday morning at the Donald L. Tucker Center.
With thousands of elementary and middle school children decorating the stands for “Field Trip Day,” the youngsters were treated to a dose of high-octane basketball as they saw the Seminoles (2-0) put up their most points in a game since defeating Savannah State, 107-28, on Nov. 23, 2003.
What Florida State showed on Tuesday was how fast it can score when it repeatedly pushes the ball and uses its athleticism to its advantage. The Noles ended the game on a 54-3 run that lasted the final 12:43, meaning they scored 54 points in the remaining 60 percent of the second half.
Tuesday’s offensive showcase was the 25th time in program history the Seminoles have reached the triple-digit mark, which happened with 1:06 left on a layup from freshman Shakayla Thomas. It was the sixth time the Noles have scored 100+ under 18-year head coach Sue Semrau.
“I’m proud of the team’s effort,” Semrau said. “We came out sluggish, [and] we started a little bit slow, but for the resilience of how we came out, I think we handled ourselves pretty well in the second half and even in the first half when we were able to open up a bigger lead. I love having a team where I have five players score in double figures, that’s just my favorite type of team to coach.”
FSU’s 69-point win margin is the fourth-largest in program history. The Noles have opened up the 2014-15 season with 90+ points in each of their first two games, a feat never accomplished before.
Despite the big-scoring effort, it wasn’t always about shot-making on Tuesday morning. Florida State corralled an enormous total of 64 rebounds, including 29 on the offensive end. FSU’s rebounding total of 64 falls just shy of the top five team marks ever. FSU shot 33-of-69 (47.8 percent) and 7-of-17 (41.2 percent) from 3-point land, and held the Wildcats (0-3) to 11-of-50 (22 percent) from the floor.
Although FSU held a 38-23 lead at halftime, it needed a spark and found it in junior center Adut Bulgak. The Edmonton, Canada, native was a dominating presence in the game’s final 20 minutes, racking up 18 points on 8-of-10 shooting with 13 rebounds for her first career double-double at FSU. Bulgak’s flurry of points came in a span of 12:43 in the second half, getting in the points column on a layup with 17:47 left and ending with a made free throw at the 5:04 mark.
Junior guard Emiah Bingley provided FSU with energy in the first half and accelerated her level of play in the second half. She finished with 17 points, a career-high tying 6-of-6 from the free-throw line and added a career-best three steals. Bingley may have provided the play of the game when all 5-foot-7 of her blocked a shot from a BCU post player with 15:50 left on an attempted offensive put-back. The swat helped energize a subsequent 31-0 run for FSU.
“In my past, I’ve [played] the post so it felt like I was getting back to my old days with that one,” Bingley said. “It was great. I just felt it and went for it.”
Sophomore Ivey Slaughter was the go-to option early and finished with 16 points and nine rebounds for the second consecutive game while adding two steals. Shakayla Thomas led the Noles off the bench once again with 15 points, including 5-of-5 from the charity stripe. Sophomore Brittany Brown added 12 points and four steals, while redshirt junior guard Shakena Richardson dished out a career-best eight assists, exceeding her previous career high of seven dimes while at Rutgers.
Sophomore center Kai James went 6-of-6 from the free-throw line, while Morgan Jones added five assists and no turnovers. FSU finished 30-of-36 from the free-throw line (83.3 percent), its most makes in a game since nailing 33 at NC State on Jan. 20, 2013.
FSU improves to 2-0 for the ninth consecutive year and the 12th time in Semrau’s 18 seasons. The Noles are 12-1 against in-state opponents since the 2012-13 season, defeating six different Florida-based teams. The victory also gives FSU an 18-game win streak against non-conference opponents at home.
NO NAME GS MIN FGM FGA 3FGM 3FGA FTM FTA PTS OREB DREB REB PF AST TO BLK STL
== ==================== == === === === ==== ==== === === === ==== ==== === == === == === ===
2 Adut Bulgak c 21 8 10 1 2 1 3 18 3 10 13 2 0 3 2 0
3 Emiah Bingley g 30 4 8 3 7 6 6 17 1 2 3 3 2 4 1 3
12 Brittany Brown g 27 3 9 0 1 6 7 12 3 4 7 1 2 3 0 4
23 Ivey Slaughter f 29 7 12 0 0 2 5 16 5 4 9 2 2 2 0 2
24 Shakena Richardson g 21 1 2 0 0 4 4 6 0 3 3 3 8 2 1 3
1 Morgan Jones 14 2 2 1 1 0 0 5 1 3 4 0 5 0 0 0
11 Chania Ray 9 1 3 1 2 0 0 3 0 0 0 1 0 2 0 0
20 Shakayla Thomas 14 5 12 0 0 5 5 15 2 2 4 1 0 1 2 1
25 Ama Degbeon 6 1 3 0 0 0 0 2 2 1 3 0 0 0 1 0
32 Lauren Coleman 18 1 4 1 4 0 0 3 1 2 3 2 2 1 0 2
42 Kai James 11 0 4 0 0 6 6 6 6 1 7 2 0 2 0 1
Team 5 3 8
=========================================================================
FSU 5 200 33 69 7 17 30 36 103 29 35 64 17 21 20 7 16
Opp 200 11 50 2 12 10 16 34 8 11 19 30 5 25 7 7
| 1 | 2 | Total | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Bethune-Cookman | |||
| Florida State |
FSU Runs Past Panthers.
Florida State Women's Hoops sets mark for the highest-scoring three-game start in school history in a 91-55 win over
Eastern Illinois.
DENTON, TX - The Florida State Women's Basketball team rode a hot-shooting first half en route to a 91-55 victory over Eastern Illinois on Friday evening at the Hospitality Hill Challenge hosted by North Texas at the Super Pit.
The Seminoles (3-0) got a meaningful basket in the final minute from freshman center Ama Degbeon on a great assist from redshirt junior guard Shakena Richardson. The inside bucket gave this year's team the highest-scoring three-game start in school history, besting the 1988-89 team by two points with 286 total points. FSU is averaging 95.3 points through its quick start.
Once again, contributions were aplenty for the Noles, but the biggest game belonged to junior center Adut Bulgak. The Edmonton, Canada, native became FSU's first 20-point scorer with 21 points, seven rebounds and four blocks on 8-of-10 shooting. Bulgak is shooting 23-of-30 through her first three games as she continues to back up her honor as the top JUCO player in the nation last year.
FSU shot 58.1 percent (36-of-62) from the field, including 9-of-18 from 3-point range. Redshirt junior Morgan Jones added a season-high 15 points on 4-of-5 shooting from long range, while redshirt senior point guard Maegan Conwright also had 15 points on 6-of-11 shooting in front of some fans from her nearby area of Arlington, Texas.
The Noles improve to 3-0 for the ninth time under 18-year head coach Sue Semrau, including the eighth time in the last 11 season. FSU has learned to play very well in regular-season tournament in recent years, compiling an 11-2 record in the format since the 2009-10 season.
"I was very pleased with our rebounding today," Semrau said. "Adut (Bulgak) has been a huge force grabbing boards for us, and she's really living up to her billing so far. Eastern Illinois shot well against us tonight, so we're going to have to work on our transition defense, but we'll keep growing."
While FSU's speed and athleticism disrupted the methodical Panthers (0-3), whom put up just 40 field-goal attempts, the real advantage for the Seminoles was on the lower block. FSU out-rebounded EIU, 40-15, grabbed 20 offensive rebounds and held a 28-2 advantage on the second-chance points. FSU also doubled EIU's points in the paint at 44-22, and hold a season-long edge of 146-58 in the post.
Sophomore guard Brittany Brown provided quality play for FSU in the second half, scoring all eight of her points in the final 20 minutes. Sophomore center Kai James added nine points and seven rebounds, while Richardson led FSU once again with six assists and just two turnovers with three steals.
The Seminoles shot a blistering 67.9 percent (19-of-28) from the floor to take a 52-28 first-half lead. FSU was already coming off a 65-point second-half effort in its last game and continue its offensive prowess. Bulgak and Conwright led FSU with 13 points apiece, while FSU shot 8-of-10 from 3-point range to highlight its substantial scoring.
Eastern Illinois, however, did a decent job of breaking FSU's pressure and shot 12-of-19 (63 percent) through the game's first 20 minutes. The Noles out-rebounded EIU 17-5 in a half where not many shots were missed, and held a strong edge at 15-0 in second chance points. FSU also assisted on 12 of its first 19 first-half field goals made.
Overall, EIU shot 22-of-40 for 55 percent.
Jones lifted the Noles' offense with two long-range jumpers as FSU led 10-9 with 15:24 remaining in the first half. Eastern Illinois showed its dedication to milking the clock and forced FSU to be patient defensively. Forward Sabina Oroszova scored four quick points for the Panthers. In the first half, EIU's average possession time was 24 seconds while FSU's was just 14 ticks off the clock.
Oroszova would lead the Panthers with 17 points.
Florida State continued to drain its 3-pointers, as Jones and Emiah Bingley combined to go 5-of-5 and help extend FSU's lead to 38-18 with 7:14 left in the first half. FSU's ball pressure forced the Panthers into mistakes and the Noles were able to capitalize with quick points on the other end. FSU used another patented run, this time a 15-0 spurt over 3:14 to quickly advance its lead.
NO NAME GS MIN FGM FGA 3FGM 3FGA FTM FTA PTS OREB DREB REB PF AST TO BLK STL
== ==================== == === === === ==== ==== === === === ==== ==== === == === == === ===
1 Morgan Jones g 23 5 7 4 5 1 2 15 0 2 2 1 0 2 0 0
2 Adut Bulgak c 25 8 10 1 1 4 5 21 4 3 7 3 0 0 4 2
12 Brittany Brown g 24 3 5 0 0 2 3 8 1 2 3 3 5 4 0 3
15 Maegan Conwright g 28 6 11 2 5 1 3 15 0 3 3 1 3 2 0 2
23 Ivey Slaughter f 14 2 4 0 0 0 0 4 3 2 5 4 0 1 0 1
3 Emiah Bingley 16 2 5 2 4 0 0 6 0 1 1 2 2 0 0 1
11 Chania Ray 6 0 2 0 2 0 0 0 0 0 0 1 1 0 0 1
20 Shakayla Thomas 16 3 3 0 0 1 2 7 1 3 4 1 1 0 0 1
24 Shakena Richardson 16 2 4 0 0 0 0 4 0 1 1 1 6 2 0 3
25 Ama Degbeon 10 1 2 0 0 0 0 2 3 0 3 2 0 1 0 0
32 Lauren Coleman 10 0 1 0 1 0 0 0 0 1 1 0 0 0 0 1
42 Kai James 12 4 8 0 0 1 4 9 6 1 7 1 0 2 0 0
Team 2 1 3
=========================================================================
FSU 5 200 36 62 9 18 10 19 91 20 20 40 20 18 14 4 15
Opp 200 22 40 2 7 9 14 55 3 12 15 19 12 21 1 4
| 1 | 2 | Total | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Florida State | |||
| Eastern Illinois |
Staunch Defensive Effort Lifts Noles over UMass.
DENTON, TX – Another performance of hard-nosed defensive pressure helped the Florida State Women’s Basketball team to a 73-47 victory over Massachusetts on Sunday afternoon at the Hospitality Hill Challenge on the campus of North Texas at the Super Pit.
While the Seminoles (4-0) have gotten off to one of their best offensive starts in school history, the defensive aspect has been overlooked and was on full display today. Heavy ball pressure forced the Minutewomen (2-3) to play at a quicker pace than desired, and FSU’s edge on the offensive glass was too much for UMass inside. The Noles also generated 14 steals and used 25 points off turnovers to their advantage.
The exceptional D once again created several chances for the offense, with a plethora of scoring distribution highlighting the scoring side of the ball. Nine Seminoles got into the scoring column, led by junior center Adut Bulgak’s fourth double-figure scoring game with 14 points. FSU had four double-figure scorers on Sunday, including redshirt junior guard Morgan Jones (11 points), sophomore guard Brittany Brown (11 points) and redshirt senior guard Maegan Conwright (10 points).
Jones stood out with her third career double-double, grabbing 10 rebounds including nine in the first half. Conwright once again handled the ball exceptionally with three assists and just one turnover, and she finished 2-of-3 on 3-pointers to mark multiple 3-point field goals in all three of her games this season.
“I thought Morgan Jones played very unselfish basketball, and she was still able to get a double-double,” FSU head coach Sue Semrau said. “I thought we could have done a better job in the first half of reversing the ball, but we got better in the second half. We have a tough matchup coming up with Washington in Cancun and we’ll have to be prepared.”
FSU didn’t have its offensive proficiency it showed in its first three games, but managed to shoot 26-of-65 (40 percent) from the field and 5-of-13 from long range. It relied more on its defense Sunday, forcing 22 turnovers.
With a 34-19 first-half lead, FSU came out quickly again in the second half with a mid-range jumper from Ivey Slaughter, a 3-pointer for Conwright and then a second-chance basket for Bulgak to take a 43-22 at the first media timeout of the second half.
The Noles began building an offensive rhythm when they extended their lead to 54-31 with 11:48 left, connecting on their last three field-goal attempts. Brown nailed her second 3-pointer of the day from the wing, followed by a nice floater by Emiah Bingley and capped with a layup from Conwright to create the 23-point lead.
FSU got off to another fast start from the opening tip, as Brown nailed her first 3-pointer of the season to start the scoring, then had a beautiful drive down the center of the lane to put the Noles ahead 5-0. Conwright then took a pass from Bulgak and went on a fastbreak layup to give FSU an 8-0 advantage, and it held a 10-2 lead through the first media timeout at 16:19.
The Noles forced the Minutewomen into some helter-skelter play and took a 17-10 lead with 11:14 remaining. FSU forced seven turnovers and all five starters were in the scoring column when Bulgak had an inside basket with 13:45 left to give FSU a 15-6 lead.
FSU showed excellent ball reversal to help Jones line up for her first three-point make of the day, putting the Noles ahead 21-10 with 8:56 remaining in the first half. FSU’s defense forced UMass to make one of its previous five shots prior to the media timeout.
Conwright added FSU’s second long-range jumper of the game to put FSU ahead 29-15 with 3:52 left in the first half. The Noles were able to keep possessions alive with good offensive rebounding, getting extra chances on offense and holding an 11-2 advantage on the offensive glass.
Bulgak generated a big three-point play on a nice assist from Conwright to give FSU a 32-16 advantage. Shakena Richardson then added two free throws on a nice drive to the basket as the Noles held a 34-19 advantage at halftime. Jones recorded seven points and was active with nine rebounds, while Brown added seven points and continued her stellar defensive play.
FSU improves to 15-4 all-time against Atlantic-10 opponents and has started 4-0 for the third consecutive season.
NO NAME GS MIN FGM FGA 3FGM 3FGA FTM FTA PTS OREB DREB REB PF AST TO BLK STL
== ==================== == === === === ==== ==== === === === ==== ==== === == === == === ===
1 Morgan Jones f 27 5 9 1 2 0 0 11 4 6 10 1 2 2 0 0
2 Adut Bulgak c 32 6 15 0 2 1 1 13 6 5 11 3 0 3 1 2
12 Brittany Brown g 24 4 8 2 3 1 2 11 2 0 2 2 1 2 0 4
15 Maegan Conwright g 26 4 7 2 3 0 0 10 0 6 6 3 3 1 0 0
23 Ivey Slaughter f 21 1 6 0 0 5 8 7 0 2 2 3 1 0 0 1
3 Emiah Bingley 17 2 6 0 2 3 6 7 0 0 0 0 2 2 0 1
20 Shakayla Thomas 21 3 7 0 0 0 0 6 0 1 1 3 0 0 0 1
24 Shakena Richardson 18 0 3 0 1 6 8 6 0 3 3 3 1 4 0 3
32 Lauren Coleman 10 1 2 0 0 0 0 2 4 0 4 0 1 0 0 1
42 Kai James 4 0 2 0 0 0 4 0 1 1 2 2 0 0 0 1
Team 3 4 7
=========================================================================
FSU 5 200 26 65 5 13 16 29 73 20 28 48 20 11 14 1 14
Opp 200 14 46 1 10 18 28 47 10 25 35 23 7 22 0 5
| 1 | 2 | Total | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Florida State | |||
| Massachusetts |
Florida State Falls to Washington.
Huskies drain 29 free throws and seven 3-pointers as Seminole Women's Hoops loses their first game of the
season, 80-68, at the Cancun Challenge.
CANCUN, MEXICO – An off-shooting performance by the Florida State Women’s Basketball team coupled with some timely offense by Washington led to an 80-68 loss to the Huskies in its first game at the Cancun Challenge on Thanksgiving afternoon at the Hard Rock Riviera Maya Hotel.
The Seminoles (4-1) contained one of the country’s most explosive scorers in sophomore Kelsey Plum to just 13 points on 3-of-8 shooting. However, second and third options Jazmine Davis (24 points) and Chantel Oshahor (15 points) made big buckets for the Huskies (3-1) as FSU could not find consistent rhythm on offense.
Florida State was whistled for 26 fouls against a perimeter-oriented team in Washington, its most since committing 32 personal fouls at Miami on Feb. 24, 2011. The Huskies took advantage with 37 trips to the free throw line and converted 29 of them, while FSU was only able to get to the charity stripe 15 times and made 10 freebies.
FSU’s 37 free-throw attempts allowed to the opposition is also the most since facing Miami in 2011, when the Hurricanes also had 37 attempts.
Freshman Shakayla Thomas was a force off the bench again, collecting her first double-double with 14 points on 7-of-14 shooting and 10 rebounds in 19 minutes. Senior point guard Maegan Conwright was one of the Seminoles who played very well defensively against Plum, who opened her season with 45 points against Oklahoma. Conwright had 12 points, four steals, three assists and just two turnovers, and has reached double figures in the scoring column in all four of her games played.
Conwright has also made multiple 3-point field goals in every game she has played, hitting two on Thursday. Sophomore Ivey Slaughter added 12 points and eight rebounds, while sophomore Brittany Brown had a season-high 13 points and two steals.
FSU was held to 27-of-78 (34.6 percent) from the floor, and just 4-of-17 from 3-point range, both season lows. It held Washington to 22-of-58 (37.9 percent) and 7-of-27 from beyond the arc. The Noles outscored Washington 44-20 inside the paint, but UW’s timely perimeter jumpers and ability to draw fouls proved to be too much. FSU also held a slight edge in rebounding, winning the battle of the boards 47-45 including 17-9 on the offensive glass. The Noles took care of the basketball for the most part, committing a season-low 10 turnovers but forcing well below its season average at 13.
Every push FSU made in the second half, UW found a way to respond. Conwright’s second 3-pointer of the game with just under 15 minutes left cut the deficit to 48-39, but UW came back with four quick points on a free throw from Plum and a 3-ball from Oshahor. From there, FSU never got within single digits.
The Noles endured a rough first half that was punctuated by a late 17-5 run by Washington to give the Huskies a 38-26 lead heading into the intermission. Guard Jazmine Davis scored 15 points while Kelsey Plum was held scoreless after being whistled for two fouls in the early going.
A straightaway 3-pointer from Conwright from about 25 feet tied the game in the first half at 21-21. But a few untimely possessions on the offensive end and a few baskets by the Huskies put their lead at 28-21 until Lauren Coleman converted an old-fashioned three-point play with 3:36 left. Consecutive long-range jumpers by Talia Walton and Davis put UW up 36-24 to highlight its big run.
Slaughter led the Noles with seven points and six rebounds at the half, while Conwright added five points but was sent to the bench with two fouls. FSU struggled from the field, hitting 11-of-41 and just 2-of-11 from beyond the arc through the first 20 minutes.
NO NAME GS MIN FGM FGA 3FGM 3FGA FTM FTA PTS OREB DREB REB PF AST TO BLK STL
== ==================== == === === === ==== ==== === === === ==== ==== === == === == === ===
1 Morgan Jones g 28 2 12 0 4 0 0 4 2 6 8 1 1 1 0 0
2 Adut Bulgak c 23 1 5 0 2 2 3 4 3 5 8 5 0 0 2 0
12 Brittany Brown g 26 4 8 0 0 5 6 13 0 0 0 2 1 3 0 2
15 Maegan Conwright g 27 5 13 2 5 0 0 12 0 2 2 4 3 2 0 4
23 Ivey Slaughter f 35 5 13 0 0 2 4 12 3 5 8 4 0 0 0 0
3 Emiah Bingley 17 1 5 1 2 0 0 3 1 0 1 4 2 0 0 1
20 Shakayla Thomas 19 7 14 0 0 0 1 14 4 6 10 3 0 2 2 0
24 Shakena Richardson 15 1 5 1 3 0 0 3 0 2 2 2 3 2 0 1
32 Lauren Coleman 10 1 3 0 1 1 1 3 1 0 1 1 1 0 0 0
Team 3 4 7
=========================================================================
FSU 5 200 27 78 4 17 10 15 68 17 30 47 26 11 10 4 8
Opp 200 22 58 7 27 29 37 80 9 36 45 17 11 13 6 6
| 1 | 2 | Total | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Florida State | |||
| Washington |
Noles Roll Past Furman.
Florida State Women's Hoops gets five double-figure scorers in a 94-63 win over the Palidins in their second game of the
Cancun CHallenge.
CANCUN, MEXICO – The Florida State Women’s Basketball team got back to its high-octane offensive ways as it ran past Furman on Friday afternoon, 94-63, in its second game of the Cancun Challenge at the Hard Rock Riviera Maya Hotel.
Five double-figure scorers highlighted Friday’s offensive effort for the Seminoles (5-1), who shot a season-best 59.1 percent (39-of-66) from the floor and recorded 20 fast-break points. FSU has already surpassed the 90-point mark four times this season, a year after reaching the number just once.
Junior center Adut Bulgak recorded her third double-double of the season with 18 points on 8-of-13 shooting and 10 rebounds. The Edmonton, Canada, native was dominant in the post and contributed greatly to FSU’s 20-4 margin in second-chance points, finding ways to get offensive put-backs.
Florida State shot 62.5 percent (20-of-32) in the second half, the second time it has shot 60 percent or better in a half this year. Redshirt senior point guard Maegan Conwright continues to impress in her first playing season at FSU, finishing with 15 points on 6-of-8 shooting, going 3-of-3 from long range and recording a season-high five assists to just three turnovers.
“I was happy with the way we established the post today,” FSU head coach Sue Semrau said. “It was a good bounce-back effort for us. Defensively, we did a good job of stopping dribble penetration, and I liked how we took advantage again of second-chance points. A lot of players contributed today and that’s the type of team we are looking to have.”
Sophomore forward Ivey Slaughter played with early foul trouble but still made an impact on the game. The Macon, Ga., native had 15 points and five rebounds. Sophomore center Kai James played her finest game of the year, adding a season-high 11 points on 4-of-4 shooting with four rebounds in just 10 minutes. James gained strong position down on the block and was very aggressive offensively.
Freshman forward Shakayla Thomas almost made plays in the post, recording 10 points and eight rebounds in 24 minutes off the bench. The play of Thomas and James helped FSU score 34 bench points, tying a season high.
The Seminoles shared the basketball extremely well, tying a season high with 21 assists and committing just 14 turnovers. FSU took advantage of its post game and recorded a season-high 58 points in the paint.
Florida State held Furman to 23-of-57 (40.4 percent) from the floor, including just 37.5 percent in the second half. Leading scorer Brittany Hodges was held to just nine points and fouled out late in the game.
The Seminoles outscored Furman 49-31 in the second half, slowly peaking their lead until a late 14-1 run stretched their advantage. James was a big part of the run when she made a couple strong post moves for easy buckets, and Brittany Brown and Thomas combined for a consecutive fast-break points to give the Noles a 90-58 lead with 3:57 left.
The Noles held a 45-33 halftime lead over Furman, shooting 55.9 percent from the field and out-rebounding the Paladins 22-9. Bulgak led the way with 10 points and helped FSU take a 12-0 lead in second-chance points in the first half, while Conwright added eight.
FSU took a quick timeout with 17:33 left in the first half after being down 8-6 early, but responded with five straight points to take an 11-8 lead through the first media break. Conwright punctuated the run with a 3-pointer from the right wing. FSU would extend the run to 10-0 before Furman came back with an 8-0 run. Bulgak stopped the bleeding with a put-back to give FSU an 18-16 lead.
The Noles used a big 17-2 run to take a 41-27 advantage late in the first half. Shakena Richardson came through off the bench in that stretch, hitting a triple and then making a nice drive to the basket to already put her at a season-high seven points. Richardson would later make a beautiful coast-to-coast drive to the hoop that ended with a spin move and right-handed layup. She finished with nine points, five assists and just one turnover.
