2008-09 Women's Basketball - Year In Review

2008-09 Women's Basketball - Year In Review

Coaching Staff
Sue Semrau, Head Coach
Melissa Bruner, Director of Operations
Cori Close, Associate Head Coach
Angie Johnson, Assistant Coach
Lance White, Assistant Coach

Click here for team picture

Click here to see individual mug shots
2008-09 Women's Basketball


2008-09 Florida State Signees/Newcomers

Cierra Bravard, 6-4, C, Sandusky, Ohio

Chasity Clayton, 6-1, G-F, Alexandria, Va.

Alexa Deluzio, 5-9, G, Windermere

Kayli Keough, 6-1, F, Land O' Lakes


2008-09 Roster - By Name

L
T                                             PY
R No Name                  Pos     Hgt   Cl   Ltr  Hometown (Prior School)
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
* 54 Cierra Bravard        C       6-4   Fr        Sandusky, Ohio (Perkins)
  00 Chasity Clayton       G-F     6-1   Fr        Alexandria, Va. (Edison)
* 20 Tanae Davis-Cain      G       5-11  Sr   ***  Dawson, Ga. (Terrell County)
   3 Alexa Deluzio         G       5-9   Fr        Windermere (First Academy)
* 10 Mara Freshour         G       6-1   Sr   ***  Nashville, Ind. (Brown County)
*  1 Angel Gray            G       5-9   Jr   **   Stone Mountain, Ga. (Stone Mountain)
*  2 Alysha Harvin         G       5-10  Jr   **   Dania (South Broward)
* 15 Antionette Howard     G-F     5-11  So   *    Snellville, Ga. (South Gwinnett)
*  5 Christian Hunnicutt   G       5-10  So   *    Jonesboro, Ga. (Landmark Christian)
* 22 Kayli Keough          F       6-1   Fr        Land O' Lakes (Land O' Lakes)
* 50 Jacinta Monroe        F-C     6-4   Jr   **   Fort Lauderdale (Stranahan)
*  4 Cayla Moore           F       6-2   Jr-R **   Albany, Ga. (Westover)
* 12 Courtney Ward         G       5-7   So   *    Montgomery, Ala. (Jefferson Davis)

2008-09 Roster - By Number

L
T                                             PY
R No Name                  Pos     Hgt   Cl   Ltr  Hometown (Prior School)
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
*  1 Angel Gray            G       5-9   Jr   **   Stone Mountain, Ga. (Stone Mountain)
*  2 Alysha Harvin         G       5-10  Jr   **   Dania (South Broward)
   3 Alexa Deluzio         G       5-9   Fr        Windermere (First Academy)
*  4 Cayla Moore           F       6-2   Jr-R **   Albany, Ga. (Westover)
*  5 Christian Hunnicutt   G       5-10  So   *    Jonesboro, Ga. (Landmark Christian)
  00 Chasity Clayton       G-F     6-1   Fr        Alexandria, Va. (Edison)
* 10 Mara Freshour         G       6-1   Sr   ***  Nashville, Ind. (Brown County)
* 12 Courtney Ward         G       5-7   So   *    Montgomery, Ala. (Jefferson Davis)
* 15 Antionette Howard     G-F     5-11  So   *    Snellville, Ga. (South Gwinnett)
* 20 Tanae Davis-Cain      G       5-11  Sr   ***  Dawson, Ga. (Terrell County)
* 22 Kayli Keough          F       6-1   Fr        Land O' Lakes (Land O' Lakes)
* 50 Jacinta Monroe        F-C     6-4   Jr   **   Fort Lauderdale (Stranahan)
* 54 Cierra Bravard        C       6-4   Fr        Sandusky, Ohio (Perkins)

2008-09 Conference Awards

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Cierra Bravard           Atlantic Coast Conference - All-Freshman

Tanae Davis-Cain         Atlantic Coast Conference - All-Conference - 3rd Team
                         Atlantic Coast Conference - All-Tournament Team - 2nd Team

Mara Freshour            Atlantic Coast Conference - All-Conference - 3rd Team

Jacinta Monroe           Atlantic Coast Conference - All-Conference - 2nd Team
                         Atlantic Coast Conference - All-Defensive Team

Sue Semrau               Atlantic Coast Conference - Coach of the Year

All-Conference -  5

2008-09 Schedules and Results

DATE
POST
GAME
BOX
SCORE
LOC
OPPONENT
SCORE
11/16
Postgame
Box
H
Florida Gulf Coast
W 81-62
11/18
Postgame
Box
A
North Florida
W 60-49
11/20
Postgame
Box
H
Coll of Charleston
W 70-57
11/23
Postgame
Box
H
Florida
L 57-72
11/25
Postgame
Box
H
SE Missouri State
W 62-31
11/28
Postgame
Box
N
Murray State
Rocky Mountain Invitational, Fort Collins, Colo.
W 85-50
11/29
Postgame
Box
N
Valparaiso
Rocky Mountain Invitational, Fort Collins, Colo.
L 74-80
12/03
Postgame
Box
H
Penn State
ACC-Big 10 Challenge
W 73-60
12/07
Postgame
Box
A
Temple
W 86-67
12/14
Postgame
Box
H
Mercer
W 74-54
12/18
Postgame
Box
N
Northern Colorado
Caribbean Classic, Cancun, Mexico
W 75-32
12/19
Postgame
Box
N
Washington
Caribbean Classic, Cancun, Mexico
L 60-62
12/21
Postgame
Box
N
Connecticut
Caribbean Classic, Cancun, Mexico
L 71-83
12/28
Postgame
Box
A
Louisiana State
W 61-57
12/31
Postgame
Box
H
Central Florida
W 82-70
01/05
Postgame
Box
H
Texas A&M
W 60-53
01/08
Postgame
Box
A
Virginia Tech
W 67-63
01/11
Postgame
Box
H
Clemson
W 80-54
01/15
Postgame
Box
A
North Carolina State
W 64-59
01/18
Postgame
Box
H
Georgia Tech
W 59-49
01/23
Postgame
Box
A
Virginia
W 80-75
01/29
Postgame
Box
H
Duke
OT
W 82-75
02/02
Postgame
Box
H
Maryland
L 71-72
02/05
Postgame
Box
A
Boston College
W 64-53
02/08
Postgame
Box
A
Miami
W 75-59
02/13
Postgame
Box
H
North Carolina
W 77-70
02/19
Postgame
Box
A
Clemson
W 75-58
02/22
Postgame
Box
H
Miami
W 59-58
02/24
Postgame
Box
H
Virginia
L 63-68
03/01
Postgame
Box
A
Wake Forest
W 58-47
03/06
Postgame
Box
N
Boston College
ACC, Greensboro, N.C.
W 83-71
03/07
Postgame
Box
N
Duke
ACC, Greensboro, N.C.
L 57-75
03/21
Postgame
Box
N
North Carolina A&T
NCAA, Duluth, Ga.
W 83-71
03/23
Postgame
Box
N
Arizona State
NCAA, Duluth, Ga.
L 58-63
EOY Stats Ref

                Overall   Home    Away   Neutral
------------------------------------------------
FSU record is   26- 8    12- 3    10- 0     4- 5
vs ACC          12- 2     5- 2     7- 0     0- 0


2009 Atlantic Coast Conference Results
 1t Maryland             12- 2    31- 5 
 1t Florida State        12- 2    26- 8 
 3  Duke                 11- 3    27- 6 
 4  North Carolina       10- 4    28- 7 
 5t Georgia Tech          8- 6    22-10 
 5t Virginia              8- 6    24-10 
 7  Boston College        7- 7    23-12 
 8t North Carolina State  5- 9    13-17 
 8t Wake Forest           5- 9    19-12 
10t Miami                 2-12    13-17 
10t Virginia Tech         2-12    12-18 
10t Clemson               2-12    14-17 

2009 CONFERENCE TOURNAMENT, Greensboro, NC
   Date                    Score                                    Comments
==========  ==================================================  ==================================
03/05/2009  (12)Clemson 81, (5)Georgia Tech 69                  Round 1
03/05/2009  (9)Wake Forest 59, (8)North Carolina State 54       Round 1
03/05/2009  (7)Boston College 76, (10)Miami 59                  Round 1
03/05/2009  (6)Virginia 66, (11)Virginia Tech 57                Round 1
03/06/2009  (4)North Carolina 74, (12)Clemson 55                Round 2
03/06/2009  (1)Maryland 72, (9)Wake Forest 70                   Round 2
03/06/2009  (2)Florida State 83, (7)Boston College 71           Round 2
03/06/2009  (3)Duke 76, (6)Virginia 53                          Round 2
03/07/2009  (1)Maryland 95, (4)North Carolina 84                Round 3
03/07/2009  (3)Duke 75, (2)Florida State 57                     Round 3
03/08/2009  (1)Maryland 92, (3)Duke 89                          Round 4, OT                                                