NO NAME GS MIN FGM FGA 3FGM 3FGA FTM FTA PTS OREB DREB REB PF AST TO BLK STL
== ==================== == === === === ==== ==== === === === ==== ==== === == === == === ===
1 Morgan Jones g 26 3 6 2 4 0 0 8 1 2 3 1 3 1 0 0
2 Adut Bulgak c 26 8 13 0 1 2 3 18 6 4 10 0 0 0 2 2
12 Brittany Brown g 21 2 6 0 0 0 0 4 0 1 1 2 6 3 0 2
15 Maegan Conwright g 30 6 8 3 3 0 0 15 0 1 1 2 5 3 1 1
23 Ivey Slaughter f 13 5 8 0 0 5 8 15 3 2 5 3 0 3 0 1
3 Emiah Bingley 8 0 1 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 1 0 0 0 0
11 Chania Ray 4 0 1 0 1 0 0 0 0 2 2 1 0 1 0 0
20 Shakayla Thomas 24 5 10 0 0 0 3 10 2 6 8 3 1 2 0 0
24 Shakena Richardson 21 4 6 1 3 0 0 9 0 2 2 2 5 1 0 3
25 Ama Degbeon 4 2 2 0 0 0 0 4 1 0 1 0 0 0 0 0
32 Lauren Coleman 13 0 1 0 1 0 0 0 0 1 1 1 1 0 0 1
42 Kai James 10 4 4 0 0 3 6 11 0 4 4 2 0 0 0 0
Team 2 2 4
=========================================================================
FSU 5 200 39 66 6 13 10 20 94 15 27 42 18 21 14 3 10
Opp 200 23 57 6 23 11 19 63 10 16 26 16 14 17 1 9
| 1 | 2 | Total | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Florida State | |||
| Furman |
Florida State Clamps Down for Sixth Win.
Seminole Women's Basketball earns a hard-nosed 69-59 win over Hartford to finish 2-1 at the Cancun
Challenge.
CANCUN, MEXICO – The Florida State Women’s Basketball team relied on its gritty defense to earn a 69-59 victory over Hartford on Saturday afternoon in its final game of the Cancun Challenge at the Hard Rock Riviera Maya Hotel.
The Seminoles (6-1) found it tough to break away from a relentless Hawks (3-4) team, but used a critical 12-0 run later in the second half to eventually get a manageable lead. FSU’s 10-point win gives it double-digit victories in all six wins this season.
FSU shot 24-of-55 (43.6 percent) from the field, while Hartford made 45.5 percent from the floor. The Noles had more assists (17) than turnovers (14) for the fourth time this season.
Junior center Adut Bulgak finished with 16 points and seven rebounds, while redshirt senior Maegan Conwright added 12 points. Both players were named to the Cancun Challenge All-Tournament Team. Sophomore Ivey Slaughter added 12 points while freshman Shakayla Thomas came off the bench and recorded 10 points.
FSU was in some early trouble in the second half, getting a basket from Slaughter underneath but then allowing a four-point play and a 3-pointer on the next possession to force a timeout leading 36-35. Morgan Jones quelled the Hartford run with a pull-up jumper and FSU went into the next media timeout leading 38-37 with 15:57 remaining.
Florida State clung to a 34-28 halftime lead against Hartford. FSU continued to get good position in the paint but uncharacteristically missed some chippies down low, shooting 11-of-29 (37.9 percent) in the first half. FSU was able to force 13 turnovers by the Hawks and relied on its defense to preserve a lead through the first 20 minutes.
Slaughter did a good job in the first half of forcing the issue and getting to the charity stripe, going 4-of-5 from the free throw line and leading FSU with eight points. Brittany Brown was solid in cutting off passing lanes and added six points in the first half, while Bulgak recorded six points as well.
Hartford was 10-of-21 (47.6 percent) and 4-of-9 on 3-pointers in the first half, and hung in there on the glass with 15 rebounds compared to FSU’s 16 boards. The key part of the first half for the Noles was a 12-0 run that turned a 16-10 deficit into a 22-10 lead.
Hartford ran good offense in the early portion of the game, making seven of its first 11 shots to take a 16-14 lead which includes a 6-0 run. Bulgak helped cut into the small deficit with a 3-pointer from the left wing, as FSU made five of its first 10 shots.
NO NAME GS MIN FGM FGA 3FGM 3FGA FTM FTA PTS OREB DREB REB PF AST TO BLK STL
== ==================== == === === === ==== ==== === === === ==== ==== === == === == === ===
1 Morgan Jones g 18 3 6 1 2 0 0 7 1 1 2 1 0 2 0 0
2 Adut Bulgak c 27 5 8 1 1 5 6 16 2 5 7 2 1 4 1 1
12 Brittany Brown g 30 3 7 1 1 2 2 9 1 6 7 3 4 2 0 3
15 Maegan Conwright g 33 5 10 2 4 0 0 12 0 1 1 1 4 1 0 5
23 Ivey Slaughter f 19 3 9 0 0 6 7 12 4 0 4 4 1 3 0 1
3 Emiah Bingley 18 0 2 0 2 0 0 0 0 0 0 3 1 1 0 0
20 Shakayla Thomas 28 5 12 0 0 0 0 10 4 2 6 4 2 1 1 1
24 Shakena Richardson 16 0 0 0 0 3 6 3 0 0 0 0 3 0 0 0
32 Lauren Coleman 9 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 1 1 2 0 1 0 0 0
42 Kai James 2 0 1 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0
Team 2 1 3
=========================================================================
FSU 5 200 24 55 5 10 16 21 69 15 17 32 18 17 14 2 11
Opp 200 20 44 8 19 11 11 59 7 20 27 17 11 21 1 7
| 1 | 2 | Total | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Florida State | |||
| Hartford |
Seminoles Show Grit in Overtime Win at Purdue.
Florida State Women’s Hoops comes back in extra time to defeat the Boilermakers on the road,
67-64.
WEST LAFAYETTE, IN – Down by five points with 2 ½ minutes left in overtime, the Florida State Women’s Basketball team persevered down the stretch and delivered a 67-64 overtime victory over Purdue on Wednesday night at the ACC/Big Ten Challenge at Mackey Arena.
Purdue guard April Wilson’s basket gave the Boilermakers (3-3) what looked to be an insurmountable 62-57 lead with the crowd roaring and momentum on their side. However, redshirt senior guard Maegan Conwright calmly sank her fifth 3-pointer, and despite Purdue going back up 64-60, redshirt junior Morgan Jones drained a big 3-pointer of her own to create a 64-63 deficit with 1:40 left.
Following a good defensive possession, freshman Shakayla Thomas showed little nerves in getting the ball at the free throw line, using a nice crossover and hitting a floater to put FSU back on top at 65-64 with 24 seconds remaining. Purdue’s Ashley Morrissette then missed a jumper inside, and sophomore Brittany Brown’s two free throws with one second left virtually sealed the game.
The Seminoles improve to 7-1 this season. They made seven 3-balls on the evening and held Purdue to 34.4 percent shooting (21-of-61).
“It was tough on this team to come off five games away from home and then battle a Purdue team that has a great home atmosphere in what was our first true road game,” FSU head coach Sue Semrau said. “We really stepped up tonight defensively and we continue to work on that. It was a good win for us.”
Jones delivered a season high 20 points, including another big 3-pointer that put the Noles on top 55-52 with 38 seconds left in regulation, only to be responded by Morrissette’s game- tying triple 13 seconds later. Jones’ eight points late in the ballgame at critical times was an enormous boost for Florida State, which struggled in the second half shooting 31.8 percent.
Conwright gave FSU good offense once again with a career-high tying 19 points and a career-best five 3-pointers on 7-of-10 shooting. Junior center Adut Bulgak added 10 points and 12 rebounds, her fourth double-double of the season.
FSU shot 43.3 percent for the game, but took advantage of its second-chance points with an 18-7 edge. Despite out-rebounding Purdue 47-32, FSU lost the points in the paint battle for the first time this season at 26-24. Purdue was led by Wilson’s 17 points.
Purdue took the lead on a layup by Hayden Hamby, going up 50-49 with 5:59 left in the game. Ivey Slaughter came through for FSU when she knocked down an elbow jumper against the shot clock, helping the Noles to a 52-50 lead.
A free throw by Whitney Bays brought Purdue to within one at 43-42, but Jones responded with another 15-foot jumper, only for Purdue to get a layup on the next possession. Thomas then took a pass in the paint, squared up and hit a floater from the block as FSU held a 47-46 lead with 8:02 remaining.
Conwright started the second half banging in her career-high tying fourth 3-pointer to give FSU a 39-26 lead. However, Purdue mounted a 7-0 run and the Noles picked up a few fouls over the stretch to help them out, forcing a timeout by Semrau with 13:56 left and FSU leading 39-33. A driving layup by Purdue’s Wilson cut the Boilermaker deficit to 41-37 with 12:03 left, but Jones came up with a big baseline drive and basket to give FSU a six-point cushion.
Florida State ended the first half on a scoring flurry as it carried a 34-24 lead into the locker room. FSU made six of its last nine shots as Conwright nailed her third 3-pointer of the game with 3:19 left to take a 28-21 lead. Following three consecutive free throws by Purdue, Jones hit another pull-up jumper and Brown recorded a fast-break layup to put FSU ahead 32-24 with 1:22 remaining.
Conwright then made one of the biggest plays of the half when she took an inbounds pass from half court and raced to the rack for a buzzer-beating finish. FSU shot 52 percent 15-of-29 in the first half, the ninth time in its first 15 halves played that it has shot 50 percent or better.
FSU had the advantage of second-chance points, leading 11-0 in the category. The Noles forced shooting droughts by the Boilermakers, as Purdue missed its last four shots to close the half and contribute to FSU’s late 6-0 run.
Jones provided the early offense for the Seminoles, hitting a couple pull-up mid-range jumpers as FSU took an 8-1 lead through the first media timeout. Purdue missed its first five field-goal attempts, while the Noles connected on four of their first eight field goals. Jones also created a bucket out of a broken possession when she found Bulgak underneath who then found Thomas for an inside bucket.
Conwright found her groove offensively with some timely 3-balls, hitting her second with 8:04 left in the first half to give FSU a 20-14 lead. Conwright has recorded multiple 3-point field goals in all seven of her games played. Whitney Bays came back for Purdue with a mid-range jumper as the Noles clinged to a 20-16 advantage.
Bulgak’s hustle was on full display when she ran full court to try and send a ball into FSU’s possession for going out of bounds. Although she wasn’t able to get there, she was rewarded a couple possessions later on an offensive put back to put FSU ahead 23-16 with 4:20 left in the first half.
NO NAME GS MIN FGM FGA 3FGM 3FGA FTM FTA PTS OREB DREB REB PF AST TO BLK STL
== ==================== == === === === ==== ==== === === === ==== ==== === == === == === ===
1 Morgan Jones g 39 9 17 2 5 0 0 20 2 2 4 2 2 2 0 0
2 Adut Bulgak c 40 3 6 0 0 4 6 10 5 7 12 2 2 4 5 0
12 Brittany Brown g 35 1 9 0 1 3 4 5 2 6 8 2 3 3 0 2
15 Maegan Conwright g 40 7 10 5 7 0 0 19 1 3 4 0 4 4 1 2
23 Ivey Slaughter f 17 1 6 0 0 1 2 3 2 1 3 5 0 1 1 1
3 Emiah Bingley 7 0 1 0 1 0 0 0 0 1 1 1 1 0 0 0
20 Shakayla Thomas 22 3 6 0 0 0 0 6 3 3 6 3 0 2 0 0
24 Shakena Richardson 11 1 1 0 0 0 0 2 0 1 1 2 1 2 0 0
32 Lauren Coleman 6 0 2 0 2 0 0 0 0 0 0 1 1 0 0 0
42 Kai James 8 1 2 0 0 0 0 2 0 1 1 2 0 2 1 0
Team 2 5 7 2
=========================================================================
FSU 5 225 26 60 7 16 8 12 67 17 30 47 20 14 22 8 5
Opp 225 21 61 3 10 19 23 64 14 18 32 15 14 12 5 10
| 1 | 2 | OT | Total | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Florida State | ||||
| Purdue |
Florida State Wallops the Gators.
Seminole Women's Hoops uses game-opening 16-2 run to set the tone for a 77-51 victory over rival Florida on
Sunday afternoon at the Tucker Center.
TALLAHASSEE, FL – Some “lights out” shooting to start the game was all Florida State Women’s Basketball needed as it cruised to a 77-51 victory over rival Florida on Sunday afternoon at the Donald L. Tucker Center.
The Seminoles (8-1) set the tone for the game right away with an opening 16-2 run that forced an early timeout for Florida. Although the Gators responded by employing their press and cutting their deficit to single digits through much of the game, Florida State remained very much in control and used its strong interior offense and defense to get the 26-point win.
Sunday’s lop-sided victory is the third-largest win over Florida in program history. FSU defeated the Gators 90-48 in Tallahassee on Dec. 3, 1980, and also won 98-67 over Florida in its previous matchup at home on Nov. 15, 2012.
“I was really pleased with the fact that we defended really soundly,” FSU head coach Sue Semrau said following her ninth win over Florida. “I thought in the first half it wasn’t their offense that was hurting us. It was our turnovers and their free throws, so our fouls. Certainly when we cleaned that up a little bit things got better for us in the second half.”
Sophomore forward Ivey Slaughter was a physical presence on both ends of the floor and gave UF’s front court a hard time. Slaughter finished with a season-high 18 points with six boards, and drew a lot of fouls because of her aggressive play down in the low post.
Slaughter was part of a unit that forced Florida to commit 30 turnovers, a season high by an FSU opponent. UF’s 30 miscues are the most by an FSU opponent since the Noles forced 34 turnovers at UNCG on Dec. 22, 2012. FSU capitalized with 24 points off turnovers, and added 10 fast break points. It was the fifth time this year FSU has recorded double-digit fast break points.
“Our coaches really speak strongly on our defense,” Slaughter added. “If we have good defense then it will lead to great offense. I feel like since our defense was good that was why we were able to get transition and fast break points.”
Bulgak’s steady play resulted in her fifth double-double of the season with 17 points and 12 rebounds on 7-of-8 shooting. Perhaps even more impressive was her long-range game, going 3-of-3 from beyond the arc. Bulgak headlined FSU’s game-changing 16-2 start by notching 10 points in the first three minutes and 34 seconds of the contest.
“I think it was really important because we had to set the tone,” Bulgak said of the team’s start. “We had to come out with a fast start.”
Redshirt senior point guard Maegan Conwright added 12 points and two 3-point field goals, making her the lone Seminole to reach double figures in points and make multiple 3’s in every game played this year. Freshman Shakayla Thomas added 10 points off the bench.
FSU shot 27-of-59 from the floor (45.8 percent) and held Florida to 39.1 percent shooting (18-of-46). It is the fifth time in nine games that an FSU opponent has shot under 40 percent this season.
The win by FSU improves its home win streak against non-conference opponents to 19 games. The Noles have now defeated Florida for the fifth time in their last six games and for the ninth time in the last 12 meetings.
The Seminoles held a 38-22 first half lead thanks to a 5-0 run to end the half. In the second frame, FSU’s lead swelled to 31 points on an old fashioned three-point play by Thomas. Florida’s Haley Lorenzen made a layup to keep UF in the game at 43-33 with 16:21 remaining, but FSU continued to pound away offensively and grabbed its first 20-point lead when Slaughter stole the ball from point guard Carlie Needles and went in for a layup plus the foul to make it 56-35 with 10:55 remaining.
FSU is now 3-1 in head-to-head competition against Florida in the 2014-15 academic year.
NO NAME GS MIN FGM FGA 3FGM 3FGA FTM FTA PTS OREB DREB REB PF AST TO BLK STL
== ==================== == === === === ==== ==== === === === ==== ==== === == === == === ===
1 Morgan Jones g 26 3 9 0 3 0 2 6 2 2 4 1 4 3 0 3
2 Adut Bulgak c 27 7 8 3 3 0 2 17 3 9 12 3 0 3 1 1
12 Brittany Brown g 27 0 5 0 2 4 4 4 2 2 4 0 2 2 0 0
15 Maegan Conwright g 28 4 10 2 7 2 2 12 0 2 2 1 2 2 0 0
23 Ivey Slaughter f 23 6 9 0 0 6 7 18 4 2 6 3 1 0 0 2
3 Emiah Bingley 11 1 3 1 2 0 2 3 0 1 1 3 2 1 0 2
11 Chania Ray 3 0 1 0 1 1 3 1 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0
20 Shakayla Thomas 22 4 7 0 0 2 2 10 1 3 4 3 1 0 1 0
24 Shakena Richardson 17 2 6 0 2 2 2 6 0 0 0 2 5 4 0 2
25 Ama Degbeon 3 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 1 0 1 0 0 0 0 0
32 Lauren Coleman 8 0 1 0 1 0 0 0 0 0 0 1 0 1 0 0
42 Kai James 5 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 1 0 0
Team 1 1
=========================================================================
FSU 5 200 27 59 6 21 17 26 77 14 21 35 17 17 17 2 10
Opp 200 18 46 3 8 12 17 51 10 24 34 20 7 30 2 7
| 1 | 2 | Total | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Florida | |||
| Florida State |
Noles Hang on to Beat Temple.
Sophomore forward Ivey Slaughter collects her first double-double this season as Noles get 66-62 road win over the
Owls
PHILADELPHIA, PA – The inside presence of sophomore forward Ivey Slaughter proved to be the game’s biggest difference as Florida State Women’s Basketball held on to beat Temple, 66-62, on Sunday afternoon at McGonigle Hall.
Slaughter recorded her first double-double of the season and 10th of her career, collecting 16 points and a season-high 12 rebounds on 7-of-14 shooting. She was a major factor in FSU holding a 44-29 rebounding edge in the game, including 18 on the offensive glass.
Temple proved to be a relentless bunch, giving FSU some fits in the second half. Junior center Adut Bulgak hit arguably the game’s biggest shot when she connected on a 3-pointer from the wing with 32.8 seconds left to give the Noles a 64-58 lead. Later, a layup by Temple’s Tyonna Williams cut the FSU lead to 64-62 with five seconds left, but redshirt senior guard Maegan Conwright calmly sank two free throws to seal the win.
The Seminoles (9-1) have now won 14 straight December games.
Sophomore guard Brittany Brown had one of her best all-around performances of the season with 11 points on 5-of-6 shooting, seven rebounds, three assists, two steals and two blocks. Bulgak added another double-figure total with 11 points. FSU shot 45 percent from the floor while Temple shot 39.7 percent.
Temple’s Tanaya Atkinson drained a 3-pointer to put Temple behind just 37-33 in the second half, but Emiah Bingley responded with a big trey of her own to give the Noles a seven-point lead. However, Temple came back with five quick points on a layup from Erica Covile and a straightway 3-ball from Atkinson to cut its deficit to 40-38.
FSU clung to a 44-43 lead but got a big bucket from Slaughter down low, then used another huge 3-pointer from Bingley to make it 49-43 with 7:59 left. After Temple drained another long-range shot, Slaughter took over down low with back-to-back post and seals underneath as FSU got more breathing room with a 55-46 lead.
Brown continued to surge the Seminoles, giving FSU its largest lead at the time when she stole an errant pass from guard Khadijah Berger and went in for a layup to make it 35-27 Noles with 17:23 left in the game. The Noles continued to pound away on the offensive glass as well, getting 2-3 offensive boards on various possessions.
Florida State took a 28-23 halftime lead into the locker room following a physical first half. The low post tandem of Slaughter and Bulgak led the Noles with six points apiece, while FSU shot 41.4 percent (12-of-29) and held Temple to just 30.3 percent (10-of-33). The Noles held their largest lead at 26-19 on a beautiful scoop shot from Richardson with 2:49 remaining, but Temple scored two of the next three baskets before halftime to keep it close.
The game got off to a frenetic pace as FSU led the Owls 16-14 with 11:27 remaining in the first half. Brown stuffed the stat sheet early on, registering blocks, assists, steals and points to spark the Seminole offense and defense, while Slaughter manned the boards underneath. Bulgak, Slaughter and Brown led FSU early with four points apiece, as FSU shot 7-for-13 to start. Temple, however, found spaces in the FSU defense and kept the game tight early.
A 3-ball from the corner by Jones highlighted a needed run for FSU, scoring five quick points to force a Temple timeout leading 23-16 with 7:23 left in the first half. The Noles were forced adjust to a physical style of play that was allowed for both teams, as FSU out-rebounded the Owls 17-6 through that 7:23 mark to create second-chance opportunities for points. Both teams were averaging about 12 seconds per scoring possession and going at a quick pace in the half court.
NO NAME GS MIN FGM FGA 3FGM 3FGA FTM FTA PTS OREB DREB REB PF AST TO BLK STL
== ==================== == === === === ==== ==== === === === ==== ==== === == === == === ===
1 Morgan Jones g 22 1 9 1 5 0 1 3 1 3 4 0 2 3 0 0
2 Adut Bulgak c 26 5 11 1 4 0 0 11 1 5 6 4 1 5 5 2
12 Brittany Brown g 27 5 6 0 1 1 2 11 4 3 7 1 3 3 2 2
15 Maegan Conwright g 33 1 6 0 3 4 4 6 0 2 2 1 5 1 0 0
23 Ivey Slaughter f 34 7 14 0 0 2 3 16 8 4 12 2 0 1 0 4
3 Emiah Bingley 24 3 4 2 3 1 2 9 3 1 4 1 2 1 0 1
20 Shakayla Thomas 14 3 5 0 0 0 0 6 0 3 3 1 0 0 0 0
24 Shakena Richardson 15 2 5 0 0 0 0 4 0 0 0 1 3 4 1 1
42 Kai James 5 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 3 3 0 0 0 0 0
Team 1 2 3 1
=========================================================================
FSU 5 200 27 60 4 16 8 12 66 18 26 44 11 16 19 8 10
Opp 200 25 63 6 17 6 8 62 13 16 29 13 14 17 0 11
| 1 | 2 | Total | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Florida State | |||
| Temple |
Bulgak’s Big Night Lifts Noles Past UNF.
Junior center from Edmonton, Canada, records season-best 26 points as Florida State Women's Hoops defeats
Ospreys 79-58.
TALLAHASSEE, FL – Known as a team that shares the wealth pretty well, Florida State Women’s Basketball detoured from those plans tonight and let junior center Adut Bulgak take over as she scored a season-high 26 points in a 79-58 win over North Florida on Tuesday night at the Donald L. Tucker Center.
The Edmonton, Canada, native recorded her sixth double-double of the season, adding 11 rebounds in what was a dominant inside-and-out performance from the versatile 6-foot-4 player. The former No. 1 JUCO Player in the country knew when it was time to go to work in the low post, and also drilled another 3-pointer to expose her all-around game. Bulgak finished 11-of-18 from the floor and notched her 26 points in 26 minutes of action.
Bulgak was well on her way to becoming the 19th Seminole to score 30 points in a game, but with the contest well in hand she was subbed out of the game with 7:49 remaining and FSU ahead 70-43. Entering the game ranked in the Top 15 nationally in double-doubles and field goal percentage, Bulgak accelerated those numbers and is now shooting 60.5 percent (69-of-114) through the first month of the season.
“She’s one of the best three-point shooters that we have,” FSU head coach Sue Semrau said of Bulgak, who is 9-of-22 from long range. “We’ve got some good ones. Maeg’s a great one. Morgan Jones is a great one. But Duty’s shooting it. She’s shooting it great. We knew she could when she came in and we want to give her that opportunity.
“It’s a tough matchup. She’s scoring in about every way possible. She’s got the pull-up jumper, she scored off a layup. She scored off her back to the basket, a face-up three. I thought that was a tremendous offensive game for her.”
Florida State capitalized all night on inside scoring and second-chance points. The Seminoles (10-1) outscored the Ospreys (5-5) 40-20 in the paint and 23-8 on second-chance points. FSU kept its streak alive of having at least three players in double figures, as redshirt senior point guard Maegan Conwright and sophomore guard Brittany Brown each added 10 in the scoring column.
The Noles out-rebounded UNF 43-31, grabbing more boards than their opponents in all 11 games played this season. The victory over the Ospreys gives FSU a 14-1 record against Florida-based opponents since the 2012-13 season, and improves its series record against UNF to 4-0.
Florida State also stretched its home win streak vs. non-conference opponents to 20 games. FSU added 10 steals and 24 points off turnovers, bringing the Seminoles’ record to 9-0 this season when they collect 10 or more steals.
“It’s really fun,” Bulgak said of her experience with her new team. “Like coach Sue says, we don’t have to do it all by ourselves and we have a bunch of players that will come out and score in double figures every game. So it’s really helpful having people who can score and do a bunch of other stuff to help you.”
After a slow start that was caused by some smothering defense from the Ospreys, the Noles caught fire and took a 41-19 halftime lead. It was the fourth time this season FSU scored 40+ in the first half, as Bulgak led the Garnet and Gold with 18 points on 8-of-13 shooting at the break. Over FSU’s last two home games against Florida and UNF, Bulgak scored 32 points in 33 minutes in the first half.