                                                                                                                                                                                                   
ACC Championship, Greensboro, NC                                                                                                                                                                        
3/5/2009 - Clemson 81, Georgia Tech 69                                                                                                                                                                  
           Wake Forest 59, North Carolina State 54                                                                                                                                                      
           Boston College 76, Mimai 59                                                                                                                                                                  
           Virginia 66, Virginia Tech 57                                                                                                                                                                
3/6/2009 - North Carolina 74, Clemson 55                                                                                                                                                                
           Maryland 72, Wake Forest 70                                                                                                                                                                  
           Florida State 83, Boston College 71                                                                                                                                                          
           Duke 76, Virginia 53                                                                                                                                                                         
3/7/2009 - Maryland 95, North Carolina 84                                                                                                                                                               
           Duke 75, Florida State 57                                                                                                                                                                    
3/8/2009 - Maryland 92, Duke 89                                                                                                                                                                         

2008-09 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 =================================================================================================================================== Jacinta Monroe 34 33 931 168 326 .515 0 3 .000 108 157 .688 444 13.1 87 164 251 7.4 75 0 28 68 84 39 Tanae Davis-Cain 34 26 934 158 421 .375 77 208 .370 40 59 .678 433 12.7 25 86 111 3.3 73 2 45 71 14 43 Mara Freshour 34 31 1054 123 301 .409 51 131 .389 76 92 .826 373 11.0 57 105 162 4.8 37 0 87 72 7 41 Cierra Bravard 34 15 649 115 199 .578 0 2 .000 100 148 .676 330 9.7 74 86 160 4.7 105 4 6 71 33 10 Alysha Harvin 34 20 748 87 246 .354 23 67 .343 57 75 .760 254 7.5 45 70 115 3.4 76 2 33 67 6 35 Courtney Ward 34 27 912 83 196 .423 37 74 .500 50 79 .633 253 7.4 24 86 110 3.2 78 2 170 132 3 43 Angel Gray 34 10 751 43 103 .417 2 8 .250 54 88 .614 142 4.2 38 80 118 3.5 49 1 49 64 3 51 Christian Hunnicutt 33 8 440 30 109 .275 2 11 .182 26 31 .839 88 2.7 15 49 64 1.9 41 0 35 30 5 17 Cayla Moore 31 0 296 21 52 .404 0 0 .000 7 33 .212 49 1.6 45 32 77 2.5 62 1 7 23 2 14 Kayli Keough 18 0 109 5 21 .238 0 1 .000 10 19 .526 20 1.1 7 25 32 1.8 15 0 3 9 0 3 Antionette Howard 1 0 1 0 0 .000 0 0 .000 0 0 .000 0 0.0 0 0 0 0.0 0 0 0 0 0 0 Team 79 82 161 0.0 10 ============================================================================================================== FSU 34 833 1974 .422 192 505 .380 528 781 .676 2386 70.2 496 865 1361 40.0 611 12 463 617 157 296 Opp 34 740 1972 .375 171 547 .313 428 604 .709 2079 61.1 435 761 1196 35.2 675 28 399 645 115 263

Florida State 81, Florida Gulf Coast 62
11/16/2008, Tallahassee, Fla.

From the FSU Website, seminoles.com.

Florida State Opens Season With 81-62 Victory Over Florida Gulf Coast.

FSU women's basketball team wins its season opener for the 15th consecutive year.

TALLAHASSEE, FL - The Florida State women's basketball team opened its 2008-09 season Sunday with an 81-62 victory over visiting Florida Gulf Coast at the Donald L. Tucker Center.

The game's outcome marked the 15th consecutive year in which the Seminoles picked up a victory on opening day.

FSU (1-0) displayed a balanced attack on offense that mixed the inside and outside games as five players finished in double figures. Senior guard Tanae Davis-Cain led the way with a game-high 18 points while fellow guards Mara Freshour (12 points) and Angel Gray (career-high 10 points) also got in on the scoring action.

On the inside, Jacinta Monroe registered the ninth double-double of her career as she scored 15 points to go along with a game-high 12 rebounds. True freshman starting center Cierra Bravard also served as a significant presence in the paint as she recorded 15 points and eight rebounds.