Bulgak’s 18 points were the most scored by a Seminole in the first half this season. She contributed to FSU’s 48.6 percent shooting from the field and added seven boards in the first frame. The Noles would finish the game shooting 43.5 percent from the floor (30-of-69) while UNF went 20-of-54 (37 percent).
Florida State’s first 10 minutes of action weren’t as smooth as the second 10. The Noles endured a rare shooting drought of 3:41 before Conwright broke loose for a fast-break layup to give FSU a 17-11 lead. From there, the scoring spree started as FSU scored 24 points in the final 8 ½ minutes, punctuated by an 11-0 run that made it 37-15 FSU.
Bulgak continued to work for good position in the post and got an easy layup to make it 39-17, and with one second in the half Emiah Bingley fought for a loose ball and drained a baseline jumper as time expired.
FSU would make seven 3-point field goals against UNF, tying for the second-most made 3-balls this season.
NO NAME GS MIN FGM FGA 3FGM 3FGA FTM FTA PTS OREB DREB REB PF AST TO BLK STL
== ==================== == === === === ==== ==== === === === ==== ==== === == === == === ===
1 Morgan Jones g 24 2 4 2 3 0 0 6 0 3 3 1 2 3 0 0
2 Adut Bulgak c 26 11 18 1 4 3 3 26 4 7 11 2 1 5 2 1
12 Brittany Brown g 21 3 8 1 1 3 3 10 2 1 3 2 4 1 0 3
15 Maegan Conwright g 30 3 11 1 7 3 4 10 1 2 3 1 3 1 0 1
23 Ivey Slaughter f 11 4 4 0 0 1 3 9 1 0 1 3 1 1 0 1
3 Emiah Bingley 15 2 5 1 3 0 0 5 1 0 1 0 2 1 0 2
11 Chania Ray 3 0 1 0 1 0 0 0 0 1 1 0 0 1 0 0
20 Shakayla Thomas 13 0 2 0 0 0 0 0 2 4 6 5 1 2 1 0
24 Shakena Richardson 17 1 5 0 0 0 0 2 1 0 1 2 2 3 0 1
25 Ama Degbeon 10 1 2 0 0 1 2 3 0 1 1 0 0 1 0 0
32 Lauren Coleman 16 1 1 1 1 0 0 3 0 3 3 2 0 0 0 0
42 Kai James 14 2 8 0 0 1 2 5 2 2 4 2 1 1 0 1
Team 3 2 5
=========================================================================
FSU 5 200 30 69 7 20 12 17 79 17 26 43 20 17 20 3 10
Opp 200 20 54 5 10 13 17 58 11 20 31 16 7 28 4 9
| 1 | 2 | Total | |
|---|---|---|---|
| North Florida | |||
| Florida State |
Seminoles Storm Past Savannah State.
Five double-figure scorers highlight Florida State Women's Basketball's rout of the Tigers in a 97-51
victory.
TALLAHASSEE, FL – The Florida State Women’s Basketball team bought into Savannah State’s frenetic style of play and used it to their advantage as it stormed past the Tigers, 97-51, on Friday evening at the Donald L. Tucker Center.
The Seminoles (11-1) ramped things up in the second half and fed off their transition game that became more sophisticated than helter skelter. Already breaking away with a 45-29 halftime lead, FSU utilized its strength by pushing the ball in the game’s final 20 minutes where they generated all 14 of its fast-break points. The result was five double-figure performances for the third time this season.
Freshman forward Shakayla Thomas came off the bench to record a season-high 19 points on 8-of-10 shooting, the most by a bench player this season. Thomas picked her spots against Savannah State’s overzealous defense, routinely getting to the basket and hitting pull-up jumpers while also generating three blocked shots. Thomas sparked an offensive unit that scored 90+ points for the fifth time this season. The most 90-point performances under FSU head coach Sue Semrau is six in the 2012-13 season.
“I think this is one of the games that I feel the best about in terms of the way we played,” Semrau said. “Obviously it was nice to go up and win at Purdue. It was nice to go up and win in that kind of situation and it’s always nice to beat your biggest rival. But this was a game that I felt like we got better. I thought we worked extremely well together and we did the little things that coaches always want that players sometimes balk at. And that’s just working hard and moving their feet, making the extra pass and I just was really proud of them.”
For the second time this season, two Seminoles recorded double-doubles as junior center Adut Bulgak and sophomore forward Ivey Slaughter once again owned the paint. Bulgak’s double-double came in the first half and she finished with 15 points and 14 rebounds. Slaughter once again did everything – aggressively rebound, draw charges and finish inside – which culminated with a 13-point, 11-rebound effort. She added three assists to tie her career high.
Generating offense early for the Noles was redshirt junior guard Morgan Jones, who once again facilitated very well. Jones drained four 3-pointers and finished with 14 points. Her long-distance shooting helped FSU hit seven 3-pointers, the sixth time the Noles have drilled seven or more shots from the outside.
Florida State shot 19-of-32 (59.4 percent) in the second half and finished shooting exactly 50 percent (35-of-70) from the floor. FSU has shot 50 percent or better in four games this season.
Sophomore guard Brittany Brown continued her string of good offensive showings with 13 points on 5-of-7 shooting.
Florida State dominated the game in bench scoring (35-9) and points off turnovers (25-4). For the sixth time this year the Noles connected on 30+ field goals, making 35 while tying its season-high with 21 assists. FSU held a 46-32 rebounding edge, winning the battle of the boards in every game this season.
Redshirt senior guard Maegan Conwright had another flawless game handling the ball, recording three assists and no turnovers. Conwright has not had a game this season where she has committed more turnovers than assists.
The Noles started the second half in blistering fashion, going on a 12-2 run that took just 4:38 as Brown, Slaughter, Thomas and Conwright got into the scoring act going into the first media timeout of the second frame. Conwright then charged hard on the break and found a cutting Emiah Bingley on the left side for a beautiful transition layup, giving FSU a 59-31 lead with 14:37 remaining.
Later, a layup by Brown pushed FSU’s second-half run to 32-8 and stretched its lead to 40 points at 77-37 with 6:36 remaining.
Despite some miscues in the first half, Florida State jumped out to a 45-29 halftime lead. Jones had a big-scoring first half with 14 points and four 3-point field goals. In the first game’s first 20 minutes, Jones moved from 16th on the FSU career 3-point field goals list to 14th, draining long-distance shots with her high-arcing jumper. She now has 77 career 3-point field goals at FSU.
The Seminoles shot 42 percent (16-of-38) in the first half, while Savannah State was held to 33 percent from the floor (10-of-26). FSU was aided by more solid inside play from Bulgak, who recorded her seventh double-double of the year in the first half with 10 points and 10 doubles.
While it looked like FSU would seize control of the game early, Savannah State used a 9-0 run to trail just 23-20 with eight minutes left in the first half. That’s when Jones hit a much-needed triple from the corner, and Bulgak added a mid-range jumper to get back to an eight-point lead. Jones later hit another 3-pointer to help FSU to a 35-25 lead, and Bingley added a nice pull-up shot from 15 feet to put FSU ahead 44-29 with 1:45 left.
FSU was aided by its rebounding on the offensive glass. The Noles entered the game averaging 18 offensive boards and ended the first half with 16. FSU finished with 20 offensive rebounds.
NO NAME GS MIN FGM FGA 3FGM 3FGA FTM FTA PTS OREB DREB REB PF AST TO BLK STL
== ==================== == === === === ==== ==== === === === ==== ==== === == === == === ===
1 Morgan Jones g 25 5 7 4 5 0 0 14 0 2 2 0 2 3 1 1
2 Adut Bulgak c 22 5 13 0 1 5 6 15 7 7 14 0 2 2 2 0
12 Brittany Brown g 24 5 7 1 3 2 2 13 4 0 4 3 2 3 0 1
15 Maegan Conwright g 24 3 12 1 5 0 0 7 0 0 0 2 3 0 0 2
23 Ivey Slaughter f 24 3 7 0 0 7 11 13 6 5 11 1 3 0 1 0
3 Emiah Bingley 20 2 5 0 2 1 2 5 0 1 1 0 5 1 0 1
20 Shakayla Thomas 26 8 10 0 0 3 4 19 0 3 3 3 0 1 3 2
24 Shakena Richardson 19 3 7 0 0 2 4 8 1 1 2 2 4 1 0 2
32 Lauren Coleman 7 1 2 1 2 0 0 3 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0
42 Kai James 9 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 1 4 5 2 0 0 0 0
Team 1 3 4
=========================================================================
FSU 5 200 35 70 7 18 20 29 97 20 26 46 13 21 11 7 9
Opp 200 20 61 2 7 9 11 51 15 17 32 32 3 22 5 4
| 1 | 2 | Total | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Savannah State | |||
| Florida State |
Brown and Slaughter Carry Noles Past Tulane.
The sophomore duo each post big double-doubles as Florida State Women's Basketball gets a quality
65-54 road win at Tulane on Monday night.
NEW ORLEANS, LA – The sophomore duo of Brittany Brown and Ivey Slaughter each recorded double-double efforts in a workmanlike performance as the Florida State Women’s Basketball team scored a 65-54 road win at Tulane on Monday night at Devlin Fieldhouse.
Slaughter recorded her career-high in points with 21 on 8-of-9 shooting and added 10 rebounds for her 12th career double-double. The Macon, Ga., native may have played her most productive game of her career when FSU needed it most, throwing her body all over the floor and making plays at both ends of the court to give the Noles a strong boost.
Brown notched her first career double-double and her fourth consecutive double-figure game. The Fort Walton Beach, Fla., native was 6-of-12 from the floor for a season-high 14 points, a career-high tying 11 rebounds and two steals. Brown was relentless once again defensively and continues to be assertive and work herself into the offensive game plan.
“We played great defensively tonight against a very good Tulane team,” FSU head coach Sue Semrau said. “To allow them to shoot just 31.7 percent is impressive. I’m proud of the way our sophomores in Brittany Brown and Ivey Slaughter stepped up and led us to a very good win.”
Not to be forgotten was freshman Shakayla Thomas’ 15 points off the bench, as she went 6-of-8 from the floor and added six rebounds. No matter where she caught the ball, Thomas always found ways to finish underneath against a Tulane team that entered the game with a strong interior defense.
Although Florida State’s (12-1) 65 points are well below its 81.3 per-game average coming in, it tied for Tulane’s most points allowed this season. FSU held the Green Wave (9-2) to just 31.7 percent (20-of-63) from the floor, including 23.1 percent (9-of-39) in the first half. FSU shot 43.3 percent (26-of-60) from the floor.
A critical point in the game came when Tulane’s Chinwe Duru made an off-balanced layup to cut FSU’s lead to just 52-44 with 9:39 left and the Green Wave stealing the momentum. Tulane made it another eight-point deficit on free throws by Tiffany Dale, making it 54-46 FSU. That’s when the Noles used an important 9-0 run that included very good ball movement to give Slaughter a couple buckets in the paint and extend FSU’s lead to 63-46 with 3:47 left.
Florida State continued its streak of winning the rebounding battle, totaling 50 boards for its second-most this season while Tulane had 35 on the glass. Included in that were 16 offensive rebounds that kept possessions alive. FSU generated 17 second-chance points compared to Tulane’s eight.
A 15-foot jumper by Thomas after some good ball movement from the Noles helped them take a 45-28 lead with 15:54 remaining in the game. A quick start to the second half was needed and FSU traded baskets with Tulane back and forth before getting a few consecutive points thanks to a reverse bucket from Slaughter and some added offense from Brown.
FSU relinquished its lead and was trying to hold onto a 53-44 lead with 7:39 remaining in the game. Tulane started to found holes in FSU’s defense as Tiffany Dale led its comeback charge.
Florida State used a much-needed 7-0 run at the end of the first half to take a 36-21 halftime lead. The half ended when Maegan Conwright grabbed a rebound with five seconds left, pushed the ball to the left wing where Emiah Bingley hit a buzzer-beating 3-pointer. A greater cushion for the Noles was necessary with Tulane’s aggressive half-court trap that forced 16 FSU turnovers.
Slaughter was the catalyst in the first half on both ends of the floor, finishing the first 20 minutes with 10 points on 4-of-4 shooting with six rebounds. Thomas added eight points off the bench as FSU shot 53.6 percent and held Tulane to just 23.1 percent from the floor.
From the get-go it was a physical battle between the two teams with strong defensive play. Good-look chances were at a minimum but Brown was able to get the scoring started with a mid-range jumper from the wing, and Slaughter provided some toughness inside with good rebounding and a finish in the lane as it was 4-2 with 15:55 left in the first half.
Brown sparked a quick 5-0 run for FSU when she finished off the left side for a three-point play, and later Slaughter took a steal for a full-court layup to give FSU a 13-6 advantage. The Noles tried to beat an effective half-court trap from the Green Wave as it took the seven-point lead into the second timeout.
FSU carried a 21-15 lead into the third media timeout with 6:51 remaining in the first half. Thomas stepped up off the bench and found position inside for six points, while FSU continued to force turnovers and generate six fast-break points.
NO NAME GS MIN FGM FGA 3FGM 3FGA FTM FTA PTS OREB DREB REB PF AST TO BLK STL
== ==================== == === === === ==== ==== === === === ==== ==== === == === == === ===
1 Morgan Jones g 28 1 7 0 3 0 1 2 0 2 2 3 3 4 1 0
2 Adut Bulgak c 30 3 11 0 2 2 2 8 2 7 9 0 1 1 0 1
12 Brittany Brown g 33 6 12 1 2 1 2 14 3 8 11 2 1 3 0 2
15 Maegan Conwright g 37 1 8 0 5 0 0 2 0 3 3 1 5 6 0 2
23 Ivey Slaughter f 29 8 9 0 0 5 7 21 3 7 10 4 0 5 2 3
3 Emiah Bingley 20 1 4 1 2 0 0 3 1 1 2 3 1 0 0 0
20 Shakayla Thomas 20 6 8 0 0 3 4 15 3 3 6 2 0 2 1 2
24 Shakena Richardson 3 0 1 0 0 0 0 0 0 1 1 2 0 1 0 0
Team 4 2 6
=========================================================================
FSU 5 200 26 60 2 14 11 16 65 16 34 50 17 11 22 4 10
Opp 200 20 63 3 17 11 16 54 13 22 35 18 13 17 7 10
| 1 | 2 | Total | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Florida State | |||
| Tulane |
Contributions Galore as FSU Defeats Jacksonville.
TALLAHASSEE, FL – The Florida State Women’s Basketball team received several contributions on Monday evening as it cleared its bench in a 73-46 victory over Jacksonville at the Donald L. Tucker Center.
All 11 student-athletes who were active earned time on the court in the Seminoles’ (13-1) final non-conference matchup of the season. The win marks the fourth time FSU has finished the non-conference portion of the regular season with just one loss since joining the ACC in 1992.
Sophomore guard Leticia Romero made her FSU debut off the bench and showed off her wide range of skills. The Las Palmas, Spain, native finished the game with six points, six assists and six rebounds in 20 minutes of play, effectively running an offense that she has practiced with since early October.
“I thought for someone who was thrown into the fire – yes she briefly practiced with us – I thought she stepped in and was seamless,” FSU head coach Sue Semrau said of Romero. “She could have shot the ball a little more but she did a great job dishing it out.”
Redshirt junior guard Morgan Jones finished with a game-high 15 points on 6-of-9 shooting while nailing all three of her 3-point field goal attempts. Florida State managed to have five double-figure scorers for the third time this season. Jones also had four rebounds and three assists, proving to once again be a key facilitator for the offensive attack.
Getting big minutes off the bench was freshman center Ama Degbeon, who didn’t disappoint. The Grunberg, Germany, native had a career-high 11 points and showed her ability to get to the basket when she got touches in the paint. Sophomore Brittany Brown finished with 10 points, nabbing double figures for the fifth consecutive game.
Redshirt senior guard Maegan Conwright added 12 points, and freshman Shakayla Thomas made her first start of the season and finished with 10 points. Thomas started in place of sophomore forward Ivey Slaughter, who sat out Monday’s game following a minor head injury.
The Seminoles extend their win streak to nine consecutive games, tying for the seventh-longest in program history. FSU also stretched its non-conference win streak at home to 22 straight games.
Florida State shot 46.7 percent (28-of-60) from the field and made eight of its 17 3-pointers, its second-highest this season. The Noles held Jacksonville to 30 percent shooting (18-of-60), the fifth straight game an opponent’s shooting percentage has gone lower. The Noles held a 20-7 advantage in points off turnovers but were outscored in the paint for just the second time this year, 30-28.
Junior center Adut Bulgak continued to clean up the glass, posting her eighth double-figure rebounding game with 10 boards. FSU out-rebounded Jacksonville, 46-33, and has out-rebounded each of its first 14 opponents this season.
Florida State put the clamps down late in the first half to take a 40-26 advantage heading into the locker room. Despite getting outscored in the paint 22-10, FSU used six 3-pointers to its advantage to get itself out to the 14-point lead.
Jones notched her fifth double-figure scoring performance of the season with 10 first-half points, draining two from long distance. Brown followed with eight points, which include two from long range, as FSU shot 15-of-32 from the field and 6-of-12 from beyond the arc.
Jones helped FSU take its first double-digit lead of the game when her second 3-pointer from the right wing gave the Noles a 30-18 lead with six minutes left in the first half. Thomas’ turnaround jumper swelled the advantage to its largest of the first half at 16, making it 36-20 FSU with 3:03 left. Romero capped the first half with a pretty pull-up jumper inside the paint to give FSU 40 points, the sixth time the Noles have scored 40 or more in the first half.
Making her first start of the season, Thomas was also effective for the Seminoles as she chipped in with eight first-half points on 4-of-6 from the field.
NO NAME GS MIN FGM FGA 3FGM 3FGA FTM FTA PTS OREB DREB REB PF AST TO BLK STL
== ==================== == === === === ==== ==== === === === ==== ==== === == === == === ===
1 Morgan Jones g 24 6 9 3 3 0 0 15 0 4 4 0 3 1 0 1
2 Adut Bulgak c 26 3 6 1 1 1 2 8 5 5 10 4 0 0 3 2
12 Brittany Brown g 20 3 5 2 3 2 2 10 1 4 5 2 2 4 0 0
15 Maegan Conwright g 29 4 11 2 6 2 2 12 0 2 2 1 3 1 0 1
20 Shakayla Thomas f 20 5 8 0 0 0 1 10 1 4 5 3 1 3 2 0
3 Emiah Bingley 15 0 4 0 3 1 2 1 0 0 0 3 1 1 0 0
10 Leticia Romero 20 3 4 0 1 0 0 6 2 4 6 0 6 3 2 1
24 Shakena Richardson 10 0 1 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 2 2 4 0 1
25 Ama Degbeon 20 4 8 0 0 3 4 11 0 2 2 1 0 1 1 0
32 Lauren Coleman 9 0 1 0 0 0 0 0 0 3 3 1 0 0 1 0
42 Kai James 7 0 3 0 0 0 0 0 1 3 4 0 0 0 0 0
Team 3 2 5
=========================================================================
FSU 5 200 28 60 8 17 9 13 73 13 33 46 17 18 18 9 6
Opp 200 18 60 1 7 9 16 46 12 21 33 18 4 16 1 8
| 1 | 2 | Total | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Jacksonville | |||
| Florida State |
No. 4/4 Notre Dame Outlasts Florida State.
Seminole Women's Hoops holds lead for nearly 26 minutes but ultimately falls to the Fighting Irish on
the road.
SOUTH BEND, IN – The Florida State Women’s Basketball team endured a hard-fought defeat at No. 4/4 Notre Dame on Friday evening, falling 74-68 in front of 9,149 fans at Purcell Pavilion at the Joyce Center.
The Seminoles (13-2, 0-1) led for 25:59 of the game, and gave the Fighting Irish (13-1, 1-0) their first single-digit home win in conference play since joining the ACC in the 2013-14 season. The Irish stretched its regular-season win streak vs. ACC teams to 17 since joining the conference, but its victory was one of its toughest to come by.
“I’m very proud of the way we fought tonight,” FSU head coach Sue Semrau said. “We led the game for 26 minutes, but credit Notre Dame for how they played. I’m very proud of how many of our players performed.”
Freshman Shakayla Thomas led FSU with 18 points on 9-of-14 shooting, being able to create space inside. Sophomore guard Leticia Romero added 15 points on 3-of-5 shooting from 3-point land, while redshirt junior Morgan Jones had 14 points.
FSU out-rebounded Notre Dame, 38-30, and grabbed 16 offensive boards. The Noles shot 40 percent (26-of-65) from the field, while Notre Dame got hot in the second half and shot 51.9 percent for the game. FSU’s bench outscored the Irish, 33-10.
The Noles stayed resilient, as they converted a turnover into a three-point play by Thomas in the paint to cut their deficit to just 59-57 with 3:54 remaining. Ultimately, Notre Dame made its free throws down the stretch to get the six-point victory. Junior guard Jewell Loyd finished with a game high 20 points on just 6-of-15 shooting, while Lindsay Allen added 18 big points for the Irish.
A layup by Notre Dame’s Madison Cable with 12:46 left gave the Fighting Irish its first lead at 46-45. Later, Jones drew a smart shooting foul off an inbound play and converted both freebies to knot the game at 49-49, giving Jones her sixth double-figure performance of the season with 10 points. Brittany Brown recorded her first field goal off an offensive put-back to tie the game again at 51-51 with 8:43 left.
The Noles jumped out to a 10-1 run to begin the second half, courtesy of a couple key 3-balls from Jones as FSU held a 39-29 lead. Notre Dame began to establish its rhythm on offense, but Thomas found ways to get open inside for the Noles as they took a 43-36 lead with 15:03 left.
Florida State’s defense held tough through the first 20 minutes as it took a 29-28 lead into the halftime locker room. Notre Dame’s 28 points were its lowest first-half total of the season, and it was just the second halftime deficit this season by the Fighting Irish.
When she was able to get her shot off, Romero was very efficient from the floor, going 5-of-6 for 12 points, including 2-of-2 from long distance. Trying for the last shot to end the half, Romero hit a beautiful runner jumper to the right side, only for Notre Dame’s Lindsay Allen to hit about a 45-foot runner right before the halftime buzzer to cut its deficit to just one point. UND was held to just 11-of-26 from the floor, while FSU shot 12-of-34.
FSU was able to hold Notre Dame’s chief playmakers Jewell Loyd and Briana Turner to a combined 10 points at halftime. The Noles also head a 22-16 rebounding edge, including eight offensive boards.
FSU tried to steal the momentum from the get-go, taking a 17-6 lead on a basket from Thomas with 9:06 left in the first half. Notre Dame would eventually close the gap and go on a 13-7 run capped by a basket from Loyd to cut its deficit to 24-19 with 3:53 remaining in the first half. Adut Bulgak would respond by hitting an open 3-pointer from the wing, the ninth game she has drilled a triple, to give FSU a 27-19 lead with 3:19 left.
A quick 6-0 run by the Irish included a contested layup by Kathryn Westbeld to cut FSU’s lead to 27-25 before Allen’s eventual buzzer-beating shot.
Florida State’s half-court ball pressure forced Notre Dame to miss six of its first seven shots as FSU held a 6-2 lead through the first media timeout. The Irish did not score its first basket until 3 ½ minutes into the game on a driving layup from Loyd.
Following a 6-2 lead, the Noles went on a 9-2 run aided by the play of Romero. The Las Palmas, Spain, native hit a few pull-up jumpers and drained a 3-pointer to help FSU to a 15-4 lead with 11 minutes left in the first half.
NO NAME GS MIN FGM FGA 3FGM 3FGA FTM FTA PTS OREB DREB REB PF AST TO BLK STL
== ==================== == === === === ==== ==== === === === ==== ==== === == === == === ===
1 Morgan Jones g 28 5 12 2 5 2 2 14 3 3 6 0 3 4 0 3
2 Adut Bulgak c 28 1 9 1 5 2 2 5 2 6 8 4 2 0 1 0
12 Brittany Brown g 30 1 4 0 1 0 0 2 1 0 1 0 2 1 0 0
15 Maegan Conwright g 24 3 10 0 4 2 2 8 1 1 2 4 3 1 0 3
23 Ivey Slaughter f 20 1 3 0 0 4 4 6 1 3 4 4 1 1 0 0
3 Emiah Bingley 7 0 2 0 1 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 1 0 0
10 Leticia Romero 30 6 9 3 5 0 0 15 0 3 3 4 3 5 0 2
20 Shakayla Thomas 21 9 14 0 0 0 1 18 0 3 3 3 0 0 0 0
25 Ama Degbeon 12 0 2 0 0 0 0 0 2 0 2 0 0 3 0 1
Team 6 3 9 1
=========================================================================
FSU 5 200 26 65 6 21 10 11 68 16 22 38 19 14 17 1 9
Opp 200 27 52 2 7 18 24 74 6 24 30 10 9 14 7 12
| 1 | 2 | Total | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Florida State | |||
| Notre Dame |
No. 22 Seminoles Surge Past Clemson.