"Jacinta is so consistent this year; she doesn't get too high and she doesn't get too low," FSU head coach Sue Semrau said. "She does the job and she is playing fundamental basketball. I think the presence of Cierra Bravard inside has been a tremendous boost but also Tanae Davis-Cain and Mara Freshour on the wings helps us stretch things out."

Defensively, the Seminoles started firing on all cylinders at tip-off.

FSU smothered the Eagles (1-1) early on and finished the game allowing just 38.5-percent shooting from the floor.

The 'Noles also won the rebounding battle 45-23. Included in that is a huge advantage in offensive rebounds, 15-2.

"The fact that we were able to hold them to just two all night I think bodes very well for us," Semrau said.

For the game, FSU shot 53.4 percent from the field and 33.3 percent from behind the 3-point line.

One area of concern for the Seminoles however, was the overall team performance from the free-throw line. FSU had 28 chances from the charity stripe but connected on just 13 of them for a percentage of just 46.4.

Despite the free-throw woes, Seminole fans in attendance had plenty to cheer about - especially early on.

FSU led 37-24 at the halftime break but actually raced to an early 14-0 advantage that then ballooned into a 24-2 lead. Credit the Eagles for showing the poise to keep fighting back as FGCU eventually cut the deficit to 45-39 just under seven minutes into the second half.

But that was as close as they would come as FSU never trailed in the game.

"One thing our coaches talk about is staying consistent the whole game," Davis-Cain said. "Not letting up because we are up. Just continuing to play through it no matter what the score is."

Kelsey Jacobson's 14 points and Emma Beddome's 13 led the way for a Florida Gulf Coast squad that defeated the University of Florida 88-86 in both teams opener Friday night.

Sunday's contest marked the second consecutive season in which FSU opened up its season against the Eagles. The Seminoles earned a 93-53 win last year.

 
NO        NAME          GS MIN FGM FGA 3FGM 3FGA FTM FTA PTS   OREB DREB REB PF AST TO BLK STL
== ==================== == === === === ==== ==== === === ===   ==== ==== === == === == === ===
10 Mara Freshour         g  30   5   9    2    4   0   0  12      1    4   5  1   3  3   2   1
12 Courtney Ward         g  26   0   3    0    1   0   0   0      0    2   2  1   4  3   0   0
20 Tanae Davis-Cain      g  30   7  13    3    7   1   2  18      1    0   1  0   1  3   0   3
50 Jacinta Monroe        f  20   5   6    0    0   5  11  15      4    8  12  2   1  0   0   1
54 Cierra Bravard        c  21   7  10    0    1   1   4  15      4    4   8  4   0  2   0   0
 1 Angel Gray               18   3   5    1    2   3   4  10      1    3   4  2   1  1   1   3
 2 Alysha Harvin            20   2   6    0    2   0   1   4      2    1   3  1   1  1   0   1
 4 Cayla Moore              10   0   1    0    0   0   0   0      2    0   2  4   1  1   0   0
 5 Christian Hunnicutt      14   2   5    0    1   3   3   7      0    1   1  2   1  3   0   1
15 Antionette Howard         1   0   0    0    0   0   0   0      0    0   0  0   0  0   0   0
22 Kayli Keough             10   0   0    0    0   0   3   0      0    5   5  2   1  2   0   0
   Team                                                                2   2                  
                     =========================================================================
   FSU                   5 200  31  58    6   18  13  28  81     15   30  45 19  14 19   3  10
   Opp                     200  20  52    9   26  13  17  62      2   21  23 23  14 16   0   5


  1 2 Total
Florida Gulf Coast
24
38
62
Florida State
37
44
81

Florida State 60, North Florida 49
11/18/2008, Jacksonville, Fla.

From the FSU Website, seminoles.com.

Paced by Jacinta Monroe's 21 points, No. 21 FSU Tops UNF 60-49.

Seminoles overcome turnover problems to escape with win in first road game of the season.

JACKSONVILLE, FL - The No. 21-ranked Florida State women's basketball team defeated North Florida 60-49 Tuesday night at UNF Arena in Jacksonville in the team's first road contest of the young season.

Paced by forward Jacinta Monroe's game-high 21 points on seven-of-eight shooting and seven rebounds, the Seminoles (2-0) shook off a sluggish first half and avoided falling to a scrappy Ospreys (0-2) squad.

"North Florida did some things that we hadn't seen a lot of," FSU head coach Sue Semrau said. "We just had to learn through it and grow through it but I thought they played with a lot of heart and a lot of guts."

For Monroe, the seven rebounds by the junior meant she came within three boards of securing the 10th double-double of her career and second in as many contests.

In addition to Monroe, senior Tanae Davis-Cain finished with 15 points and connected on two of her six, three-point attempts to move within eight triples of tying the career all-time school record of 134 successful shots from behind the arc.

The Seminoles battled foul trouble and turnovers most of the night but corrected those issues late in the game when it meant the most. FSU finished the game with 26 turnovers but only had nine in the second half.

The Seminole defense did its job and forced 30 UNF turnovers and held the Ospreys to 40.9-percent shooting from the field. More importantly, FSU held UNF to just five points in the game's final six minutes.

"We were in a little bit of foul trouble in the first half and we didn't want to really risk that," Semrau said. "Once we got into a rhythm with having the key players in at the right time, I thought we looked a little better. We still played a little tentative and we'll correct that tomorrow."

Sophomore point guard Courtney Ward led the Seminoles with a game-high four steals while Davis-Cain and senior guard Mara Freshour added three takeaways apiece.

Jadhken Kerr led UNF with 13 points as the only Osprey in double-digit scoring.

FSU couldn't quite shake UNF throughout most of the game as the Ospreys found themselves never trailing by more than nine points late into the second half. But with just over three minutes remaining in the ballgame, Monroe calmly drilled two free throws to push the FSU lead to 57-46 and the Seminoles never looked back in the victory.

The Seminoles took a 25-20 lead into intermission after a first half marred by poor shooting and turnovers by both squads. In total, FSU committed 15 turnovers and shot just 39.1 percent from the field in the opening half.

As for UNF, despite building an early 7-1 lead after securing the opening tip, the Ospreys gave the ball away 17 times and shot a paltry 30.4 percent in the game's first 20 minutes.

FSU took its first lead of the game with just over 10 minutes remaining in the first half before relinquishing it a few moments later. The 'Noles then regained what would turn out to be the lead for good at 22-20 when Davis-Cain sunk two free-throws two minutes before the half.

 
NO        NAME          GS MIN FGM FGA 3FGM 3FGA FTM FTA PTS   OREB DREB REB PF AST TO BLK STL
== ==================== == === === === ==== ==== === === ===   ==== ==== === == === == === ===
10 Mara Freshour         g  34   2   7    1    4   3   4   8      2    3   5  1   2  3   0   3
12 Courtney Ward         g  21   1   5    0    1   0   1   2      0    1   1  4   3  4   1   4
20 Tanae Davis-Cain      g  33   5  14    2    6   3   4  15      1    1   2  1   2  5   0   3
50 Jacinta Monroe        f  29   7   8    0    0   7  10  21      1    6   7  3   0  2   1   2
54 Cierra Bravard        c  15   2   2    0    0   1   1   5      1    1   2  5   1  2   0   0
 1 Angel Gray               21   2   4    0    0   0   1   4      0    6   6  2   4  5   0   1
 2 Alysha Harvin            18   1   4    0    2   0   0   2      2    2   4  2   1  0   0   0
 4 Cayla Moore              13   1   3    0    0   1   4   3      2    2   4  1   0  4   0   0
 5 Christian Hunnicutt      15   0   2    0    1   0   0   0      0    0   0  1   1  0   0   0
22 Kayli Keough              1   0   0    0    0   0   0   0      0    0   0  0   0  0   0   0
   Team                                                           2    2   4         1        
                     =========================================================================
   FSU                   5 200  21  49    3   14  15  25  60     11   24  35 20  14 26   2  13
   Opp                     200  18  44    5   12   8  12  49      8   21  29 23  12 31   1   7


  1 2 Total
Florida State
25
35
60
North Florida
20
29
49

Florida State 70, Coll of Charleston 57
11/20/2008, Tallahassee, Fla.

From the FSU Website, seminoles.com.

Seminoles Remain Unbeaten With 70-57 Victory Over College of Charleston.

True freshman center Cierra Bravard posts a game- and career-high 25 points to lead the Seminoles.