Florida State Women's Hoops uses a 16-0 run midway through the second half to break away from the Tigers on
the road and earn an 82-52 win.
CLEMSON, SC – The 22nd-ranked Florida State Women’s Basketball team couldn’t shake loose a pesky Clemson squad on the road until using a 16-0 run midway through the second half to lift the Noles to an 82-52 win on Thursday night at Littlejohn Coliseum.
The turning point of the game began off a made free throw by redshirt senior Maegan Conwright to give the Seminoles (14-2, 1-1) a 43-40 lead with 12:26 left in the game. It ended with a pretty transition layup from junior center Adut Bulgak on a nice feed from Conwright to extend the FSU lead to 59-40 with 8:15 remaining.
The nationally-ranked Noles’ 82 points scored at Clemson is their second-most in program history and their most since winning 83-73 on the road in the 2010-11 season.
Sophomore forward Ivey Slaughter (16 points, 12 rebounds) and Bulgak (14 points, 10 rebounds, four blocks) each finished with double-doubles, while Conwright led all scorers with a career-high 20 points and four 3-pointers. Conwright also went 6-of-6 from the free throw line, while FSU finished 14-of-17 from the charity stripe.
“A lot of players stepped up for us tonight,” FSU head coach Sue Semrau said. “It’s fun to have a team where you can have different players who step up in each game. I thought Ivey Slaughter was a warrior out there and battled hard. And Emiah Bingley gave us some great minutes off the bench and was a big part of that 16-0 run that changed the tempo of the game.”
The Noles outscored the Tigers (9-7, 1-2) 47-24 in the second half and finished the game emphatically with a 43-14 run. FSU has now won 11 straight against the Tigers overall and 12 straight on the road. The Noles made 30 field goals in the second half alone, which was seven more than they made in last year’s 59-43 grind-it-all win at Clemson.
Bingley’s importance could not be underestimated on Thursday night. The junior guard went 3-of-3 from the floor, made both of her 3-pointers, and had eight points, four rebounds and two assists. Bingley’s presence at both ends of the court, whether it was moving the ball offensively or hustling on the defensive end, helped change the game.
Florida State finished 8-of-18 from beyond the arc, tying for its second most made 3-pointers this season. FSU out-rebounded Clemson, 54-25, and had 27 points off Clemson’s 20 turnovers – tied for its third-highest this season. FSU also grabbed 21 offensive boards, meaning it has grabbed 51 offensive rebounds vs. the Tigers in the last two meetings.
FSU was hurt by early turnovers in the second half and Clemson capitalized in the open floor, as a seven-point halftime lead turned into just a 39-38 advantage with 15:47 left in the game. The Tigers enjoyed a 6-0 run that was capped by a layup from Cha’nelle Perry with 17:09 remaining to cut the FSU lead to 37-36.
Bulgak’s jumper from just inside 15 feet quelled a small run by the Tigers and gave FSU a 41-38 lead with 14:19 remaining. Slaughter and Conwright then went aggressively to the basket and were able to nail a couple free throws apiece as FSU took a 45-40 lead into the second media timeout of the second half.
The Seminoles needed a late scoring stretch to give themselves a manageable 35-28 halftime lead. Conwright led the Noles with 11 points on 3-of-5 shooting from 3-point range, her 11th double figure scoring game of the year. However, Conwright was one of three Seminoles (Romero – 3, Bulgak – 2) with two or more fouls in the first half.
FSU shot 13-of-33 (39.4 percent) but made four of its last four field goal attempts to finish the half on a bright note. With 4:19 remaining, Clemson trailed just 24-22 following a free throw by Chelsea Lindsay, but consecutive baskets by Bulgak and a hard-driving layup where Slaughter put it high off the window extended FSU’s lead to 30-24.
With 1:19 left, Bingley made a key 3-pointer from the right wing, and Shakena Richardson hit Shakayla Thomas for a nice pass inside on FSU’s last possession to help create the halftime score. Thomas finished with eight points.
Slaughter chipped in with seven points and six rebounds, while Bulgak added six points and six boards at the half. FSU held a decisive 27-18 edge in rebounding, including nine offensive, and outscored the Tigers 12-5 in points off turnovers.
Points were hard to come by early but Conwright gave the Noles a lift from long distance with two 3-pointers as FSU took a 9-4 lead through the first media timeout at 15:24 in the first half. The Noles made just three of its first 10 shots, but Clemson shot 1 of its first six. Conwright’s second 3-pointer gives her 10 games this season where she has buried multiple 3’s.
NO NAME GS MIN FGM FGA 3FGM 3FGA FTM FTA PTS OREB DREB REB PF AST TO BLK STL
== ==================== == === === === ==== ==== === === === ==== ==== === == === == === ===
1 Morgan Jones g 14 0 6 0 3 0 0 0 2 1 3 0 2 4 0 0
2 Adut Bulgak c 27 6 9 0 0 2 2 14 1 9 10 3 0 2 4 1
12 Brittany Brown g 23 0 4 0 1 0 0 0 3 3 6 1 1 3 0 1
15 Maegan Conwright g 36 5 12 4 9 6 6 20 1 3 4 3 4 5 0 2
23 Ivey Slaughter f 31 6 14 0 0 4 5 16 5 7 12 1 3 1 0 3
3 Emiah Bingley 17 3 3 2 2 0 0 8 2 2 4 4 2 2 0 0
10 Leticia Romero 21 3 6 1 1 2 2 9 2 3 5 4 4 1 0 1
20 Shakayla Thomas 16 4 9 0 0 0 2 8 2 3 5 1 0 1 0 1
24 Shakena Richardson 6 1 1 0 0 0 0 2 0 0 0 1 4 1 0 1
25 Ama Degbeon 3 1 1 0 0 0 0 2 1 0 1 0 0 0 0 0
32 Lauren Coleman 3 1 2 1 2 0 0 3 0 2 2 0 0 0 0 0
42 Kai James 3 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0
Team 2 2
=========================================================================
FSU 5 200 30 67 8 18 14 17 82 21 33 54 18 20 20 4 10
Opp 200 17 51 4 19 14 22 52 7 18 25 17 9 20 3 17
| 1 | 2 | Total | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Florida State | |||
| Clemson |
No. 22 Florida State Downs No. 13/12 Duke.
Florida State Women's Hoops outscores the Blue Devils 40-21 in the second half to get a 74-58 win over
Duke.
TALLAHASSEE, FL – The 22nd-ranked Florida State Women’s Basketball team used an inspiring second-half effort to get an impressive 74-58 victory over No. 13/12 Duke on Sunday afternoon in a crowded Donald L. Tucker Center.
The Seminoles (15-2, 2-1) outscored the Blue Devils (11-5, 2-1) 40-21 in the game’s final 20 minutes by way of some suffocating man-to-man defense and timely shooting from the inside-out. Florida State went 12-of-24 in the second half while holding Duke to just 6-of-20, turning a 37-34 halftime deficit into a 16-point rout.
Florida State’s 16-point win is its largest margin of victory in its 45 meetings with Duke, eclipsing a pair of 12-point wins in the 1991-92 season (W, 67-55) and the 1992-93 season (W, 84-72). The big victory also snapped an eight-game losing streak to Duke and was its fourth Top 25 win over the Blue Devils.
“We told them that it was going to be a war on the boards and that’s exactly what it was,” FSU head coach Sue Semrau said. “I thought that we started out extremely well going to the boards on the offensive end and we weren’t shooting it well but we rebounded well. We still went into halftime with a deficit and let them shoot too well in the first half. We challenged them defensively and they really responded.”
With Duke having eight student-athletes standing at 6-feet or taller, the Noles looked to junior center Adut Bulgak to help neutralize the nation’s top rebounding team. The Edmonton, Canada, native made quite the difference as she finished the game with 18 points (6-of-13) and 18 rebounds, her ACC-leading ninth double-double of the season as well as a career high in rebounds.
Bulgak, who is the leader of FSU’s rebounding defense that ranks first in the ACC, became just the eighth Seminole to recorded at least 18 points and 18 rebounds in a game. She teamed with sophomore center Kai James to hold one of the nation’s top centers in Elizabeth Williams to just three points and three rebounds in 25 minutes. Williams, an All-American candidate, fouled out of the game with 1:16 left in the second half.
“We always have an emphasis on rebounding,” Bulgak said. “My teammates boxing out allowed me to find open gaps. I didn’t feel a lot of pressure. It shouldn’t be pressure when it’s something you do all the time.”
Duke entered Sunday’s game leading the nation in rebounding margin (+16.5) and second in defensive rebounding (32 per game). However, Florida State’s prowess on the glass took over as it out-rebounded Duke, 38-28, including 18 offensive boards.
Sophomore guard Leticia Romero co-starred in Sunday’s big win, scoring 16 points (6-of-10 shooting) while adding seven rebounds and four assists. In her four games with FSU, Romero has shot 50 percent or better from the field and used her size as a point guard to help on the glass against the tallest team in Duke history. Romero played a role in giving the Noles a 15-5 edge in second-chance points.
A huge part of FSU’s second-half comeback was the long-range shooting of redshirt senior Maegan Conwright. For the second straight game, she drained four triples and gave the Noles 13 points and five assists. FSU tied a school record with 31 3-point field goal attempts and tied its season high with nine made 3-balls. Also among FSU’s best passers was redshirt junior Morgan Jones, who showed excellent floor vision with her five assists.
The Noles were aggressive against Duke, drawing 27 fouls and making 15 of their 19 free throw attempts (78.9 percent). In their three ACC games, FSU is shooting 83 percent (39-of-47) from the charity stripe. Duke was also held to just 14 points in the paint, by far its lowest total of the season.
Sunday’s game became a back-and-forth affair in the second half, with both teams tied at 54-54 and just six minutes remaining. A mid-range jumper by sophomore Ivey Slaughter helped kick-start FSU’s strong finish to the game, as the Noles went on a 12-1 over the next 3:09 that created a 66-55 advantage and helped put the game out of reach.
Romero was a big part of the run with a nifty layup and a huge 3-pointer from the corner off some tremendous ball movement. Conwright capped the scoring stretch with a 3-ball from the right wing to put FSU ahead 66-55 with just 2:31 left.
With Duke trailing 66-58 following three free throws from Rebecca Greenwell, Conwright handled its full-court pressure exceptionally well and threaded a great pass to Bulgak for the finish with 1:39 left. Six consecutive free throws made by FSU ended the game.
Duke shot 6-of-10 from 3-point range, led by Greenwell’s game-high 19 points and freshman Azura Stevens’ 17 points.
Semrau now owns 31 Top 25 victories in her 18 years at FSU. The win was FSU’s third this season over an opponent ranked in the Top 40 of the RPI.
NO NAME GS MIN FGM FGA 3FGM 3FGA FTM FTA PTS OREB DREB REB PF AST TO BLK STL
== ==================== == === === === ==== ==== === === === ==== ==== === == === == === ===
1 Morgan Jones g 31 2 10 2 7 0 0 6 0 0 0 2 5 3 0 1
2 Adut Bulgak c 35 6 13 0 4 6 8 18 8 10 18 3 0 1 1 0
12 Brittany Brown g 19 1 3 0 2 1 2 3 2 0 2 0 2 1 0 2
15 Maegan Conwright g 33 4 11 4 10 1 2 13 0 0 0 2 5 4 0 2
23 Ivey Slaughter f 13 1 2 0 0 0 0 2 0 1 1 5 0 3 0 0
3 Emiah Bingley 8 2 6 2 5 0 0 6 0 0 0 0 1 0 0 1
10 Leticia Romero 30 6 10 1 3 3 3 16 3 4 7 1 4 5 0 1
20 Shakayla Thomas 15 1 4 0 0 2 2 4 1 0 1 1 0 1 0 1
25 Ama Degbeon 1 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0
42 Kai James 15 2 3 0 0 2 2 6 2 2 4 1 0 0 0 0
Team 2 3 5
=========================================================================
FSU 5 200 25 62 9 31 15 19 74 18 20 38 15 17 18 1 8
Opp 200 19 45 6 10 14 19 58 8 20 28 27 12 25 1 6
| 1 | 2 | Total | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Duke | |||
| Florida State |
Romero and Thomas Lead Seminoles Past Pitt.
Leticia Romero (19 points) and Shakayla Thomas (13 points, 10 rebounds) make most of spots in the
starting lineup and lead FSU to a 58-43 win over Pitt.
TALLAHASSEE, FL – With the No. 20/19 Florida State Women’s Basketball team being down in numbers, sophomore Leticia Romero and freshman Shakayla Thomas rose to the occasion to lead FSU to a 58-43 conference win over Pitt on Thursday night at the Donald L. Tucker Center.
Romero, making her first career start and her fifth appearance, recorded FSU career highs of 19 points (8-of-12) and eight field goals made. The natural point guard tied her career best with seven rebounds and dished out three assists to just two turnovers in 30 minutes.
The Las Palmas, Spain, native did her best to run the offense on a night where FSU did not have the services of standout center Adut Bulgak, who suffered a concussion last game against Duke on Sunday and continues to be revaluated. The Seminoles (16-2, 3-1) were also forced to bring redshirt junior guard Morgan Jones off the bench because of a hip injury that prevented her from practicing early in the week.
“I anticipated that Pitt would be a really tough opponent,” FSU head coach Sue Semrau said. “They really handled (North) Carolina up at their place and played Louisville extremely close. This was their first road game, and I think that that showed, but I think our defense was a big part of that. We went on an 18-0 run in the first half, and that was largely because of our defense.”
Helping alleviate the undermanned Noles was Thomas’ presence in the paint. The athletic freshman from Sylacauga, Ala., notched her second career double-double with 13 points (6-of-10) and a career-high tying 10 rebounds. Thomas was also a force defensively with a career-high four blocked shots, as FSU blocked an impressive seven shots considering 53.5 percent (38 blocks) of its production was taken away with the injury to Bulgak. FSU’s seven blocks are its most in conference play this year.
The Panthers (11-5, 1-2) came off a resounding 84-59 home win last Thursday against then-No. 8 North Carolina, but made some self-inflicted mistakes with the help of some quick and athletic FSU defense. Very rarely did Pitt’s inside players find free passes to the lane, and its 3-pointer shooters were often contested from the outside. Pitt’s 43 points scored ties its lowest of the season as it lost to Princeton in its first game, 59-43. Princeton is one of the few remaining unbeatens in college basketball.
Senior guard Brianna Kiesel, one of the ACC’s top point guards, was held to six points (3-of-11) after entering the game averaging 22.5 over her last four games. She was part of a Pitt team that turned the ball over 23 times and mustered just six assists, including one assist to 13 turnovers at halftime.
FSU shot 25-of-65 (38.5 percent) from the floor while holding Pitt to 31.5 percent (17-of-54) from the field. The Panthers are the eighth FSU opponent this season to be held below 35 percent shooting.
Sophomore forward Ivey Slaughter was another important figure for FSU, recording eight points and seven rebounds as well as two blocks and two steals in just 16 minutes. She helped FSU win the rebounding battle, 47-42, to continue its streak of out-rebounding every opponent this season.
Florida State took a dominant 32-14 lead at halftime, as Pitt’s 14 points were the lowest scored by an FSU opponent this season. Pitt’s six made field goals was also the lowest by a first-half opponent, and the seventh time the Noles held the opposition to single-digit field goals made in the game’s first 20 minutes.
“Huge,” Semrau said of having a big halftime lead. “Especially with Ivey being in foul trouble. I wondered how we’d come out and thought we maybe relaxed some in some areas, but I got a chance to play a lot of players who deserve an opportunity to be on the floor. So that was fun to see.”
The decisive run was an 18-0 onslaught that gave the Noles a 20-4 advantage midway through the first half and held Pitt scoreless for 8:12. The run began with a layup by Kai James on a nice lob pass from Romero and ended with a pull-up mid-range jumper from Romero at the 8:54 mark. She finished the first half with 10 points, her third double-figure game in five appearances, on 5-of-6 shooting from the floor.
Thomas gave the Noles some strong play in the paint, adding nine points on 4-of-6 shooting with five boards. FSU forced Pitt into 13 turnovers and converted 16 points off the Panther miscues, and held one of the ACC’s top guards in Kiesel scoreless going 0-for-5. FSU shot 15-of-33 from the floor (45.5 percent), drilling its last three field goals of the half on a couple tough jumpers by Thomas and a fast break layup by Morgan Jones.
NO NAME GS MIN FGM FGA 3FGM 3FGA FTM FTA PTS OREB DREB REB PF AST TO BLK STL
== ==================== == === === === ==== ==== === === === ==== ==== === == === == === ===
10 Leticia Romero g 30 8 12 1 2 2 3 19 1 6 7 3 3 2 0 0
12 Brittany Brown g 23 2 5 0 1 2 4 6 2 1 3 3 1 4 0 0
15 Maegan Conwright g 27 1 9 1 3 0 0 3 1 1 2 2 3 4 0 1
20 Shakayla Thomas f 26 6 10 0 0 1 3 13 2 8 10 1 0 2 4 0
23 Ivey Slaughter f 16 4 7 0 0 0 0 8 2 5 7 3 0 1 2 2
1 Morgan Jones 13 1 6 0 2 0 0 2 1 2 3 0 1 0 1 1
3 Emiah Bingley 19 0 4 0 2 1 2 1 0 2 2 1 2 1 0 3
24 Shakena Richardson 7 0 3 0 0 0 0 0 0 1 1 1 0 3 0 1
25 Ama Degbeon 21 1 3 0 0 0 0 2 1 0 1 0 0 0 0 0
32 Lauren Coleman 10 0 2 0 0 0 0 0 1 1 2 0 0 0 0 1
42 Kai James 8 2 4 0 0 0 1 4 2 1 3 2 1 0 0 0
Team 2 4 6
=========================================================================
FSU 5 200 25 65 2 10 6 13 58 15 32 47 16 11 17 7 9
Opp 200 17 54 2 13 7 16 43 11 31 42 15 6 23 4 9
| 1 | 2 | Total | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Pittsburgh | |||
| Florida State |
Seminoles Get Past Virginia Tech.
The No. 20/19 FLorida State Women's Basketball team earns a 59-44 victory on the road against the Hokies to move
to 4-1 in ACC play for the first time since the 2010-11 season.
BLACKSBURG, VA – The No. 20/19 Florida State Women’s Basketball team got past conference opponent Virginia Tech on Sunday afternoon, 59-44, in Cassell Coliseum.
Altogether, Sunday’s win that pushed the Seminoles (17-2, 4-1) to 4-1 in ACC play for the first time in four years was a balanced effort on both ends of the floor. Florida State has now won 18 of its past 20 games against the Hokies (9-10, 0-6), and did so on Sunday without junior center Adut Bulgak (concussion) for the second straight game.
Freshman forward Shakayla Thomas finished tying her career high with 19 points on 8-of-11 shooting, bailing FSU out when things didn’t always go its way offensively. Starting in place of Bulgak for the second straight game, the Sylacauga, Ala., native gave FSU another strong performance on the boards with seven. Florida State kept its streak alive of out-rebounding its opponents, holding a 38-33 edge on the glass as it has out-rebounded the opposition in all 19 games this season.
Brittany Brown and Kai James also had seven rebounds apiece on Sunday.
Redshirt senior Maegan Conwright added 12 points in the win, hitting 3-of-7 from the 3-point line. The Noles got some collective scoring from the rest of the supporting cast, as Brown chipped in with eight and Morgan Jones added seven.
“It was a sloppy win for us,” FSU head coach Sue Semrau said. “But we’re excited to get another win on the road in the ACC. I thought Virginia Tech’s point guard did a nice job of getting the ball to Hannah Young. For us, we haven’t scored 60 in the last couple games and that can’t happen in the ACC. We have to get back to work and get back to who we are.”
Florida State shot 39.7 percent (23-of-58) from the floor, but its defense helped it out once again. FSU held Virginia Tech to just 36 percent shooting (18-of-50) and dominated inside with a 34-16 margin in the paint. While points in the half court were sometimes hard to come by, FSU used its 16-2 edge on fast breaks to its advantage, and also had a huge 23-6 advantage in points off turnovers.
Despite Young scoring 19 points on FSU on 8-of-15 shooting, FSU forced 21 Hokie turnovers, the 12th time this year the Noles have forced 20+ turnovers. One of the Achilles heels for FSU was its free-throw shooting, finishing just 10-of-26 from the charity stripe.
Young drained a 3-pointer from the corner with 11:36 remaining in the game that gave the Hokies momentum trailing just 40-31. However, FSU used a big fast-break layup by Jones off a steal from Ivey Slaughter to redirect the game in the Noles’ favor as it proceeded to open things up to a 51-33 lead with 6:35 remaining. The 11-2 run helped squash any comeback chances for the Hokies.
FSU charged hard to the lane to begin the second half, getting consecutive baskets off the drive from Brown to help it to a 40-24 lead with 15:33 remaining. However, Virginia Tech went on a 10-0 run and held the Seminoles without a point for over four minutes, cutting the deficit to 40-31 with 11:36 left.
For the second consecutive game, the Noles took a 32-14 halftime lead as it did against Pitt on Thursday night. FSU’s aggressive man-to-man defense held the Hokies to just 5-of-21 (23.8 percent) while FSU was 12-of-30 (40 percent) from the floor.
Conwright gave FSU its only dose of long-range shooting with two 3-point field goals and had eight points in the first half. Thomas, starting in place of junior center Adut Bulgak (concussion) once again, found enough space to operate on the inside and also had eight points with four rebounds at the half. FSU’s halftime lead was its fourth in five ACC games.
The Noles used a late 8-0 run to end the half, turning a 24-14 lead into a 32-14 halftime advantage. Thomas and Conwright headlined the run as Conwright’s second 3-pointer from the right wing put FSU ahead 28-14 with 2:39 left. Conwright leads the Noles with 12 games this year with multiple 3-point field goals.
Thomas was efficient getting the ball in the fast break, as Conwright found her down the middle of the lane for a layup to give the Noles a 30-14 lead. Free throws by Thomas and Romero sent FSU with an 18-point halftime lead. FSU had 13 fast-break points at the half, the ninth time the Noles have recorded double-digit points on the break.
Florida State tried to push the ball early and took a 10-5 lead into the first media timeout at 15:33 in the first half. Slaughter found a few ways to maneuver in the post and Conwright capped the scoring with a 3-pointer from the right wing as FSU tried to break open the game right away.
In the first 13 minutes of the game, 10 Seminoles already earned playing time including James, who provided good post defense and hit a left-handed layup to put FSU ahead 23-11 with seven minutes left in the first half. FSU held the Hokies to just five made field goals through the final media timeout at 3:55 and were able to draw several fouls on Virginia Tech, but shot just four of its first 10 from the free throw line.
NO NAME GS MIN FGM FGA 3FGM 3FGA FTM FTA PTS OREB DREB REB PF AST TO BLK STL
== ==================== == === === === ==== ==== === === === ==== ==== === == === == === ===
1 Morgan Jones g 22 3 10 0 4 1 4 7 1 4 5 2 3 2 0 0
12 Brittany Brown g 22 4 10 0 1 0 0 8 3 4 7 2 3 0 0 0
15 Maegan Conwright g 33 4 9 3 7 1 1 12 0 1 1 0 3 2 0 2
20 Shakayla Thomas f 28 8 11 0 0 3 10 19 3 4 7 4 0 1 2 1
23 Ivey Slaughter f 22 2 7 0 0 1 2 5 2 3 5 2 1 1 2 1
3 Emiah Bingley 18 1 4 0 3 0 0 2 1 0 1 1 0 1 0 2
10 Leticia Romero 16 0 3 0 2 2 4 2 0 1 1 0 1 5 0 2
24 Shakena Richardson 6 0 1 0 0 1 2 1 0 2 2 0 1 0 0 1
25 Ama Degbeon 7 0 0 0 0 0 1 0 0 1 1 1 0 0 0 1
32 Lauren Coleman 10 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 1 0 0 0
42 Kai James 16 1 3 0 0 1 2 3 2 5 7 1 0 2 0 0
Team 1 1
=========================================================================
FSU 5 200 23 58 3 17 10 26 59 12 26 38 13 13 14 4 10
Opp 200 18 50 4 13 4 6 44 6 27 33 27 13 21 5 3
| 1 | 2 | Total | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Florida State | |||
| Virginia Tech |
No. 17 Noles Knock off Fourth-Ranked Louisville.
Seminole Women’s Hoops gets a hard-fought 68-63 win over the Cardinals for their highest-ranked
victory in six years.
TALLAHASSEE, FL – In a game that featured countless back and forth swings, the 17th-ranked Florida State Women’s Basketball team found a way to outlast No. 4 Louisville as it emerged with a 68-63 victory on Thursday evening in front of an inspired crowd at the Donald L. Tucker Center.
The Seminoles’ (18-2, 5-1) big win over the Cardinals (17-2, 5-1) marks their highest-ranked win since defeating No. 3 Texas A&M, 68-63, on Jan. 5, 2009 in Tallahassee. Adding to FSU’s impressive résumé is that it delivered its second Top 15 win of the season after also defeating then-No. 13/12 Duke, 74-58, on Jan. 11.
“I love this team’s heart. I love their character. I love their fight,” FSU head coach Sue Semrau said. “We jumped out early obviously. They made a couple of adjustments, and we had to make some more adjustments at halftime. You have a fifth-year senior (Maegan Conwright) and a freshman (Shakayla Thomas) that are coming together with a team that is really becoming unified and becoming different.
“Defensively, I thought they just moved well, extremely well. Offensively, I know I have two weapons right here (Conwright and Thomas). We’ve still got a lot to work on. We’ve got a lot we need to do to get better. But it was a nice win for us today.”
A favorable outcome seemed like it was slipping away for FSU when Louisville freshman Mariya Moore drilled a 3-pointer from the corner to put the Cardinals ahead 60-54 with six minutes left. Two minutes later, FSU sophomore Leticia Romero hit a fallaway jumper to cut its deficit to 61-58, and redshirt junior Morgan Jones kept the Noles in the game with a jumper from the elbow to leave them trailing 62-60 with 2:28 left.
With Louisville operating as one of the nation’s best in turnover margin, FSU found a way to force a Cardinal turnover as sophomore Ivey Slaughter stole the ball from Bria Smith and got it to Romero, who was fouled and converted one of two from the line to knot the game at 63-63 with 1:34 left.
That set the stage for freshman Shakayla Thomas, who drove hard for what was essentially the game-winning layup on the right side of the hoop with 33 seconds left, putting FSU ahead 65-63. A missed jumper by UofL’s Jude Schimmel resulted in one made free throw from Romero with nine seconds left. Louisville followed with a well-drawn play that resulted in a miss from the corner by Megan Deines.
Thomas then iced the game with two made free throws with two seconds left to lift FSU past the Cardinals 68-63.
The win was Semrau’s 32nd career Top 25 victory at FSU, and is tied for her fourth highest-ranked win. The Seminoles’ top-ranked win continues to be their 80-74 victory over No. 2 (both polls) Duke on Feb. 8, 2004.
Redshirt senior Maegan Conwright paced FSU with 17 points on 7-of-17 shooting, which included three much-needed 3-pointers. The Arlington, Texas, native has now drained three or more 3-pointers in a game seven times this season, including four times already in conference play. She added two assists and just one turnover.
“Basketball is all about runs, it’s a game of runs, and we made a big one initially, and they found a way to make a run back,” Conwright said. “So eventually we had enough runs to win the game. I was just hitting the open shots they were giving to me.”
Thomas added 13 points on 5-of-10 shooting and 10 rebounds for her third double-double of the season. Romero netted nine points, five rebounds and five assists, while Adut Bulgak and Morgan Jones each added seven points.
Louisville’ Sara Hammond led all scorers with 19 points.
FSU got off to a high-flying start and took a commanding 21-1 lead following a layup by Conwright with 13:10 left in the first half. However, Bulgak picked up her second foul in ticky-tack fashion with 8:42 left and the Noles leading 27-9. From there, the Cardinals went on a 21-6 run to cut its deficit to 33-30. The Noles would take a 35-32 lead into the locker room.
FSU out-rebounded the Cardinals 45-40, keeping its streak intact of out-rebounding every opponent this season. FSU generated 18 points off Louisville’s 16 turnovers, and both teams managed to get through a game that featured a combined 46 personal fouls (24 – Louisville, 22 – FSU).
The Noles finished the game shooting 26-of-65 (40 percent), while Louisville went 23-of-55 (41.8 percent) from the floor. FSU struggled from the free throw line again, shooting 10-of-24 while Louisville did not fare much better shooting 14-of-25.
Nearly halfway through the ACC season, FSU is tied for first-place in the conference standings with 5-1 Louisville, Notre Dame and Miami.
NO NAME GS MIN FGM FGA 3FGM 3FGA FTM FTA PTS OREB DREB REB PF AST TO BLK STL
== ==================== == === === === ==== ==== === === === ==== ==== === == === == === ===
1 Morgan Jones g 30 3 8 1 4 0 1 7 3 3 6 2 3 3 1 0
2 Adut Bulgak c 25 3 8 1 3 0 0 7 1 6 7 4 1 2 0 0
12 Brittany Brown g 24 2 10 0 2 1 4 5 5 1 6 2 1 1 0 2
15 Maegan Conwright g 33 7 17 3 9 0 0 17 0 0 0 2 2 1 0 1
23 Ivey Slaughter f 20 1 4 0 0 0 0 2 1 3 4 3 0 0 1 2
3 Emiah Bingley 7 2 3 1 2 1 2 6 0 0 0 1 1 0 0 0
10 Leticia Romero 27 2 4 0 1 5 10 9 1 4 5 3 5 3 0 1
20 Shakayla Thomas 21 5 10 0 0 3 7 13 2 8 10 4 0 3 0 1
25 Ama Degbeon 8 1 1 0 0 0 0 2 0 1 1 0 0 0 0 0
42 Kai James 5 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 1 2 3 1 0 2 0 0
Team 1 2 3
=========================================================================
FSU 5 200 26 65 6 21 10 24 68 15 30 45 22 13 15 2 7
Opp 200 23 55 3 13 14 25 63 8 23 31 24 14 16 3 7
| 1 | 2 | Total | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Louisville | |||
| Florida State |
Dazzling Offensive Performance Powers No. 17 FSU Past Wake.
TALLAHASSEE, FL – The high-powered 17th-ranked Florida State Women’s Basketball team put on an offensive show Sunday afternoon as it raced past Wake Forest, 110-80, at the Donald L. Tucker Center.
The Seminoles’ (19-2, 6-1) 110 points scored tie for their second-most ever in program history and their highest amount since defeating Stetson 114-71 on Feb. 6, 1991, which is the school record. FSU’s 110 points is its most points scored vs. ACC competition, eclipsing its 102-93 victory over Boston College on Jan. 27, 2011.
Florida State made 12-of-28 (42.9 percent) from beyond the arc, tying a school record for 3-point field goals made. The Seminoles also set season highs for field goals made (40), assists (24) and field goal attempts (79).
FSU improves to 19-2 overall this season to mark its best start in school history. Sunday’s game included five double-figure scorers in redshirt junior Morgan Jones (16), junior Adut Bulgak (15), sophomore Ivey Slaughter (14), sophomore Brittany Brown (11) and redshirt senior Maegan Conwright (11).
Another area of great significance was FSU’s high scoring off the bench. The Noles set a season high with 47 bench points which included Jones’ 16 and six other players getting in the scoring column.
“There just was no let down,” FSU head coach Sue Semrau said of her bench play. “I was just so pleased with (that). They didn’t try to come in and do anything different. They saw what was working, they saw the dribble penetration, the attack, and they stayed with it, even in different combinations. I think that’s always a hard thing to do. I thought everybody came in and gave us something really big off the bench.”
The Seminoles shot 50.6 percent (40-of-79) from the floor, but the Demon Deacons (32-of-62) actually shot a greater percentage at 51.6 percent. FSU was able to generate 14 fast-break points and get 31 points off Wake Forest’s 21 turnovers. FSU’s 50.6 field goal percentage was the fifth time it has shot north of 50 percent.
Bulgak claimed her 10th double-double of the season by adding 10 rebounds to her 15 points, as she waged a good battle inside against Wake Forest senior center Dearica Hamby (26 points, 13 rebounds). Sophomore point guard Leticia Romero made her second start of the season and dished out nine assists in her 23 minutes of action, while Jones tied her season high draining four 3-point field goals.
FSU’s win today over Wake Forest snapped a three-game skid to the Demon Deacons dating back to the 2010-11 year. The Noles have now won 11 of their last 12 home games against Wake Forest, and improve to 10-0 at home this season. FSU has four tough home games remaining against No. 23/22 Syracuse (Feb. 2), Miami (Feb. 8), Clemson (Feb. 19) and NC State (Feb. 26), but it will seek just its second undefeated home record ever.
Offensively, the Seminoles ran as they usually do when opportunities present themselves, but they operated very efficiently in the half court too. Through penetration and kicking, good ball reversal and good ball movement, FSU averaged over one point per possession (1.3) and averaged less than half of the time on the shot clock (14 seconds).
Both teams combined for 93 points at the half as the Noles took a 51-42 halftime lead. Slaughter scored all 14 of her points through the first 20 minutes while Jones added 13 off the bench. Wake stayed with FSU in the beginning of the second half, as Hamby made an inside bucket to cut FSU’s lead to 57-49 with 16:59 left in the game.
The Noles’ diverse attack on the offensive end presented its challenges for the Demon Deacons for the rest of the game. A 16-4 run included a 3-pointer by Conwright with 12:04 left in the game to give FSU its first 20-point lead at 73-53. With 4:07 remaining, Lauren Coleman came off the bench and drilled a 3-pointer from the right wing to give FSU a 101-71 advantage.
All 12 players who stepped on the court for FSU made their way into the points column. Redshirt junior guard Shakena Richardson was once again a playmaker, recording five assists in just 12 minutes of play.
“To have every player on your team score and play as hard as they did, I thought that [we showed] a lot of character,” Semrau added. “We were talking about what champions look like, and it is not just beating the number four team in the country. It looks like doing everything the next day and the next day [after that] and I thought we made some strides in that today.”
NO NAME GS MIN FGM FGA 3FGM 3FGA FTM FTA PTS OREB DREB REB PF AST TO BLK STL
== ==================== == === === === ==== ==== === === === ==== ==== === == === == === ===
2 Adut Bulgak c 29 4 7 1 2 6 9 15 4 6 10 2 0 0 2 1
10 Leticia Romero g 23 4 7 1 2 0 0 9 1 2 3 1 9 2 0 1
12 Brittany Brown g 17 5 12 1 3 3 4 14 3 1 4 2 1 1 0 0
15 Maegan Conwright g 21 4 8 2 5 1 2 11 0 2 2 3 1 4 0 2
23 Ivey Slaughter f 20 6 10 0 0 2 2 14 3 1 4 2 0 0 2 2
1 Morgan Jones 20 5 13 4 9 2 2 16 2 1 3 0 2 1 0 1
3 Emiah Bingley 20 3 8 2 5 0 1 8 0 3 3 0 2 1 0 1
20 Shakayla Thomas 13 2 3 0 0 4 6 8 2 2 4 2 0 1 1 0
24 Shakena Richardson 12 2 4 0 0 0 0 4 0 1 1 1 5 1 0 0
25 Ama Degbeon 8 2 2 0 0 0 0 4 0 0 0 1 1 0 0 0
32 Lauren Coleman 7 2 3 1 2 0 0 5 2 1 3 2 1 0 0 0
42 Kai James 10 1 2 0 0 0 0 2 0 3 3 4 2 0 0 0
Team 3 1 4
=========================================================================
FSU 5 200 40 79 12 28 18 26 110 20 24 44 20 24 11 5 8
Opp 200 32 62 4 9 12 23 80 11 24 35 21 14 21 6 5
| 1 | 2 | Total | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Wake Forest | |||
| Florida State |
Ninth-Ranked Noles Reach 20 Wins at Georgia Tech.
For the second consecutive game No. 9 Florida State Women's Basketball gets five double figure
scorers in an 82-62 win over the Yellow Jackets.
ATLANTA, GA – The No. 9 Florida State Women’s Basketball team became the fastest team in program history to reach 20 wins as it defeated Georgia Tech on the road, 82-62, on Friday night at McCamish Pavilion.
The Seminoles (20-2, 7-1) had five double-figure scorers for the second straight game and the sixth time this year, as junior guard Emiah Bingley led the way with 15 points off the bench while going 5-of-5 from beyond the arc. Bingley’s five treys tied a career high she set last season at Virginia. She helped Florida State top the 40-point mark for the second straight game in bench points, as FSU tallied 42 points from the non-starters.
“What is great about this team is that there is no drop-off,” FSU head coach Sue Semrau said. “Everyone plays very well together and tonight we defended very well together. We needed to defend Kaela Davis, who is an excellent player, and we were able to hold her to six made field goals. Our guards and post players did a great job of helping off ball screens.”
Georgia Tech, which is also a running team like FSU, was held to zero fast break points. It was FSU’s largest win over the Yellow Jackets (13-9, 3-5) since also winning by 20 points in an 89-69 victory in the 2000-01 season.
Sophomore forward Ivey Slaughter had a large contingency of fans from Macon, Ga., in the stands and did a lot to impress. She recorded her fifth double-double of the season with 10 points and 13 rebounds. Redshirt senior point guard Maegan Conwright had 12 points with five assists, and junior center Adut Bulgak fell one rebound shy of her 11th double-double with 12 points and nine rebounds.
Sophomore guard Leticia Romero added six points, eight assists and five rebounds.
FSU shot 33-of-67 (49.3 percent) and held Georgia Tech to 20-of-61 (32.8 percent).
FSU looked for a strong start to the second half and Conwright helped the cause with her third 3-point field goal from the left wing to help FSU to a 47-32 lead, and Bulgak had a tough put-back to extend the advantage to 49-32. Georgia Tech kept itself in the game as Davis drilled a long 3-pointer, but Romero came back with a baseline jumper to make it 55-42.
Bingley banged in her third 3-pointer of the game, one that scraped the glass from an impossible angle at the baseline to help FSU to a 63-46 lead.
The Seminoles had their third double-digit halftime lead in ACC play as they went into the locker room with a 42-28 advantage. FSU shot 17-of-33 (52 percent) in the first half, including 4-of-7 from long range. Nine Seminoles had at least two points, led by Conwright’s seven.
FSU held Georgia Tech guard Kaela Davis to 2-of-12 shooting in the first half and just four points, guarding her tightly at the perimeter and doing a good job of preventing her from splitting double teams and getting to the basket. Georgia Tech shot 24 percent (7-of-29) and was out-rebounded 28-14.
Rock-solid defense benefitted the Seminoles early as they claimed an 18-3 lead through the first two media timeouts of the game. An 8-0 run over 2:14 was highlighted by 3-pointers from Bingley and Bulgak as well as a hard-driving layup from Conwright. The Yellow Jackets made 1 of their first 11 field goals while FSU out-rebounded them 16-4 early.
For the game, FSU finished with nine triples. Over the last two games the Noles have combined for 21 3-pointers.
Bingley drained another 3-pointer from the corner to put FSU ahead 21-3. The big triple gave FSU 133 for the season, already equaling its total from last year. The Noles went on a stretch where they made six of their last eight field goals to take a 25-10 lead, capped by a corner jumper from Shakayla Thomas. She finished the game with 13 points and four boards.
Georgia Tech began to get itself back in the game as a 3-pointer from Katarina Vuckovic left the Yellow Jackets trailing 29-19. Conwright responded with a big 3-pointer from the wing, and later added another layup to put FSU ahead 42-26 with 31 seconds remaining before halftime.
NO NAME GS MIN FGM FGA 3FGM 3FGA FTM FTA PTS OREB DREB REB PF AST TO BLK STL
== ==================== == === === === ==== ==== === === === ==== ==== === == === == === ===
1 Morgan Jones g 18 1 7 0 2 0 2 2 3 1 4 3 4 6 0 0
2 Adut Bulgak c 25 4 6 2 2 2 2 12 2 7 9 3 0 2 2 0
12 Brittany Brown g 21 2 7 0 1 0 2 4 2 1 3 1 2 4 0 2
15 Maegan Conwright g 29 5 12 2 6 0 0 12 0 2 2 0 5 2 0 2
23 Ivey Slaughter f 25 4 9 0 0 2 4 10 7 6 13 3 2 0 2 4
3 Emiah Bingley 17 5 7 5 5 0 0 15 0 1 1 1 0 1 0 2
10 Leticia Romero 28 2 6 0 0 2 2 6 2 3 5 3 8 2 0 2
20 Shakayla Thomas 17 6 7 0 0 1 2 13 1 3 4 4 0 3 0 0
24 Shakena Richardson 4 1 2 0 0 0 1 2 0 0 0 3 2 1 0 0
25 Ama Degbeon 7 1 1 0 0 0 0 2 1 0 1 1 0 2 0 0
32 Lauren Coleman 3 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 1 0 0 0 0
42 Kai James 6 2 3 0 0 0 0 4 4 0 4 1 0 0 0 0
Team 1 1 2
=========================================================================
FSU 5 200 33 67 9 16 7 15 82 23 25 48 24 23 23 4 12
Opp 200 20 61 4 18 18 28 62 21 15 36 19 7 22 5 9
| 1 | 2 | Total | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Florida State | |||
| Georgia Tech |
Slaughter's Career Night Leads No. 9 Noles Past No. 25 'Cuse.
Sophomore forward Ivey Slaughter’s career-high 22 points gives Florida State Women’s
Basketball its third Top 25 win of the season defeating the Orange 62-52.
TALLAHASSEE, FL – Sophomore forward Ivey Slaughter’s all-out hustle proved to be the difference on Monday night as she led the ninth-ranked Florida State Women’s Basketball team to a 62-52 win over No. 25 Syracuse at the Donald L. Tucker Center.
The Macon, Ga., native established her career high in points (22) on her second made free throw with 1:19 left that virtually clinched the game for the Seminoles (21-2, 8-1). Slaughter added seven rebounds and gave FSU a huge lift from the free-throw line, making all six of her attempts.
Slaughter surpasses her previous career high of 21 in a 65-54 win earlier this season at Tulane. She added her team-leading 30th charge of the year and made hustle plays all over the court that helped give Florida State extra possessions.
While Monday’s effort wasn’t seen as a work of art, it once again proved that Florida State has the toughness to win the defensive-oriented games. The Seminoles held Syracuse to 20-of-67 (29.9 percent) from the floor, as well as 5-of-24 (20.8 percent) from 3-point range. FSU shot 38.1 percent (24-of-63) and made 2-of-12 from beyond the arc.
Florida State also dominated the glass with 51 total rebounds, its fourth time grabbing 50 or more boards this season. FSU totaled 20 on the offensive end and out-rebounded the Orange (15-7, 5-4) 51-37 on the boards, keeping its streak alive of out-rebounding each opponent this season.
“We talked about how we would need to be really good on the defensive end and rebounding,” FSU head coach Sue Semrau said. “We held them to 19 percent (shooting) in the first half and 31 (percent) in the second half. That was the biggest difference. We still weren’t pleased with our rebounding and we did outrebound them by a good bit. We thought that the inside game would be where we needed to go to attack and score. Ivey [Slaughter] proved that to be true.”
Junior center Adut Bulgak added 10 points and 16 rebounds in what was a competitive battle inside against sophomore center Briana Day (nine points, 14 rebounds, four blocks). Bulgak’s 11th double-double of the season moves her into a tie for fourth place on the FSU single-season list.
FSU’s win was its third AP Top 25 victory of the season, also defeating No. 13 Duke (74-58) and No. 4 Louisville (68-63).
The Seminoles held Syracuse to its lowest halftime total of the season as it led 28-18. However, a 3-pointer by SU’s Taylor Ford with 11:37 left to go cut the FSU lead to 39-36. Freshman Shakayla Thomas tried to help the Noles go on a run with a tough layup by the block, but another 3-pointer from the wing by Ford kept Syracuse in the game trailing 48-43 with 7:12 left.
FSU got a key stretch where it used an inside bucket by Slaughter, then a dagger 3-pointer from the corner by Morgan Jones to put the Noles ahead 56-45 with 3:13 remaining. Slaughter would score four more points down the stretch to lead FSU to another key ACC victory.
The Seminoles now enjoy an eight-game win streak, all in ACC play. In a game where Syracuse utilized a full-court trap to keep the pace somewhat frenetic, Florida State’s transition defense was strong as it allowed just two fast-break points. FSU, however, was beat in second chance points (13-10) for just the second time in ACC play this year.
“I think that this break for us comes at a good time,” Semrau said of FSU’s next game coming on Sunday vs. Miami. “It’s been a grind. We have been grinding it out. We were able to grind this one out. They’re a really good basketball team. I thought that they were more physical than we were. They were quicker to the ball. I hope that we can take this week and get back to some fundamental stuff that we really need to improve on.”
NO NAME GS MIN FGM FGA 3FGM 3FGA FTM FTA PTS OREB DREB REB PF AST TO BLK STL
== ==================== == === === === ==== ==== === === === ==== ==== === == === == === ===
2 Adut Bulgak c 31 4 12 0 1 2 4 10 7 9 16 3 0 1 2 0
10 Leticia Romero g 30 2 5 0 0 0 1 4 1 4 5 1 6 6 0 1
12 Brittany Brown g 23 0 5 0 1 0 2 0 1 4 5 3 0 4 0 2
15 Maegan Conwright g 27 4 9 0 5 2 2 10 0 2 2 3 2 3 0 1
23 Ivey Slaughter f 29 8 14 0 0 6 6 22 4 3 7 3 1 3 1 2
1 Morgan Jones 27 3 7 2 5 0 0 8 1 5 6 0 2 2 0 0
3 Emiah Bingley 9 0 0 0 0 1 2 1 1 0 1 2 0 1 0 0
20 Shakayla Thomas 18 3 9 0 0 1 2 7 3 2 5 1 0 1 0 0
24 Shakena Richardson 4 0 2 0 0 0 0 0 0 1 1 0 1 0 0 0
42 Kai James 2 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0
Team 2 1 3
=========================================================================
FSU 5 200 24 63 2 12 12 19 62 20 31 51 16 12 21 3 6
Opp 200 20 67 5 24 7 11 52 18 19 37 22 5 19 5 4
| 1 | 2 | Total | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Syracuse | |||
| Florida State |
Florida State Overpowers the Hurricanes.
The No. 9/8 Florida State Women’s Basketball team defeats rival Miami 80-60 with strong play in the
interior.
TALLAHASSEE, FL – Facing one of the stingiest defensive units in the country, the No. 9/8 Florida State Women’s Basketball team was able to execute its game plan in the interior en route to an 80-60 victory against rival Miami on Sunday afternoon at the Donald L. Tucker Center.
The Seminoles (22-2, 9-1) extended their win streak to nine games, with all nine wins coming against the conference to mark their longest ever against ACC competition. FSU became the second team to post 80+ points against the Hurricanes (16-7, 5-4) this season, as Miami sported the conference’s best scoring defense coming into the game allowing just 56.4 points per game.
“It’s always important for us in an in-state rivalry to come away with a win,” FSU head coach Sue Semrau said. “It was a battle out there and especially in the first half when they cut it to a three-point game. I loved the response and they came out at halftime and Adut was special on the boards tonight. When we can have 24 second-chance points, that’s hard to guard.”
One of Florida State’s keys to victory was its ability to crank up the possession total, as FSU ended the game with 80 possessions while Miami was also forced into a faster tempo. The Seminoles were able to wear down their rivals in the interior, as junior center Adut Bulgak finished with 19 points and 17 rebounds along with four enormous blocked shots. It was Bulgak’s 12th double-double, tying for the second-most in a season at FSU.
Bulgak went 6-of-6 from the free throw line and grabbed eight offensive boards. She continues to lead the ACC in rebounds per game in conference play, averaging 11.9 boards. In five of her eight games played against ACC opponents, the Edmonton, Canada, native has ripped down double-digit boards.
Bulgak’s big game elevated the Seminoles in several important areas: FSU out-rebounded Miami 53-30, the fifth time this season the Noles have grabbed 50+ boards. FSU also recorded 24 offensive boards, its most in conference play, won the points in the paint battle 40-26 and had 24 second-chance points compared to Miami’s six.
FSU had four players in double figures, including redshirt senior Maegan Conwright (13 points), sophomore guard Leticia Romero (12 points) and freshman forward Shakayla Thomas (12 points). Romero had another solid all-around performance, shooting 5-of-6 from the floor, grabbing five rebounds and dishing out five assists. The Las Palmas, Spain, native did record six turnovers.
Conwright recorded a career-high two blocked shots and defended Miami’s top player – Adrienne Motley – very well. Motley, who posted 32 points in Notre Dame’s lone loss of the season, was held to 5-of-17 shooting and totaled 14 points with four assists.
For the sixth time in 10 ACC games, all of FSU’s active players earned time on the court. The Noles outscored Miami off the bench, 24-8, and got quality minutes from sophomore Emiah Bingley (five points, two assists) and redshirt junior guard Shakena Richardson (two points, three assists, no turnovers in 10 minutes).
FSU is now 16-1 against Sunshine State opponents since the start of the 2012-13 season. Its 22 wins this year surpass last year’s 21-12 overall record, and it improves to 12-0 at home this season with two regular-season games left at the Donald L. Tucker Center vs. Clemson (Paint it Pink Day on Feb. 19) and NC State (Senior Night, Feb. 26).