TALLAHASSEE, FL - Guided by a monster effort by true freshman center Cierra Bravard, the No. 21 Seminoles defeated the College of Charleston 70-57 Thursday night at the Donald L. Tucker Center.

Bravard, who has started in the middle of the FSU (3-0) lineup every game of the season so far, connected on 11 of her 17 shots for a game- and career-high 25 points. She also added eight rebounds.

"When it comes down to it, I think our play tonight made a lot of people realize that we are all here for the same thing," Bravard said, "and if we all work together than different people on the team will have big nights. Tonight was just my night and I am thankful that my team trusted me and let me do what I can do."

In addition to Bravard, the Cougars (1-1) also didn't have an answer on the inside for forward Jacinta Monroe. The 6-foot-4 post-player has put up big numbers in each of FSU's three games this season and Thursday was no different.

Monroe earned the 10th double-double of her career and second of the season as she finished the game with 15 points and a game-high 15 rebounds while adding two blocks.

"When we are both on the floor together, there is no way no matter what any team does that they can stop both of us," Bravard said. "Tonight was my night but I know that another night will be her night and I will have no problem with getting her the ball."

Senior guard Mara Freshour also added eight points, three assists and two steals.

Despite the fact that the Seminoles didn't allow any College of Charleston player to score in double figures, the FSU defense was suspect at times in the second half. FSU took a 32-21 lead into the halftime break after holding the Cougars to just 21.9-percent shooting in the game's first 20 minutes, FSU allowed the Cougars to shoot 41.9 percent in the second half.

College of Charleston used the improved shooting percentage to claw back into the game and took the lead 48-49 with 7:10 left remaining in the contest. But it was a lead that wouldn't last as Freshour connected on two free throws at the game's 6:44-mark and FSU went on a 21-8 run to finish the game.

"Mara is a clutch player for us that is going to knock down free throws," FSU head coach Sue Semrau said. "Then I thought our players showed a lot of poise to make that run."

Sarah Moye and Brooke Kotcella each scored a team-high eight points for the Cougars. Nikki Williams recorded a team-high 11 rebounds.

FSU just barely won the rebounding battle as they secured 42 boards compared to College of Charleston's 40.

 
NO        NAME          GS MIN FGM FGA 3FGM 3FGA FTM FTA PTS   OREB DREB REB PF AST TO BLK STL
== ==================== == === === === ==== ==== === === ===   ==== ==== === == === == === ===
10 Mara Freshour         g  28   2   9    0    4   4   4   8      1    3   4  1   3  0   0   2
12 Courtney Ward         g  27   2   5    0    0   0   0   4      0    0   0  1   4  1   0   3
20 Tanae Davis-Cain      g  28   2   5    1    3   0   1   5      0    3   3  0   1  5   0   0
50 Jacinta Monroe        f  29   5  12    0    0   5   9  15      4   11  15  2   1  3   2   2
54 Cierra Bravard        c  25  11  17    0    0   3   3  25      3    5   8  2   0  2   0   0
 1 Angel Gray               19   0   1    0    0   4   4   4      0    1   1  1   0  2   0   1
 2 Alysha Harvin            13   1   5    0    0   2   2   4      2    3   5  2   0  2   1   0
 4 Cayla Moore              12   1   3    0    0   0   1   2      1    2   3  2   1  0   0   0
 5 Christian Hunnicutt      19   0   3    0    0   3   4   3      2    0   2  0   3  0   0   0
   Team                                                                1   1                  
                     =========================================================================
   FSU                   5 200  24  60    1    7  21  28  70     13   29  42 11  13 15   3   8
   Opp                     200  20  63    7   19  10  11  57     13   27  40 21  14 19   0   4


  1 2 Total
Coll of Charleston
21
36
57
Florida State
32
38
70

Florida 72, Florida State 57
11/23/2008, Tallahassee, Fla.

From the FSU Website, seminoles.com.

No. 21 Seminoles Upset at Home By the Gators 57-72.

FSU women's basketball team will have to wait another day to earn the program's 500th win of all-time as they fall to Florida Sunday.

TALLAHASSEE, FL - History will have to be made another day.

Looking to earn the 500th win in the history of the program, the No. 21-ranked Florida State women's basketball team was upset 57-72 by Florida Sunday at the Donald L. Tucker Center.

Instead, FSU (3-1) will look to bounce back and earn the milestone against Southeast Missouri State at home Tuesday at 11 a.m.