Miami gave FSU all it could handle through the early portion of the second half, as a layup by Erykah Davenport cut the Seminole lead to just 40-39 with 14:35 left in the game. But over the next 3:05 FSU went on a 16-2 run as Conwright gave FSU a layup to stop a five-minute scoring drought and a huge 3-pointer. Bulgak punctuated the run with a momentum-swinging trey to give the Noles a 56-41 lead.
The Hurricanes were never able to get within single digits again as they were whistled for 18 fouls in the second half. FSU continued to attack the basket and force the issue, taking a 66-47 lead with 6:57 left off a nice jumper from Richardson. A layup by Conwright with 2:05 remaining put the FSU lead back at 19 points again, and Romero’s runner with 17 seconds left created the game’s final score.
NO NAME GS MIN FGM FGA 3FGM 3FGA FTM FTA PTS OREB DREB REB PF AST TO BLK STL
== ==================== == === === === ==== ==== === === === ==== ==== === == === == === ===
1 Morgan Jones g 16 2 4 0 0 0 0 4 1 3 4 2 2 1 0 2
2 Adut Bulgak c 34 6 15 1 4 6 6 19 8 9 17 3 0 3 4 0
10 Leticia Romero g 29 5 6 1 2 1 3 12 2 3 5 0 5 6 0 2
15 Maegan Conwright g 34 6 15 1 3 0 0 13 0 1 1 0 1 3 2 0
23 Ivey Slaughter f 17 4 9 0 0 0 1 8 1 1 2 5 1 1 0 2
3 Emiah Bingley 15 1 5 1 3 2 6 5 1 2 3 1 2 2 0 1
12 Brittany Brown 15 2 5 1 1 0 2 5 4 4 8 1 2 1 0 1
20 Shakayla Thomas 23 4 9 0 0 4 5 12 4 2 6 4 1 2 0 0
24 Shakena Richardson 10 1 2 0 1 0 0 2 0 1 1 1 3 0 0 1
25 Ama Degbeon 1 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0
32 Lauren Coleman 2 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0
42 Kai James 4 0 1 0 0 0 0 0 1 1 2 2 0 1 0 0
Team 2 2 4
=========================================================================
FSU 5 200 31 71 5 14 13 23 80 24 29 53 19 17 20 6 9
Opp 200 22 62 3 12 13 16 60 10 20 30 23 9 19 3 6
| 1 | 2 | Total | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Miami | |||
| Florida State |
Late Scoring Spree Lifts North Carolina Past FSU.
No. 7/7 Florida State Women's Basketball falls on the road to the No. 17/14 Tar Heels
71-63.
CHAPEL HILL, NC – The seventh-ranked Florida State Women’s Basketball team put up a strong fight on the road at No. 17/14 North Carolina, but a game-ending 9-0 run by UNC resulted in a 71-63 loss to snap FSU’s nine-game ACC win streak.
Sophomore guard Allisha Gray recorded 22 points and 14 rebounds, making big shots down the stretch to give the Seminoles (23-3, 9-2) their first loss since falling at Notre Dame 74-68 on Jan. 2. The game included 50 personal fouls called combined, the most in a game played by FSU this season.
FSU sophomore forward Ivey Slaughter led the Noles with 15 points and eight rebounds but ultimately fouled out during a key stretch of the game. Junior center Adut Bulgak was tough inside with nine points and 13 rebounds, but also fouled out with 42 seconds remaining in the game.
“Credit North Carolina and their competitiveness and fire,” FSU head coach Sue Semrau said. “Allisha Gray had a great game for them and made big plays down the stretch. This is something we will look to learn from and move forward because we have a lot of big games left in our season.”
Three costly turnovers in the final minute spoiled FSU’s chances of pulling off its highest-ranked road win in just over six years. With 2:49 remaining, sophomore guard Leticia Romero gave Bulgak a nice lob pass in the post that she finished to put FSU ahead 63-62 and what would be its final lead of the game. UNC guard Brittany Rountree would hit a runner in the lane with 1:26 left to give the Tar Heels (20-5, 7-4) the lead again.
That’s when a few turnovers by the Seminoles kept them away from a one possession game as UNC salted the contest with free throws made down the stretch. UNC reached the line 32 times and connected on 19 freebies. FSU was outscored in the second half 44-29.
Prior to the game-changing plays in the closing minutes, Gray got a 3-pointer from the wing to roll in and knot the game at 57-57, forcing an FSU timeout with 4:19 left. Following the timeout, Emiah Bingley took the ball from the wing, made one dribble and drilled a pull-up jumper to give the Noles the lead against at 59-57. Later, Romero hit a runner in the paint to put FSU ahead 61-59 before Gray responded with a game-tying basket.
The Seminoles held UNC to 40 percent (24-of-60) from the floor, but shot a season-low 32.9 percent (23-of-70). FSU totaled 24 offensive rebounds, tying an ACC high, but allowed 20 points to UNC off 18 offensive boards. FSU held a 10-point lead with 18:37 left in the second half on a 3-pointer by Morgan Jones before UNC slowly clawed back.
Florida State took a 34-27 halftime lead punctuated by Brittany Brown’s steal and full-court layup just before time expired to end the half. Slaughter finished the first half with 12 points on 5-of-6 shooting along with six rebounds. It was Slaughter’s second-highest first-half total this season, only trailing her 14 points against Wake Forest on Jan. 25.
FSU’s 23rd halftime lead of the season included mild shooting efforts from both teams. The Noles shot 14-of-38 (37 percent) while UNC (11-of-31) was held to 35 percent shooting. Brown gave FSU a nice lift off the bench, scoring seven points and adding four rebounds in nine minutes. Bulgak was 3-of-5 from the floor for seven points, including her 17th 3-pointer of the year.
It was a good start for FSU as it blazed out to an 11-4 lead thanks to its work on the offensive glass with four offensive boards. Maegan Conwright recorded a mid-range jumper off the dribble from the elbow to put FSU ahead 7-2 and make her the third Seminole this season with 100 field goals made. Slaughter led the way early with four points and would also cross the 100 field-goals-made mark.
Both teams endured a few scoring droughts and FSU found it hard to get into a good rhythm offensively after such a strong start. The Noles led 17-14 with 7:17 remaining in the first half and allowed UNC to catch up in the rebound total. The Noles were plagued by turnovers and went through a rough patch where they were 1 of their last 7 from the floor.
The Seminoles’ cold spell continued as Danielle Butts of UNC hit a jumper to put the Tar Heels ahead at 23-21 with 3:45 left. Slaughter responded with a layup off the glass and Brown hit a jumper from the wing to help FSU come back with a 27-23 lead. With 16 seconds left in the first half, Jones dribbled in the middle of the lane and hit a pull-up jumper from 15 feet followed by Brown’s steal and score to end the half.
NO NAME GS MIN FGM FGA 3FGM 3FGA FTM FTA PTS OREB DREB REB PF AST TO BLK STL
== ==================== == === === === ==== ==== === === === ==== ==== === == === == === ===
1 Morgan Jones g 29 3 11 1 6 0 0 7 2 3 5 2 0 2 0 2
2 Adut Bulgak c 33 4 10 1 3 0 0 9 6 7 13 5 0 3 0 1
10 Leticia Romero g 28 1 7 0 1 4 4 6 1 1 2 4 7 5 0 2
15 Maegan Conwright g 36 3 11 1 5 3 4 10 1 1 2 2 2 6 0 2
23 Ivey Slaughter f 18 5 7 0 0 5 6 15 4 4 8 5 0 0 0 0
3 Emiah Bingley 8 1 1 0 0 0 0 2 0 0 0 2 0 1 0 0
12 Brittany Brown 16 3 7 0 0 1 4 7 2 3 5 2 0 3 0 1
20 Shakayla Thomas 23 2 14 0 0 0 2 4 4 3 7 3 0 1 0 0
24 Shakena Richardson 7 1 2 1 1 0 0 3 0 0 0 3 1 1 0 0
42 Kai James 2 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 1 1 0 0 1 0 0
Team 4 1 5
=========================================================================
FSU 5 200 23 70 4 16 13 20 63 24 24 48 28 10 23 0 8
Opp 200 24 60 4 13 19 32 71 17 26 43 22 12 22 2 14
| 1 | 2 | Total | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Florida State | |||
| North Carolina |
Conwright’s Lockdown D Sparks Win over Virginia.
No. 7 Florida State Women’s Basketball gets a 65-56 win over the Cavaliers for its first road win
in Charlottesville since 2011.
CHARLOTTESVILLE, VA – The defensive play of redshirt senior guard Maegan Conwright, coupled with a few of her big plays, sparked the No. 7/7 Florida State Women’s basketball team to a 65-56 win at Virginia on Sunday afternoon at John Paul Jones Arena.
The Seminoles (23-3, 10-2) clung to a 36-31 halftime lead as UVA freshman guard Mikayla Venson drilled four 3-pointers to keep the Cavaliers (15-10, 5-7) in the game. A defensive adjustment in the second half included putting Conwright on her, and the veteran guard held Venson to just 1-of-4 the rest of the way with suffocating defense.
“This was a huge win for us having back to back road games,” FSU head coach Sue Semrau said. “This one was important. Maegan’s lock-up job defensively was huge for us. She did a great job.”
Conwright finished with four 3-point field goals for 12 points, added a career-best seven assists, had one block and two steals. The Arlington, Texas, native was responsible for two of the biggest plays of the game. Conwright hit a big 3-pointer from the corner with 3:47 left to give the Noles breathing room at 59-50 as they held on for a 51-50 lead nearly four minutes earlier.
Conwright also recorded a huge blocked shot with FSU leading 59-54 as the shot clock was winding down for UVA. The play with 1:27 left resulted in a fast-break layup from Conwright to Brittany Brown to give FSU a 61-54 lead with 1:23 left. She also had a big steal in transition late in the game that quelled UVA’s chances for a transition bucket.
The win for FSU was its first in Charlottesville since Feb. 7, 2011, having lost its three previous games at Virginia. The Noles reached double-digit wins in ACC play for the seventh season and has their sights on the school-record win total of 12 from the 2008-09 and 2009-10 seasons.
Four double-figure scorers aided the Seminoles tremendously, including sophomore Ivey Slaughter’s 14 points, five rebounds and strong post interior defense. Junior Adut Bulgak fell one rebound shy of her 13th double-double with 14 points and nine rebounds, but benefited FSU greatly in the first half and kept the pressure on UVA’s post players.
Sophomore Leticia Romero tied her career high with nine assists and sophomore Brittany Brown stepped up big with 12 points (5-of-9) with five rebounds. Brown’s enormous 3-point field goal with 4:56 left gave FSU a 56-50 lead and helped solve UVA’s switch to the 2-3 zone in the second half.
FSU finished the game shooting 45.3 percent (24-of-53), while UVA shot 46.5 percent (20-of-43). The Noles outrebounded the Wahoos 33-21, including 14-3 on the offensive glass, and held a 22-12 advantage in the paint. Virginia was led by Venson’s 15 points and Aliyah Huland El’s 14 points.
Virginia cut the lead to 51-49 on a pair of free throws by Aliyah Huland El as it made its last three shots at the 7:38 mark. However, FSU used its zone-busting guards to shoot over the top of the zone, as Brown and Conwright connected on 3-pointers to give the Noles a 59-50 lead with 3:43 remaining.
Romero’s offense came to life in the second half both teams played strong defense to start. Romero hit her first jumper in the lane and followed with another one at the 16:54 mark to give FSU a 40-34 lead through the first media timeout of the second half. There wasn’t much scoring after that as the play became even more physical, but a corner jumper from Slaughter helped FSU go into a media timeout leading 42-36 with 11:50 left.
Florida State took a 36-31 lead at halftime as both teams shot well through the first 20 minutes. Venson shouldered the scoring load with 12 points on 4-of-5 shooting beyond the arc. Bulgak led the way for the Seminoles with 10 points on 4-of-5 shooting and eight rebounds. It was Bulgak’s 18th double-figure game of the season.
FSU shot 48 percent (14-of-29) going into halftime while UVA hit 50 percent (12-of-24). The Seminoles were aided by their marksmanship from outside with five 3-point field goals, including two by Conwright. Her last 3 was her 49th of the season, tying for the 12th most on the FSU single-season list.
The Noles had 11 assists on their 14 made field goals at the half, find each other for good looks and sharing the ball very well. At the 6:02 mark of the first half Emiah Bingley hit a triple from the corner to elevate FSU to a 26-14 advantage, marking the 16th straight game it has held a double-digit lead. Virginia stormed back with an 8-0 run headlined by a couple 3-pointers from Venson, but Slaughter’s tough bucket inside helped the Noles to a 29-22 advantage with 3:46 left.
Shakayla Thomas’ layup with 1:47 left capped a quick 5-0 run for FSU to make it 34-25, but late in the half Virginia stayed resilient and got a three-point play inside by Lauren Moses with 26 seconds left to help create the 36-31 halftime score.
NO NAME GS MIN FGM FGA 3FGM 3FGA FTM FTA PTS OREB DREB REB PF AST TO BLK STL
== ==================== == === === === ==== ==== === === === ==== ==== === == === == === ===
2 Adut Bulgak c 33 6 9 1 2 1 1 14 2 7 9 3 1 2 0 1
10 Leticia Romero g 31 2 7 0 2 4 4 8 3 1 4 4 9 5 0 2
12 Brittany Brown g 19 5 9 2 3 0 0 12 4 1 5 1 0 1 0 1
15 Maegan Conwright g 35 4 10 4 7 0 2 12 0 2 2 1 7 4 1 2
23 Ivey Slaughter f 33 5 7 0 0 4 6 14 2 3 5 3 0 0 0 1
1 Morgan Jones 9 0 2 0 1 0 0 0 0 2 2 0 0 0 0 0
3 Emiah Bingley 20 1 4 1 4 0 0 3 1 0 1 0 0 1 0 0
20 Shakayla Thomas 11 1 3 0 0 0 0 2 1 1 2 1 0 2 0 1
24 Shakena Richardson 6 0 2 0 2 0 0 0 0 0 0 1 2 0 0 0
32 Lauren Coleman 3 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 1 1 0 0 0 0 0
Team 1 1 2 1
=========================================================================
FSU 5 200 24 53 8 21 9 13 65 14 19 33 14 19 16 1 8
Opp 200 20 43 8 19 8 9 56 3 18 21 20 10 19 2 7
| 1 | 2 | Total | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Florida State | |||
| Virginia |
A Game for Gabby.
No. 9 Florida State Women’s Basketball’s 81-38 win over Clemson comes secondary to redshirt freshman Gabby Bevillard’s first
career points as a Seminole.
TALLAHASSEE, Fla. (Seminoles.com) – No. 9 Florida State Women’s Basketball’s 81-38 victory over Clemson on Thursday night was merely a sub-plot to the grand moment on display by FSU redshirt freshman forward Gabby Bevillard.
Bevillard, a native of Bishop, Ga., suited up for the Seminoles (24-3, 11-2) for the first time in her career on a ‘Paint it Pink’ game that was significant for so many reasons. For Bevillard, she wanted to suit up for one game in memory of her mother, who passed away merely three weeks ago from bladder cancer.
The hardship for the workmanlike performer has already been at a high level, coupled with the fact that Bevillard has endured four Anterior Cruciate Ligament tears in the last four years. Her latest setback, a partially torn ACL in the fall 2014, caused her to retire from the game.
However, Bevillard remains on scholarship and is an official member of the team for this season. This allowed her to make one special appearance on Thursday night, and she created the game’s best – as well as the season’s best – moment by burying a 3-pointer from straightaway with 1:50 left to give FSU a 76-36 lead and the game well in hand.
“It was a big adrenaline rush,” Bevillard said after the game. “I didn't want my teammates to get a technical storming the court. It was an awesome feeling. Tonight was dedicated to my mom and my teammates.”
Bevillard, ranked as the 33rd-best player in the 2013 recruiting class by National Basketball Insider, played two minutes and finished with three points. Throughout the season she has stayed on the team and continued to help out in practice and wherever needed. On Thursday, she was able to dress as a player from head to toe for the first, and possibly last time, as a Seminole.
“I really wanted to coach Gabby and was happy for her to finally get a chance to play after four ACL surgeries,” FSU head coach Sue Semrau said. “Tonight was a special night for everyone.”
Florida State’s 81-38 win over the Tigers (9-17, 1-12) is its second-largest ACC win ever. The 43-point differential is only behind FSU’s 45-point win over Wake Forest (83-38) on Feb. 7, 2010.
One of Bevillard’s best friends and fellow classmate Ivey Slaughter recorded her sixth double-double of the season and the 15th of her career with 13 points and 12 rebounds. Redshirt junior guard Morgan Jones added 10 points and seven boards. It was the seventh time in FSU’s 13 ACC games where every student-athlete played.
FSU shot 28-of-60 (46.7 percent) while Clemson was held to 15-of-53 (28.3 percent). The Noles out-rebounded the Tigers 49-28, including 21 on the offensive glass. FSU generated 30 points off turnovers, 26 second-chance points and 41 bench points.
Thursday’s game also marked FSU’s 11th 30+ point victory in ACC play. FSU has won its last 12 meetings against Clemson and 23 of its last 24 vs. the Tigers.
Combined with the end of the first half, Florida State went on a 12-0 run through the start of the second half and took a 42-16 lead with 15:30 remaining in the game. Brittany Brown was a big part of the run with a triple from the right wing and a layup on the left side to put FSU ahead 38-16. Leticia Romero and Slaughter each followed with consecutive points inside to build the big lead.
The Seminoles went a smaller run after, an 8-0 surge that was highlighted by a coast-to-coast layup from Jones as she finished easily on the right side to put FSU ahead 50-18 with 12:06 remaining. Brown had a couple steals in the run, including one that led to a transition layup.
The Seminoles held a 32-16 lead at halftime, their 12th halftime lead in 13 ACC games this season. Slaughter aided the Noles with six points and seven rebounds in another grinder performance for the sophomore. FSU held Clemson to 7-of-29 from the floor, while the Noles shot 12-of-29.
Just like the weather outside, it was a chilly start for both teams as FSU took a 7-2 lead with 14:17 left in the first half. Shakena Richardson nailed a nice mid-range jumper off the dribble, and Adut Bulgak got the scoring started for FSU with a jumper in the paint. FSU held the Tigers to 1 of their first 7 from the floor, and Romero added to the points total with a basket off the dribble in the paint.
A fast-break play down the court was executed off a turnover forced by Shakayla Thomas, who slashed down the middle and found a cutting Jones on the left side for an old-fashion three-point play to give FSU a 12-4 lead with 11:53 remaining in the first half. The Noles forced four Clemson turnovers in a 2:41 span to keep the drought going.
NO NAME GS MIN FGM FGA 3FGM 3FGA FTM FTA PTS OREB DREB REB PF AST TO BLK STL
== ==================== == === === === ==== ==== === === === ==== ==== === == === == === ===
2 Adut Bulgak c 17 2 9 0 1 2 2 6 2 5 7 0 0 1 0 0
10 Leticia Romero g 22 2 5 0 0 5 6 9 1 0 1 1 2 1 0 0
12 Brittany Brown g 22 3 6 1 2 2 5 9 3 1 4 2 0 1 0 2
15 Maegan Conwright g 21 1 4 1 3 0 0 3 0 1 1 1 1 0 0 0
23 Ivey Slaughter f 25 4 9 0 0 5 8 13 9 3 12 2 2 2 1 2
1 Morgan Jones 21 3 4 1 2 3 4 10 1 6 7 1 1 2 1 0
3 Emiah Bingley 11 0 2 0 1 0 0 0 0 1 1 3 0 2 0 0
20 Shakayla Thomas 14 2 3 0 0 2 6 6 1 5 6 2 0 2 0 0
24 Shakena Richardson 19 2 4 0 0 2 2 6 0 1 1 3 4 1 0 2
25 Ama Degbeon 7 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 2 2 1 1 2 0 0
32 Lauren Coleman 7 4 5 0 0 0 1 8 1 0 1 0 1 0 0 0
34 Gabby Bevillard 2 1 4 1 4 0 0 3 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0
42 Kai James 12 4 5 0 0 0 0 8 1 3 4 2 1 1 0 1
Team 2 2 1
=========================================================================
FSU 5 200 28 60 4 13 21 34 81 21 28 49 18 13 16 2 7
Opp 200 15 53 2 12 6 11 38 11 17 28 27 3 23 3 9
| 1 | 2 | Total | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Clemson | |||
| Florida State |
Romero’s Triple-Double Highlights Win over Boston College.
Sophomore point guard Leticia Romero records 19 points, 11 rebounds, 11 assists and no
turnovers as No. 9 Florida State Women’s Hoops defeats the Eagles, 86-68.
CHESTNUT HILL, MA – In one of the best all-around performances in school history, Florida State sophomore point guard Leticia Romero recorded the program’s second-ever triple-double with 19 points, 11 rebounds and 11 assists as FSU defeated Boston College, 86-68, on Sunday afternoon at the Conte Forum.
The Las Palmas, Spain, native was a smooth operator on Sunday. She shot 7-of-11 from the floor and did not record a single turnover with the ball in her hands through the majority of the game. Romero already had her points and rebounds totals well in hand, and got her 10th assist on a 3-point field goal from Maegan Conwright with 55 seconds left. She added one more to redshirt senior Lauren Coleman in the final minute.
Romero’s triple-double is the second only to former FSU standout Wanda Burns’ 22-point, 12-rebound, 10-assist game vs. Marquette on Dec. 1, 1990. Romero is the third ACC player this season to register a triple-double. She provided two of the biggest plays of the game, hitting a big 3-pointer to give the Noles a 14-point cushion with 3:35 left, then getting a steal and score with 2:47 left to put FSU ahead 79-63.
“I was real proud of Leti today,” FSU head coach Sue Semrau said. “The biggest thing to me was that she didn’t turn the ball over at all. She played a great game against a relentless team in Boston College. We’re looking to go undefeated at home for the first time on Thursday and we hope our fans can come out there and support our seniors.”
FSU nailed nine 3-point field goals and was paced by four double-figure scorers in Romero (19 points), junior Adut Bulgak (19 points), redshirt senior Maegan Conwright (18 points) and sophomore Ivey Slaughter (12 points). The Noles shot well from the charity stripe, going 13-of-17 and recorded 23 assists on 32 made field goals.
The Seminoles (25-3, 12-2) have tied a program record for most ACC wins in a season, joining the 2008-09 and 2009-10 teams that also won 12 apiece.
The second half did not start as well as the first, as BC’s Kelly Hughes poured in nine quick points as part of an 11-5 BC run to get the FSU lead down to 50-40. Although FSU came back with a layup by Morgan Jones off a nice feed from Conwright, Hughes responded with another 3-pointer to make it 52-44 FSU with 13:35 left. Conwright then nailed her second 3-point field goal of the game to help the Noles to a 55-44 lead, her 17th game this year with multiple 3’s. Conwright finished the game with four 3-pointers.
Romero did her job down the stretch, getting a layup to make it 62-49 and then adding two free throws that helped FSU keep pace. A 3-pointer by Ashley Kelsick from the corner kept the Eagles in it trailing 66-54 with 7:53 remaining. One of the game’s biggest shots then came from Romero when she nailed a corner trey with 3:35 left to put FSU ahead 77-63.
The Seminoles had a hot-shooting first half as they continually beat BC’s full court trap to take a 45-29 lead. FSU shot 18-of-26 (69.2 percent), its best shooting first half of the season. Romero was more than halfway to a triple double with seven points, six rebounds and six assists, while Bulgak went 6-of-7 from the floor and added 14 points. Slaughter chipped in with 10.
Eight FSU players got into the scoring column early, while 14 of its 18 field goals were assisted. Junior guard Nicole Boudreau led the Eagles with 11 points on 4-of-7 shooting, while FSU held sharp-shooter Kelly Hughes to 0-for-6 in the first half.
Florida State was off and running early, taking a 17-4 lead through the first media timeout at 16:19. Conwright punctuated the run with her 53rd made 3-point field goal of the season to give the Noles a 13-point advantage. Bulgak had four points in the stretch, including a jumper from just outside the paint, while Slaughter added six points.
An 11-0 run helped the Seminoles to a 26-10 lead in their second media timeout. With 13:16 left in the first half, Romero drained a 3-point field goal from the right wing to put FSU on top 24-7, followed by a few made free throws from Slaughter. FSU made nine of its first 12 shots, with eight of them assisted.
FSU got out to a 37-17 lead with 7:33 left, as Slaughter and Bulgak secured themselves double-figure performances once again with 10 apiece. Eight FSU players got into the scoring column, as Kai James came in and immediately made a nice post move to her left shoulder inside to put the Noles ahead 37-15. FSU also started 3-of-4 from 3-point range.
NO NAME GS MIN FGM FGA 3FGM 3FGA FTM FTA PTS OREB DREB REB PF AST TO BLK STL
== ==================== == === === === ==== ==== === === === ==== ==== === == === == === ===
2 Adut Bulgak c 28 7 12 1 2 4 6 19 1 5 6 5 0 2 0 0
10 Leticia Romero g 32 7 11 3 4 2 2 19 0 11 11 1 11 0 0 1
12 Brittany Brown g 17 1 4 0 1 0 0 2 0 2 2 1 2 2 0 0
15 Maegan Conwright g 31 7 12 4 8 0 0 18 0 1 1 0 6 2 0 0
23 Ivey Slaughter f 24 4 7 0 0 4 4 12 1 3 4 3 1 2 0 0
1 Morgan Jones 19 2 5 1 4 1 3 6 2 4 6 0 2 3 0 0
3 Emiah Bingley 14 1 2 0 1 2 2 4 1 1 2 0 0 1 0 0
20 Shakayla Thomas 9 1 4 0 0 0 0 2 3 0 3 3 0 4 0 1
24 Shakena Richardson 9 0 1 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 1 1 1 0 1
25 Ama Degbeon 2 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 1 1 0 0 0 0 0
32 Lauren Coleman 11 1 1 0 0 0 0 2 0 4 4 0 0 1 0 1
42 Kai James 4 1 1 0 0 0 0 2 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0
Team 2 2
=========================================================================
FSU 5 200 32 60 9 20 13 17 86 8 34 42 14 23 18 0 4
Opp 200 22 69 10 29 14 16 68 13 23 36 18 17 16 5 8
| 1 | 2 | Total | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Florida State | |||
| Boston College |
Senior Night Begins and Ends in Glowing Fashion for Florida State.
A charged up crowd of 4,048 witnesses No. 9/8 Seminole Women’s Hoops complete a
perfect home season with a 72-52 victory over NC State on Senior Night.
TALLAHASSEE, FL – The largest home crowd in four years was able to see some history made on Thursday night as No. 9/8 Florida State Women’s Basketball lit up the record books in its 72-52 victory over NC State in what was both senior night and its regular-season home finale.
All 3,021 glow sticks that were available illuminated the stands and set a new Guinness World Record for most glow sticks simultaneously lit up at once. Coincidently, it was the Seminoles (26-3, 13-2) whom have created glowing reviews throughout the season and Thursday evening was no different with impenetrable defense and their toughness on the glass.
“It’s huge,” FSU head coach Sue Semrau said. “It’s absolutely huge. It means the energy, the excitement. These guys are a top 10 team, we’re playing big-time basketball. To have that, that’s what we’re going to see in Greensboro, in the Regional, we’re going to see big time basketball. So we’ve got to create that big time environment here, and we’ve got to keep it here. I think the momentum of this crowd going into the NCAA Tournament will be huge.”
Florida State’s victory over the Pack (16-12, 7-8), coupled with a Notre Dame win, secures a No. 2 seed for the Seminoles and locks up a quarterfinal appearance in the ACC Tournament next Friday, March 6, at 6 p.m. in the Greensboro Coliseum.
FSU is not expected to be finished playing at the Tucker Center either. The NCAA Selection Show will air on Monday, March 16, at 7 p.m. on ESPN, and the Seminoles expect to be hosting the first and second rounds of the NCAA Tournament between the dates of March 20-23.
Numerous feats were achieved with so much at stake on senior night. The Seminoles finished undefeated at the Tucker Center for the first time ever in the regular season, going 14-0. FSU also earned its 13th ACC victory, its most ever in a season. Also, the Noles reached their 26th regular-season win, tying the 2009-10 team (26-7) for the most victories in the regular season. A win at rival Miami on Sunday at 3 p.m. could break the record.
It was another customary group effort by Florida State, with all 12 players seeing floor time and seven student-athletes scoring six points or more. On both ends of the floor, sophomore Brittany Brown guided FSU with her second career double-double, snatching a career-best 12 rebounds to go along with 10 points which included two 3-point field goals.
Brown followed up her big performance on last year’s senior day, when she shot 10-of-11 from the floor and finished with 21 points against Virginia.
“I just think that this group right here, we’re a family,” Brown said. “We just want to send our seniors out big. I think all the younger girls on the team try to focus on sending our seniors out with a bang and just playing so hard for them, because really they’re the reason (for) how well we are today, growing up today and playing how we are.”
FSU had four players reach double figures, with freshman Shakayla Thomas leading the way with 13 points on 6-of-10 shooting along with six rebounds in 17 minutes. Junior center Adut Bulgak had 10 points but fell short of a double-double with nine rebounds. It marks the fourth time this season Bulgak, who is tied for second in FSU single-season history with 12 double-doubles, has recorded double-digit points and nine rebounds.
Sophomore Leticia Romero added 11 points, six rebounds and four assists. Continuing to play very well off the bench is redshirt junior point guard Shakena Richardson, who finished with seven assists and a career-high two blocked shots. Over Richardson’s last 10 games played she has strung together 27 assists to just seven turnovers.
Redshirt senior guard Maegan Conwright finished her senior night with eight points, while fellow senior Lauren Coleman chipped in with three points and three boards in nine minutes.
FSU finished with 22 second-chance points compared to NC State’s seven, and outscored the Pack 25-11 off the bench. NC State shot just 27.9 percent (17-of-61) while FSU went 26-of-67 (38.8 percent) from the field. The Pack attempted 30 3-point field goals, converting just seven while FSU finished 7-of-21 from beyond the arc.
The Noles out-rebounded the Pack 54-35, which included 20 offensive rebounds.
NC State was led by guard Dominique Wilson, who finished with a game-high 19 points.
NO NAME GS MIN FGM FGA 3FGM 3FGA FTM FTA PTS OREB DREB REB PF AST TO BLK STL
== ==================== == === === === ==== ==== === === === ==== ==== === == === == === ===
2 Adut Bulgak c 31 3 7 0 1 4 5 10 3 6 9 0 0 2 2 0
10 Leticia Romero g 26 4 10 2 4 1 1 11 1 5 6 2 4 7 0 0
12 Brittany Brown g 22 4 11 2 4 0 1 10 6 6 12 0 0 1 0 0
15 Maegan Conwright g 34 3 10 1 6 1 3 8 0 0 0 2 1 0 0 0
23 Ivey Slaughter f 17 2 5 0 0 4 5 8 2 1 3 4 0 3 0 2
1 Morgan Jones 19 2 7 1 5 1 2 6 1 2 3 0 0 1 0 0
3 Emiah Bingley 5 0 1 0 0 0 0 0 0 2 2 3 1 1 0 0
20 Shakayla Thomas 17 6 10 0 0 1 1 13 4 2 6 3 0 1 0 0
24 Shakena Richardson 14 1 4 0 0 1 2 3 0 3 3 2 7 2 2 0
25 Ama Degbeon 1 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0
32 Lauren Coleman 9 1 2 1 1 0 0 3 0 3 3 1 0 0 0 1
42 Kai James 5 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 2 0 0
Team 3 4 7
=========================================================================
FSU 5 200 26 67 7 21 13 20 72 20 34 54 17 13 20 4 3
Opp 200 17 61 7 30 11 13 52 11 24 35 23 11 15 4 10
| 1 | 2 | Total | |
|---|---|---|---|
| North Carolina State | |||
| Florida State |
Seminoles Set Regular-Season Wins Mark at Miami.
Leticia Romero records her second double-double as No. 9/8 Florida State Women's Hoops defeats
Hurricanes 69-55.
CORAL GABLES, FL - A physical game between two rivals resulted in a 69-55 win by No. 9/8 Florida State Women's Basketball at Miami on Sunday afternoon. The victory gives FSU the most regular-season wins in program history at 27.
"This was a typical Florida State-Miami game," FSU head coach Sue Semrau said. "Miami did a good job of attacking us in transition in the second half. On the other hand, our defense in the first half was some of the best I've seen all season. We hope to build on this win in the ACC Tournament and the NCAA Tournament."
The Seminoles (27-3, 14-2) finish the regular season as the No. 2 seed in next week's ACC Tournament, tying a program best. FSU will face the winner of No. 7 seed Pitt and No. 10 NC State/No. 15 Virginia Tech on Friday night at 6 p.m. at the Greensboro Coliseum.
FSU's win at Miami brings its record on the road to 9-2, its best road record since also going 9-2 in the 2010-11 season. FSU is also 17-1 against Florida-based opponents since the 2012-13 season.
Sophomore Leticia Romero had a career-high 12 rebounds to go along with 12 points and six assists for her second double-double at FSU. Sophomore Ivey Slaughter was a huge presence on the boards, finishing with nine rebounds along with 13 points. Redshirt senior Maegan Conwright led the Noles with 17 points and freshman Shakayla Thomas added 11.
Florida State began the second half in fine fashion, stretching to a 49-27 lead with 14:56 left on a 3-pointer from Morgan Jones. Slowly, the Hurricanes came back with a 7-0 run as Adrienne Motley hit a pair of 3-point field goals and Michelle Woods hit a free throw to bring the FSU lead back down to 15. Motley finished with a game-high 20 points on 8-of-18 shooting.
A bucket inside by Adut Bulgak stopped a near-four minute scoring drought for FSU at the 11:04 mark of the second half. She later got good inside positon and finished again in the paint with 9:46 left as FSU held a 53-39 lead against the Canes (18-11, 8-8). Slaughter later added an inside bucket and Romero hit a couple free throws after going hard to the basket to give FSU a 58-47 lead with 4:17 remaining.
The Seminoles took a 38-22 lead over Miami at halftime, holding the Canes to just 8-of-34 (23.5 percent) from the floor and forcing the Canes to shoot later in the shot clock. Conwright was impressive scoring the basketball, finishing with 13 points (5-of-7) in the first half. Romero added eight points, three rebounds and four assists for FSU, as the Noles shot 46.9 percent (15-of-32) in the first half.
Romero was assertive with the basketball early, driving down the left side for a layup and coming off a screen for a nice mid-range jumper to help FSU to a 10-5 advantage early in the game. Jones came into the game early and made a difference right away, feeding Slaughter with a good post entry pass for an early score while playing well defensively.
Conwright boosted the Seminoles with four consecutive points midway through the first half that was part of a 6-0 run giving FSU a 22-12 lead with 7:52 left in the first half. Following a transition layup by Miami's Nigia Greene, Conwright came back with a driving basket to give her 10 points already - her team-leading 22nd double figure game of the season.
Romero and Thomas showcased transition basketball at its best, getting consecutive fast-break opportunities with Thomas finishing twice. The back-to-back baskets gave FSU a 28-12 lead with 5:54 remaining.
A 3-pointer by Conwright from the right wing marked her 58th of the season, tying teammate Morgan Jones (2013-14) for the sixth-most in a year at FSU. Conwright's triple gave the Seminoles their largest lead of the first at 38-19 with 1:19 remaining. UM ended the first half with a three-point play by Michelle Woods.
NO NAME GS MIN FGM FGA 3FGM 3FGA FTM FTA PTS OREB DREB REB PF AST TO BLK STL
== ==================== == === === === ==== ==== === === === ==== ==== === == === == === ===
2 Adut Bulgak c 16 3 7 0 2 0 0 6 0 5 5 4 0 1 0 1
10 Leticia Romero g 31 4 7 0 0 4 4 12 5 7 12 1 6 5 0 2
12 Brittany Brown g 14 0 5 0 1 0 0 0 2 3 5 0 1 2 0 1
15 Maegan Conwright g 34 7 19 1 7 2 2 17 1 3 4 1 2 3 0 2
23 Ivey Slaughter f 36 3 6 0 0 7 10 13 3 6 9 1 1 4 1 0
1 Morgan Jones 24 2 3 1 1 2 2 7 2 2 4 1 2 0 0 0
3 Emiah Bingley 8 1 2 1 1 0 0 3 0 2 2 1 0 1 0 0
20 Shakayla Thomas 22 5 7 0 0 1 2 11 1 1 2 3 0 0 1 2
24 Shakena Richardson 10 0 2 0 1 0 0 0 0 0 0 2 2 2 0 0
32 Lauren Coleman 2 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 1 1 1 0 0 0 0
42 Kai James 3 0 2 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0
Team 4 3 7
=========================================================================
FSU 5 200 25 60 3 13 16 20 69 18 33 51 15 14 18 2 8
Opp 200 19 61 6 22 11 17 55 13 19 32 18 8 13 5 11
| 1 | 2 | Total | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Florida State | |||
| Miami |
Florida State Advances to ACC Semifinals with Win over Hokies.
Seminole Women’s Hoops clobbers Virginia Tech 82-43 to reach their fourth ACC
Tournament Semifinal.
GREENSBORO, NC – In one of the most complete team efforts of the season, the No. 7/6 and second-seeded Florida State Women’s Basketball team defeated Virginia Tech 82-43 on Friday evening at the ACC Tournament quarterfinals in the Greensboro Coliseum.
In her first career ACC Tournament game, freshman forward Shakayla Thomas recorded 17 points on 8-of-10 shooting in just 21 minutes of action. Last game against Virginia Tech on Jan. 18, Thomas was forced to be a primary offensive scorer with the absence of junior center Adut Bulgak and scored 19 points. On Friday, she was part of the team’s offensive flow, being set up for easy baskets because of good dribble penetration.
“I just want to compliment Virginia Tech and how much they battled, not just today but gosh, those last two games,” FSU head coach Sue Semrau said. “Got to give them a ton of credit. I was really proud of my team, proud of the contributions that we got off the bench. Shakayla playing in her first ACC game and going 8 for 10 is pretty impressive.”
The Seminoles’ (28-3) 39-point victory over Virginia Tech was by far their largest win in the ACC Tournament. FSU’s previous best margin of victory was a 70-53 win over Wake Forest in the first round of the ACC Tournament in 2007. FSU’s win over the Hokies (12-20) advances the Noles to their fourth ACC Tournament Semifinal.
Florida State outscored Virginia Tech 44-14 in the paint and also recorded 44 bench points, its second highest output of the season. Sophomore center Kai James tied her season high with 11 points and seven rebounds, while Maegan Conwright and Leticia Romero each added 11 points as well.
The Seminoles were clicking on all cylinders offensively, mainly because they were giving good post-entry passes for high percentage shots. FSU shot 34-of-59, equaling 57.6 percent to mark its highest against an ACC opponent this season. It was FSU’s third-highest shooting percentage this year and the seventh time it has shot over 50 percent this season.
FSU was careful with the basketball all night, generating 18 assists to just 11 turnovers. Semrau was happy with the performance of several players, including redshirt junior Morgan Jones who tied her season high with five assists and constantly looked to put her teammates in good scoring position.
“The other thing, you look at the stat sheet and what you don’t see is a lot of credit going to Brittany Brown and Morgan Jones, and those two played tremendous defense,” Semrau added. “Morgan did a great job of getting the ball to the right people, and a lot of times you don’t see that. I just want to give them as much credit as the rest of the team”.
FSU held Virginia Tech to just 27.7 percent from the floor in what was the Hokies’ largest defeat in ACC Tournament play. For the Seminoles, their 82 points scored was one shy of tying their program record for most points at the ACC Tournament (83 in 2001 and 2009).
FSU got off to another hot start in the second half, going on a 14-5 to take a command 55-22 lead over the Hokies. Conwright began swishing and dishing as she totaled 11 points through that point, her team-leading 23rd double figure game of the season. Her next 3-pointer will give her 60 for the season and make her the first Nole to reach that number since Courtney Ward had 78 in 2010-11.
The Seminoles shot 56.7 percent (18-of-32) in the first half and tied a season low with just five first-half turnovers as they jumped out to a 41-17 lead over the Hokies. Thomas led FSU with 10 points while eight different Noles reached the scoring column. The Hokies were held to 6-of-23 from the field (26 percent) and were led by Vanessa Panousis’ six points although she only got four shots off.
A pretty pass from Romero rushing up the court to Thomas marked a transition finish for the freshman as FSU took a 10-2 lead and forced a Virginia Tech timeout with 15:48 left in the first half. FSU made four of its last five shots heading into the timeout, including a couple baskets inside by Ivey Slaughter as a result of her post moves around the rim. FSU would finish the game with a 12-0 edge in fastbreak points.
A 6-0 run over 1:50 helped the Noles to a 20-5 lead with 12:11 remaining. Thomas’ eight points were the product of great passing from her guards as they found her on the block and penetrating the lane for easy scores. FSU scored 14 of its first 20 points in the paint.
A 3-pointer from the corner by Emiah Bingley stretched FSU’s lead to 37-12 with 3:22 left in the first half against the Hokies. An offensive rebound and put-back by Kai James elevated FSU to its 41-17 halftime lead.
NO NAME GS MIN FGM FGA 3FGM 3FGA FTM FTA PTS OREB DREB REB PF AST TO BLK STL
== ==================== == === === === ==== ==== === === === ==== ==== === == === == === ===
2 Adut Bulgak c 21 3 5 1 1 2 3 9 2 3 5 1 0 0 2 0
10 Leticia Romero g 20 5 7 1 1 0 0 11 2 4 6 0 2 3 0 0
12 Brittany Brown g 16 0 3 0 1 0 0 0 0 2 2 1 2 0 0 1
15 Maegan Conwright g 16 4 8 1 3 2 2 11 0 0 0 1 3 2 0 0
23 Ivey Slaughter f 17 3 5 0 0 1 2 7 1 4 5 0 0 1 0 0
1 Morgan Jones 17 0 2 0 0 0 0 0 0 3 3 1 5 1 0 0
3 Emiah Bingley 22 2 5 1 4 0 0 5 0 1 1 1 1 0 0 0
20 Shakayla Thomas 21 8 10 0 0 1 4 17 2 0 2 1 0 1 0 1
24 Shakena Richardson 20 2 4 0 0 1 4 5 0 2 2 3 4 2 0 0
25 Ama Degbeon 8 1 2 0 0 1 5 3 2 1 3 3 1 0 0 1
32 Lauren Coleman 10 1 1 1 1 0 0 3 0 0 0 1 0 0 0 0
42 Kai James 12 5 7 0 0 1 2 11 4 3 7 1 0 1 0 0
Team 2 3 5
=========================================================================
FSU 5 200 34 59 5 11 9 22 82 15 26 41 14 18 11 2 3
Opp 200 13 47 4 22 13 17 43 7 14 21 18 9 17 2 6
| 1 | 2 | Total | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Florida State | |||
| Virginia Tech |
Resilient Noles Reach ACC Title Game.
Florida State Women’s Hoops withstands a furious rally by Louisville to win 66-51 in the ACC Tournament
Semifinals, clinching their first ACC championship appearance.
GREENSBORO, NC – The No. 7/6 Florida State Women’s Basketball team marked off another first-time feat on Saturday afternoon at the Greensboro Coliseum as it defeated No. 10/10 Louisville 66-51 to reach the ACC Tournament title game for the first time in program history.
The No.2-seeded Seminoles (29-3) will face defending ACC champion and regular-season champion Notre Dame (30-2) for the conference crown on Sunday afternoon at 1 p.m. on ESPN. The Fighting Irish squeaked out a 74-68 win in South Bend in the conference opener on Jan. 2.
The ebb and flow of Saturday’s ACC Tournament Semifinal was very familiar to the first meeting between FSU and the Cardinals (25-6), won by FSU 68-63. Florida State jumped out to a 33-9 lead with 5:34 left in the first half before Louisville closed out the half on a 17-6 run to cut its deficit to 39-26 at halftime. In the second half, the Cardinals continued to play lock-down defense and cut the FSU lead to 45-43 on a 3-point field goal by Mariya Moore with 9:11 left.
While Florida State tried to hang on for dear life through those first 11 minutes of the second half, it began executing its offense with big baskets following Louisville’s two-point deficit. Redshirt senior Maegan Conwright nailed a huge 3-point field goal that started a quick 7-0 run to give the Noles a little breathing room. Conwright then came back with a straightaway 3-pointer that gave FSU a double-digit lead once again at 55-45 with 3:55 remaining.
“I just want to give a ton of credit to Louisville. We started off really strong, shooting the ball very well, and they fought,” FSU head coach Sue Semrau said. “They battled. They made it a 2 point game and then Maegan Conwright, dang. I mean just the guts, I mean it was like she had ice water in her veins when she stepped up and knocked down that three. I thought that changed all the momentum.”
Over the final 5 ½ minutes, Louisville managed just two made field goals as Florida State got back to its suffocating defense to withstand the Cardinal rally.
Conwright finished with 12 points, most notably her two dagger 3-point field goals. Sophomore forward Ivey Slaughter matched the toughness of Louisville’s post players and led FSU with 17 points, five rebounds and a career-best three blocked shots. Slaughter also drew her 42nd and 43rd charges and put pressure on UofL’s interior. Louisville entered the game averaging 40.1 points in the paint, but FSU won the battle inside 28-26.
Slaughter also helped ice the game down the stretch with big free throws. The Macon, Ga., native made 7 of 10 from the line.
“It is a great feeling and this is my second year,” Slaughter said of reaching the ACC Championship. “And actually going to the championship and going through a game like this game, showing how hard you have to fight and never back down, it’s just a great feeling to see the hard work actually paid off.”
A few other milestones were reached on Saturday – FSU tied its single-season record for wins with 29, matching the 2009-10 Elite Eight team’s record (29-6). The Seminoles earned their fourth Top 25 victory of the season, tying a program record set by the 2008-09 squad.
FSU continues to be the only Division I men’s or women’s program to out-rebound every opponent faced, edging Louisville on the glass 39-35 which included 14 offensive rebounds. While the Cardinals are careful with the basketball, Florida State forced 18 turnovers and limited UofL to just 35.7 percent (20-of-56) from the field.
Freshman Shakayla Thomas added 12 points, five rebounds and one block for FSU.
Saturday’s result is the first time FSU has won multiple games at the ACC Tournament. The Seminoles displayed some good half-court defense early as it held a 6-2 lead against the Cardinals through the first media timeout. Louisville’s defense proved tough in the early going as well, but Slaughter led the Noles with four points.
A beautiful full-court attack resulted in a three-pointer from the corner by Emiah Bingley with 11:40 left to give FSU a 17-4 lead against the Cardinals. Four players touched the ball on the fast break as Thomas rebounded the missed shot, passed it to Shakena Richardson, who then fed it to Morgan Jones and she finished with an open pass to Bingley in the corner.
FSU’s 55.2 percent shooting (16-of-29) in the first half was a catalyst to its second win of the season over UofL, needing a hot start to help stave off the Cardinal rally in the second half.
NO NAME GS MIN FGM FGA 3FGM 3FGA FTM FTA PTS OREB DREB REB PF AST TO BLK STL
== ==================== == === === === ==== ==== === === === ==== ==== === == === == === ===
2 Adut Bulgak c 30 2 9 1 5 0 1 5 1 5 6 2 0 3 0 1
10 Leticia Romero g 30 4 6 0 1 1 1 9 0 4 4 2 6 5 0 1
12 Brittany Brown g 16 2 5 0 0 0 1 4 2 1 3 1 1 0 0 1
15 Maegan Conwright g 34 4 12 2 3 2 2 12 0 3 3 3 2 3 0 1
23 Ivey Slaughter f 30 5 7 0 0 7 10 17 3 2 5 2 1 1 3 1
1 Morgan Jones 19 0 1 0 1 0 0 0 0 3 3 1 2 0 0 0
3 Emiah Bingley 14 1 2 1 1 0 0 3 0 2 2 1 0 1 0 1
20 Shakayla Thomas 20 6 15 0 0 0 1 12 4 1 5 2 1 2 1 0
24 Shakena Richardson 6 1 2 0 1 2 2 4 0 0 0 1 1 1 0 0
42 Kai James 1 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0
Team 4 4 8
=========================================================================
FSU 5 200 25 59 4 12 12 18 66 14 25 39 15 14 16 4 6
Opp 200 20 56 5 14 6 10 51 11 24 35 19 13 18 5 6
| 1 | 2 | Total | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Florida State | |||
| Louisville |
Noles Fall to Irish in ACC Championship.
No. 7/6 Seminole Women’s Hoops makes its first ACC Tournament finals appearance but comes away with a
71-58 loss to No. 2/2 Notre Dame.
GREENSBORO, N.C. (Seminoles.com) – The No. 7/6 Florida State Women’s Basketball team made its first ACC Tournament Championship appearance on Sunday, but ultimately fell to No. 2/2 Notre Dame 71-58 in the Greensboro Coliseum.
It was a strong first half for the Fighting Irish (31-2) that propelled them to a second consecutive ACC championship. The Seminoles (29-4) trailed Notre Dame 38-25 in what was a rare halftime deficit, as inside looks were hard to come by with UND’s defense packing the paint. FSU was only able to muster 20 points inside while the Irish generated 50 points on the block.
Junior guard Jewell Loyd led Notre Dame and all scorers with 18 points and finished with seven rebounds. Florida State redshirt senior guard Maegan Conwright led the Noles with 14 points and dished out six assists, just one shy of her season best. Sophomore guard Leticia Romero added 13 points while junior center Adut Bulgak had 10 points and seven boards.
Florida State kept even with Notre Dame in the second half at 33-33, and proved to be bothersome at times with seven blocked shots. Sophomore forward Ivey Slaughter once again recorded a career high-tying three blocks while freshman Shakayla Thomas added two.
For the first time this season, FSU was out-rebounded as Notre Dame won the edge on the glass 39-27.
Two quick baskets in the paint forced an FSU timeout early in the second half. The Noles faced a 42-25 deficit, their largest deficit of the season. Following the timeout, FSU got an immediate 3-point field goal from Conwright and Romero would follow with a 3-ball from the left wing to leave FSU trailing 48-33 with 15:54 left. FSU finished the game with six made 3-point field goals in 20 attempts.
FSU trailed at halftime for just the third time this season, heading into the locker room with a 38-25 deficit. Notre Dame out-rebounded FSU in the first half 21-15 and shot 48.5 percent, led by four players who each had eight points. UND’s size advantage showed in its 26-4 advantage in the paint, while the Irish also generated 18 points off 10 FSU turnovers.
Notre Dame would finish the game shooting 51.7 percent (31-of-60) from the floor while FSU shot 21-of-57 (36.8 percent).
Bulgak led FSU with 10 points in the first half despite finding it difficult to go inside. It marks her 21st double-figure scoring game of the year.
A fast start to the game made for some entertaining play on both sides as Notre Dame took a 16-14 lead into the first media timeout at 13:12. Brittany Brown led FSU with six points early as she swished her first two 3-point field goals, including her first to cut FSU’s deficit to 10-5 following an 8-0 Notre Dame run. From the start of the game the Irish tried to use its size to its advantage with high-low action for Brianna Turner on the block.
FSU took a 17-16 lead on a 3-pointer from Bulgak at the wing. The Noles had a period of strong defense where it forced Notre Dame turnovers and held the Irish to a 2:51 scoring drought. However, The Irish turned things around with an 8-0 run over a quick one-minute period as a result of forcing FSU turnovers and finding open shooters in transition. The Noles had a stretch where they went 2-for-11 to allow Notre Dame to take a 28-19 lead with 6:55 left in the first half.
Romero drew her third foul of the game late in the second half when she was whistled for a charge. FSU’s offense continued to struggle but got a boost from Bulgak’s second 3-point field goal of the game to cut the deficit to 36-25. However, a scramble for the rebound underneath the basket popped into the arms of Madison Cable, whose layup created FSU’s 38-25 halftime deficit.
Shakayla Thomas earned a spot on the ACC All-Tournament First Team while Leticia Romero was named to the second team. Jewell Loyd earned MVP honors for the Fighting Irish.
NO NAME GS MIN FGM FGA 3FGM 3FGA FTM FTA PTS OREB DREB REB PF AST TO BLK STL
== ==================== == === === === ==== ==== === === === ==== ==== === == === == === ===
2 Adut Bulgak c 33 3 7 2 5 2 2 10 1 6 7 3 0 2 1 2
10 Leticia Romero g 29 4 6 1 2 4 4 13 0 2 2 4 2 5 0 0
12 Brittany Brown g 24 2 3 2 3 1 4 7 2 4 6 3 0 4 0 0
15 Maegan Conwright g 37 6 17 1 8 1 2 14 0 0 0 1 6 1 0 4
23 Ivey Slaughter f 24 1 5 0 0 2 2 4 1 4 5 0 1 2 3 2
1 Morgan Jones 12 0 2 0 1 0 0 0 0 2 2 1 0 1 1 0
3 Emiah Bingley 17 1 4 0 1 0 0 2 0 1 1 0 0 0 0 1
20 Shakayla Thomas 23 4 13 0 0 0 0 8 2 0 2 0 1 1 2 2
24 Shakena Richardson 1 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0
Team 2 2
=========================================================================
FSU 5 200 21 57 6 20 10 14 58 8 19 27 12 10 16 7 11
Opp 200 31 60 3 12 6 8 71 12 27 39 14 19 16 4 5
| 1 | 2 | Total | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Florida State | |||
| Notre Dame |
Noles Too Much for Alabama State.
Florida State Women’s Basketball defeats the Hornets 91-49 and achieves first 30-win season in school
history.
By Tim Linafelt, Seminoles.com Senior Writer
TALLAHASSEE, FL – Florida State head coach Sue Semrau said earlier this season that the Seminoles had more quality depth this year than at any other point of her 18-year tenure.
That depth carried FSU to its best regular season in school history and, on Saturday, into the second round of the NCAA women’s basketball tournament.
Shakayla Thomas scored a game-high 17 points, Leticia Romero flirted with a triple-double (14 points, 10 assists, eight rebounds) and two other Seminoles (30-4) reached double figures as second-seeded FSU cruised to a 91-49 victory over No. 15-seed Alabama State here at the Donald L. Tucker Center.
FSU hosts seventh-seeded and 20th-ranked Florida Gulf Coast, a 75-67 winner over Oklahoma State on Saturday, Monday at 6 p.m. on ESPNU.
“I just want to point out what I thought was the difference in the game, which was our defensive pressure,” said FSU coach Sue Semrau, whose team advanced to the Round of 32 in its 12th consecutive NCAA Tournament appearance.
“We had a lot of athletes who played their tails off this afternoon and I’m really, really proud of that.”
That defensive pressure, Semrau said, is the result of an FSU rotation that on Saturday went 12 players deep.
Nine Seminoles played at least 12 minutes against the Hornets (17-15), and no one was on the court more than 29 minutes.
It helped FSU to force a season-high 18 steals as part of 32 Alabama State turnovers. The Seminoles parlayed those turnovers into 38 points.
I love to coach teams like this,” Semrau said. “When I’m rotating kids in and out, it’s about defense. …It’s that type of defensive pressure that, if you’re going to go all out, you’re going to get winded.
“And we’re able to do that because of the depth we have.”
FSU’s defense helped the Seminoles turn what was a surprisingly close game midway through the first half into a lopsided rout.
With FSU holding a 19-16 advantage at the 9:02 mark, the Seminoles launched an 18-3 run that was sparked by steals from Ivey Slaughter, Emiah Bingley and Maegan Conwright, and a defense that forced ASU to miss 11 of its last 12 first-half shots.
The Seminoles led 37-19 at the break and the Hornets never threatened the rest of the way.
“We knew going into the game they were bigger than us, faster,” ASU coach Freda Freeman-Jackson said. “I thought our girls fought through the game and (FSU) just wore us down.”
Added Conwright, “They put up a real good fight in the beginning. It took us a while to get a feel for how they were playing and what we need to do to execute.”
A crowd of 5,536 watched as the Seminoles reached the 30-win mark for the first time in school history. It was FSU’s fourth-largest crowd at the Tucker Center. The Tallahassee faithful witness FSU’s largest NCAA postseason victory in program history.
FSU shot 52.5 percent (31 of 59) from the field and enjoyed a 37-31 rebounding advantage.
Conwright, a fifth-year senior guard, scored 16 points while leading FSU with two 3-pointers and five steals. And Slaughter, a sophomore forward, added 13 points.
“We’ve never had a crowd that big before,” Conwright said. “You call that the ‘sixth man. … It’s our job to give them a show so then they’ll come back.”
FSU’s next show comes on Monday, when it faces an FGCU team that is 30-2 on the season and riding a 26-game winning streak.
The Eagles haven’t lost since a double-overtime setback at Ohio State on Nov. 29.
“Florida Gulf Coast does an amazing job. Karl [Smesko] is one of the best coaches that I have seen. … He takes and gets the most out of those kids. They will make you look foolish if you’re not ready.”
NO NAME GS MIN FGM FGA 3FGM 3FGA FTM FTA PTS OREB DREB REB PF AST TO BLK STL
== ==================== == === === === ==== ==== === === === ==== ==== === == === == === ===
2 Adut Bulgak c 22 3 8 0 0 2 2 8 1 4 5 2 2 1 0 3
10 Leticia Romero g 27 5 6 1 1 3 3 14 1 7 8 0 10 2 2 1
12 Brittany Brown g 18 2 4 0 0 5 6 9 1 1 2 1 1 1 0 2
15 Maegan Conwright g 29 7 12 2 4 0 0 16 0 1 1 0 4 2 0 5
23 Ivey Slaughter f 25 4 7 0 0 5 6 13 3 0 3 3 0 3 1 3
1 Morgan Jones 12 3 6 1 3 0 0 7 0 1 1 0 1 1 0 0
3 Emiah Bingley 21 1 2 0 1 2 2 4 0 5 5 2 2 1 0 2
20 Shakayla Thomas 18 5 8 0 0 7 8 17 4 3 7 0 0 0 0 2
24 Shakena Richardson 13 0 3 0 0 0 0 0 0 1 1 0 1 1 1 0
25 Ama Degbeon 4 0 1 0 0 1 2 1 1 0 1 0 0 1 0 0
32 Lauren Coleman 6 1 1 0 0 0 0 2 1 2 3 0 1 1 0 0
42 Kai James 5 0 1 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 1 0 1 1 0
=========================================================================
FSU 5 200 31 59 4 9 25 29 91 12 25 37 9 22 15 5 18
Opp 200 18 56 7 28 6 9 49 14 17 31 22 9 32 3 7
| 1 | 2 | Total | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Alabama State | |||
| Florida State |
Sweet Seminoles: Noles Race Past FGCU And Into Sweet 16.
Florida State Women’s Hoops reaches third Sweet 16 with a 65-47 win over FGCU.
By Tim Linafelt, Seminoles.com Senior Writer
TALLAHASSEE, FL – As the seconds ticked down on Florida State’s game against Florida Gulf Coast in the second round of the NCAA tournament, FSU guard Shakena Richardson dribbled across mid-court, stopped and then broke into a wide grin.
With the Seminoles’ 65-47 victory well in hand, Richardson and her teammates had plenty of time to enjoy the moment.
Leticia Romero scored 11 points to go along with seven rebounds and six assists, and Adut Bulgak added nine points and 13 rebounds to push the Seminoles past FGCU and into the Sweet 16 for the third time in program history.
FSU (31-4) returns to Greensboro, N.C., site of the ACC tournament earlier this month, to face either Arizona State or Arkansas-Little Rock in the NCAA Regional Semifinal.
“At the beginning of the year, we didn’t know how good we could be,” FSU coach Sue Semrau said. “So to know we’re advancing to the sweet 16 is really sweet, if you will.
“At the same time, it doesn't feel like enough. That's a good feeling to have.”
The Seminoles used a pair of runs at the beginning of each half to make quick work of the seventh-seeded Eagles.
Bolstered by an announced crowd of 4,772, FSU raced out to a 17-2 lead less than five minutes into the game.
FGCU, meanwhile, appeared flustered by the atmosphere and missed four of its first five field goal attempts and turned the ball over five times in the game’s first five minutes.
“They blitzed us pretty good at the very beginning,” FGCU coach Karl Smesko said. “…Unfortunately, Florida State’s really good.”
The Eagles settled down right around the same time a busload of late-arriving FGCU students made its way into the arena.
FGCU hit a few shots, pushed the pace and went into halftime down only 36-28.
“I was so thankful after the first half that we have the bench that we do,” Semrau said. “The pace was so fast in the first half.”
But with an upset-minded opponent within striking distance, the Seminoles found another gear to begin the second half.
Led by surges from Romero and Bulgak, Florida State began the last 20 minutes on a 15-5 run that pushed its advantage to 20 points.
And as their deficit grew, the Eagles found shots harder and harder to make. They missed their first 12 field-goal attempts at the start of the second half, and were mired in a 1-for-20 shooting slump that stretched back into the first.
“Shooting a poor percentage against a good team, you’re not going to win,” Smesko said.
So many FGCU misses allowed several opportunities for FSU rebounds. The Seminoles finished with an overwhelming 46-23 advantage on the glass and grabbed 11 offensive boards.
“I had been in a rebounding drought, so I was just running after every board that I could,” said Bulgak, who had 11 of her 13 rebounds in the second half. “Seeing that I only had two rebounds in the first half, that’s not Adut.”
Freshman Shakayla Thomas paced FSU with 12 points, pushing her NCAA tournament total to 29 in two games.
The Seminoles shot 46.3 percent from the field and connected on 5 of 18 3-point attempts.
Smesko in his post-game press conference heaped high praise on the Seminoles, saying that, at times, they look like the second-best team in the country and that they have Final-Four potential.
He didn’t name Connecticut as the nation’s best, but he didn’t have to. With nine national titles and 79 wins in their last 80 contests, the Huskies loom large over women’s college basketball.
But, like UConn, FSU is among the last 16 teams still playing. And they believe that they’re as good as any of them.
“I think I’m on the best team in the country, personally,” Bulgak said. “When we’re at our best, I think we’re really unstoppable.”
NO NAME GS MIN FGM FGA 3FGM 3FGA FTM FTA PTS OREB DREB REB PF AST TO BLK STL
== ==================== == === === === ==== ==== === === === ==== ==== === == === == === ===
2 Adut Bulgak c 29 3 8 0 1 3 4 9 1 12 13 3 0 4 1 0
10 Leticia Romero g 27 5 9 1 2 0 0 11 1 6 7 1 6 5 0 0
12 Brittany Brown g 22 3 4 2 3 0 0 8 2 2 4 1 1 2 0 1
15 Maegan Conwright g 33 1 8 1 4 3 4 6 0 4 4 1 0 1 0 1
23 Ivey Slaughter f 18 1 3 0 0 4 6 6 2 3 5 3 1 0 1 0
1 Morgan Jones 10 1 2 1 2 0 0 3 0 1 1 0 1 0 0 0
3 Emiah Bingley 19 2 5 0 3 0 0 4 1 0 1 1 1 1 0 0
20 Shakayla Thomas 19 6 8 0 0 0 0 12 1 3 4 3 1 2 0 1
24 Shakena Richardson 13 2 3 0 0 0 0 4 0 1 1 1 1 2 0 0
25 Ama Degbeon 3 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0
32 Lauren Coleman 5 0 3 0 3 0 0 0 0 2 2 0 0 0 0 1
42 Kai James 2 1 1 0 0 0 0 2 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0
Team 3 1 4
=========================================================================
FSU 5 200 25 54 5 18 10 14 65 11 35 46 14 12 17 2 4
Opp 200 17 55 7 25 6 9 47 4 19 23 12 11 11 4 7
| 1 | 2 | Total | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Florida Gulf Coast | |||
| Florida State |
Romero’s 21 Points Guide Seminoles into Elite Eight.
Florida State Women’s Basketball defeats Arizona State 66-65 to reach the round of eight for
the second time in school history.
By Tim Linafelt, Seminoles.com Senior Writer
GREENSBORO, NC – At about 12:15 a.m., Sue Semrau ran into the Florida State locker room and yelled, “It’s past my bedtime!”
FSU (29-6) stayed up late to beat Arizona State (29-6) here in the Greensboro Regional Semifinal, and the Seminoles needed every last second to advance to the Elite Eight for the second time in program history.
Leticia Romero scored an FSU career-high 21 points, but it was Maegan Conwright’s steal with one second to go that finally secured a 66-65 victory.
The Seminoles can clinch a first-ever visit to the Final Four with a win over No. 1 South Carolina on Sunday.
“It’s going to be hard to wind down a little bit, but that’s OK,” Semrau said as the clock pushed toward 1 a.m. “It’s this time of year, and who needs sleep?”
Despite Romero’s heroics, a missed free throw from Emiah Bingley gave Arizona State the ball with five seconds on the clock and a one-point deficit.
But as she rushed down the court, ASU’s Peace Amukamara built up a little too much speed and lost control of the ball just enough to open a window for Conwright to make a pass at it with her left hand.
“She was on a full head of steam and I was quicker than her, so I could go across and steal the ball,” Conwright said. “It’s like a trick that I do – the team makes fun of me because I do it so well.”
Added guard Brittany Brown, “She does that all the time. It wasn’t a surprise but it was a great feeling.”
Even better in that it came just a few moments after Conwright missed an open layup that might have sealed the game.
“I’m so, so proud of her,” Romero said. “You saw her face and how she was (disappointed). The way she came back – I told her, she’s the leader of the team. We all look up to her.”
Florida State coasted through the first two rounds of the NCAA tournament but found a much tougher test in the Sun Devils.
Blending a slow, methodical offense with a defense that was among the most physical FSU has seen this season, ASU seemed to disrupt the Seminoles as the teams traded blows in the early goings.
FSU gained some separation thanks to an 11-2 run at the end of the first half, but, as they did in their second-round win over Arkansas Little-Rock, the Sun Devils quickly rallied back.
They outscored FSU 22-11 over the first eight-plus minutes of the second half to tie the score at 44-44.
“We scouted them, we know that they’re a comeback team,” Conwright said. “We know that they’re a second-half team. So, knowing that, we knew we still had to battle.”
The Seminoles never trailed in the second half, but they never led by more than two possessions during the game’s final 10 minutes, either.
That they staved off ASU’s comeback was thanks in large part to Romero, who shot 10 of 16 from the field while adding four rebounds, four assists and four steals.
“She just made play after play,” Semrau said. “It was her turn to put the team on her back. And she did that.”
Four times in the last 5:42, the Sun Devils made a shot to either tie the game or cut their deficit to two or three points.
Each time, Romero made a shot to give FSU some breathing room. The last bounced off the rim and in with 23 seconds and proved to be the game-winner.
ASU’s Elisha Davis then knocked down a 3-pointer that made it 66-65, but the Sun Devils could get no closer.
“My mind was just like ‘Leti, you have a game today. You’re hot right now,’” Romero said. “’You’ve got to do it for the team.’”
As she spoke, Romero wore evidence of the game’s physicality. She had cuts on her hands, scrapes on her knees and her white jersey was stained by sweat and blood.
Romero smiled and attributed that to her own clumsiness, but Semrau said that she “adjusted more to American basketball tonight than any other game we played.”
Not that she minds.
If cuts and bruises are the prices for entrance to the Elite Eight, Romero is more than happy to pay.
“I just was bleeding all over,” Romero said. “But when you’ve got a game like this, you’ve got a team like this, you can’t let anything get you down.
“You’ve got to keep going.”
Romero kept going, and now the Seminoles are going to the Elite Eight.
NO NAME GS MIN FGM FGA 3FGM 3FGA FTM FTA PTS OREB DREB REB PF AST TO BLK STL
== ==================== == === === === ==== ==== === === === ==== ==== === == === == === ===
2 Adut Bulgak c 28 5 7 0 0 5 6 15 3 4 7 3 0 2 0 0
10 Leticia Romero g 34 10 16 1 1 0 0 21 2 2 4 1 4 4 1 4
12 Brittany Brown g 14 1 2 0 0 0 0 2 0 3 3 2 1 3 0 1
15 Maegan Conwright g 36 4 11 2 4 1 3 11 0 1 1 1 3 3 0 1
23 Ivey Slaughter f 34 1 5 0 0 0 0 2 3 1 4 2 1 5 1 3
1 Morgan Jones 3 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 1 1 0 0 0 0 0
3 Emiah Bingley 25 3 8 0 1 0 1 6 1 1 2 3 0 1 0 1
20 Shakayla Thomas 15 2 5 0 0 1 2 5 2 3 5 4 0 0 1 0
24 Shakena Richardson 8 2 3 0 0 0 0 4 0 1 1 1 1 2 0 0
32 Lauren Coleman 3 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 1 0 0 0 1
Team 1 1 2
=========================================================================
FSU 5 200 28 57 3 6 7 12 66 12 18 30 18 10 20 3 11
Opp 200 21 43 5 12 18 22 65 6 20 26 15 12 23 2 11
| 1 | 2 | Total | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Florida State | |||
| Arizona State |
Noles Outlasted in Elite Eight.
Florida State Women’s Hoops falls to South Carolina 80-74 despite leading for the majority of the contest.
By Tim Linafelt, Seminoles.com Senior Writer
GREENSBORO, NC - For more than 28 minutes, the Florida State women’s basketball team stood on the brink of the Final Four.
Playing in what amounted to a road game against the No. 3 South Carolina Gamecocks, FSU executed its game plan to near-perfection. The Seminoles grabbed more rebounds and took more shots than USC, and they did a fine job protecting the ball.
It was almost enough to stun the Gamecocks and the 6,000 fans that came to see them. Almost.
Tiffany Mitchell, the Southeastern Conference’s most valuable player, scored 21 points, including a backbreaking late 3-pointer, that lifted South Carolina past FSU, 80-74, and into the school’s first Final Four.
The Seminoles end their season 32-5 after setting a school record for the most wins in a season.
“It feels like they took from us something that belonged to us,” FSU coach Sue Semrau said. “But somebody had to take it from somebody.
“And, ultimately, they made the plays down the stretch.”
Leticia Romero led FSU with 13 points and seven rebounds and Adut Bulgak added 11 points and six boards for FSU, which was playing in the Elite Eight for the second time in program history.
Romero and Bulgak were each named to the Greensboro All-Region team.
“I think it’s better that we did the things that we wanted to,” Semrau said. “Does it hurt worse? Probably. I’m not mad at the way we performed. I’m angry with the circumstances.
The Seminoles led 67-65 with 3:03 to go, but were undone by a 3-for-12 cold streak over the last 8:23 of the game.
USC, meanwhile, could hardly miss. The Gamecocks at one points made 11 straight shots in the first half and went into the break having made 14 of its last 15.
Still, the Seminoles went into the locker room with a lead.
And they did it while one of their key contributors mostly watched from the bench.
Maegan Conwright, a fifth-year senior who averages 30.1 minutes and 11.5 points per game, picked up two quick fouls and played only six minutes in the first half.
Officials then tagged her with fouls three and four less than five minutes into the second, and she finished with just seven points in 18 minutes.
“I was just stunned,” Semrau said. “I think our kids were stunned. When you’re playing – it was so tough playing without Maegan. ... I can’t quantify it.”
With Conwright sidelined, FSU got strong efforts from Brittany Brown (12 points), Ivey Slaughter (eight points, seven rebounds) and Emiah Bingley (eight points, five rebounds).
But every time the Seminoles seemed to take control, the Gamecocks came charging back.
They took their first lead at the six-minute mark and, after trading punches down the stretch, opened up a five-point lead after Mitchell hit a 3-pointer in the corner with 1:20 on the clock.
It was one of just two USC 3-pointers.
“She was tough to guard,” Romero said. “…That (3-pointer) was pretty tough for us.”
A miss from Mitchell gave FSU a window to tie the game, but Bulgak couldn’t hang on to the rebound and Mitchell then made two foul shots that pushed the lead to 64-59.
“That was probably the worst moment of my life,” Bulgak said, fighting back tears at the postgame press conference. “The ball was right there, at the tip of my fingers, and I should’ve got it.”
Semrau then interjected, “She gets quite a few.”
The Seminoles rallied late with a 3-pointer by Bulgak and a layup from Romero, but USC’s Asia Dozier made four straight free throws to seal the win.
FSU finished having shot 42.4 percent from the field and made eight of 16 3-point attempts. They held a 33-28 rebounding advantage, made 16 of 21 from the free throw line and posted more assists (13) than turnovers (12).
It was everything Semrau could ask for. Except for the final score.
“I’m proud of them,” Semrau said. “I just wish we had that rhythm that we didn’t have.”
No one in the Florida State locker room felt much like reflection after the game. Not after coming so close to reaching their goals.
But Brown, a sophomore, said she could appreciate everything the Seminoles achieved this season.
“We made history and it was just fun,” she said. “This is one my favorite years of playing basketball. I love these girls. I love this coaching staff from (graduate assistants) to scout (team) boys.
“I’ll remember this forever. It was a great moment.”
NO NAME GS MIN FGM FGA 3FGM 3FGA FTM FTA PTS OREB DREB REB PF AST TO BLK STL
== ==================== == === === === ==== ==== === === === ==== ==== === == === == === ===
2 Adut Bulgak c 25 4 8 2 5 1 2 11 2 4 6 3 1 2 0 1
10 Leticia Romero g 33 5 14 0 2 3 5 13 1 6 7 1 4 4 0 1
12 Brittany Brown g 28 5 11 2 4 0 0 12 2 1 3 5 1 0 0 0
15 Maegan Conwright g 18 2 5 1 1 2 2 7 0 0 0 4 0 2 0 0
23 Ivey Slaughter f 35 1 4 0 0 6 8 8 6 1 7 2 4 1 1 0
1 Morgan Jones 13 1 4 1 2 2 2 5 2 1 3 1 0 0 0 1
3 Emiah Bingley 22 3 6 2 2 0 0 8 0 0 0 5 2 1 0 1
20 Shakayla Thomas 16 3 5 0 0 2 2 8 0 0 0 2 0 1 0 0
24 Shakena Richardson 6 1 2 0 0 0 0 2 0 3 3 3 1 1 0 0
42 Kai James 4 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0
Team 3 1 4
=========================================================================
FSU 5 200 25 59 8 16 16 21 74 16 17 33 26 13 12 1 4
Opp 200 30 49 2 5 18 27 80 7 21 28 18 14 12 5 6
| 1 | 2 | Total | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Florida State | |||
| South Carolina |