Jacinta Monroe led all FSU players with 18 points but the Seminoles weren't able to match the same intensity sustained from the start of the game to the end by the Gators (3-1). Other than an early 4-2 score to start the game, Florida never trailed in the rivalry game after going up 4-6 less than three minutes into regulation.

"They just flat-out out played us," FSU head coach Sue Semrau said. "There's no question that they came out with more competitiveness than we did. Just credit Florida and their balance in the way that they attacked the game. I am just disappointed in our defensive effort."

One look at the final box score echoes Semrau's sentiments about the Seminole defense. In total, FSU allowed the Gators to shoot an even 51-percent from the field and gave up 16 offensive rebounds. The Seminoles lost the total rebounding battle 35-42 despite a significant height advantage in the middle.

The 'Noles also struggled to keep Florida off the free-throw line and the Gators made them pay for it. UF connected on 20 of its 25 free-throw attempts for an 80-percent mark. On the other end of the spectrum, FSU managed to get to the line just 16 times and only converted nine of those attempts.

"I know that we are a lot better than we played," said true freshman center Cierra Bravard, who scored 11 points against the Gators three days after posting a career-high 25 against the College of Charleston. "I think that when things started going wrong we didn't really look to each other. Everybody tried to do it themselves. I know I shut down and didn't do what I could have done to help the team."

Things took a negative turn early as the Gators built a 16-point lead 16 minutes into the game.

FSU appeared to be on the verge of being able to earn an inspiring comeback against their rivals as they went on an 11-2 run to close the half. But after heading into the halftime break trailing just 27-34, the Seminoles weren't able to duplicate that inspired play in the game's final 20 minutes.

FSU cut their deficit to 41-47 with 10 minutes remaining in the game but wouldn't get any closer.

Sha Brooks led the way for the Gators with a game-high 24 points while Sharielle Smith added 15 points and seven rebounds. Marshae Dotson hauled in a game-high 15 boards.

As for Monroe, FSU's leading scorer secured 10 rebounds to record the 11th double-double of her career and third of the season. Senior Mara Freshour and Tanae Davis-Cain contributed with 10 points apiece.

 
NO        NAME          GS MIN FGM FGA 3FGM 3FGA FTM FTA PTS   OREB DREB REB PF AST TO BLK STL
== ==================== == === === === ==== ==== === === ===   ==== ==== === == === == === ===
10 Mara Freshour         g  35   4  12    2    6   0   1  10      2    1   3  2   2  2   1   0
12 Courtney Ward         g  23   0   4    0    1   0   0   0      0    1   1  3   4  4   0   1
20 Tanae Davis-Cain      g  31   4  15    2    9   0   0  10      3    0   3  3   1  1   1   0
50 Jacinta Monroe        f  34   9  19    0    0   0   0  18      5    5  10  3   0  2   5   2
54 Cierra Bravard        c  18   4   7    0    0   3   4  11      3    0   3  4   0  3   0   2
 1 Angel Gray               19   0   2    0    1   2   2   2      3    0   3  0   1  1   0   0
 2 Alysha Harvin             9   0   1    0    0   0   0   0      0    0   0  2   0  2   0   1
 4 Cayla Moore               8   0   2    0    0   0   2   0      2    2   4  3   0  1   0   1
 5 Christian Hunnicutt      10   1   3    0    1   2   3   4      0    0   0  4   2  1   0   0
22 Kayli Keough             13   0   3    0    0   2   4   2      4    1   5  1   1  0   0   0
   Team                                                           2    1   3                  
                     =========================================================================
   FSU                   5 200  22  68    4   18   9  16  57     24   11  35 25  11 17   7   7
   Opp                     200  25  49    2    9  20  25  72     16   26  42 19  10 24   5   3


  1 2 Total
Florida
34
38
72
Florida State
27
30
57

Florida State 62, SE Missouri State 31
11/25/2008, Tallahassee, Fla.

From the FSU Website, seminoles.com.

Seminoles Stop SEMO, 62-31.

Post play dominates in Seminole victory.

TALLAHASSEE, FL - Florida State head coach Sue Semrau juggled the starting line up for Tuesday's 11 a.m. match up with the Southeast Missouri Redhawks and it must have worked.

Solid post play and strong rebounding propelled the Seminoles (4-1) to a 62-31 win over Southeast Missouri (3-1) at the Donald L. Tucker Center. Junior forward Jacinta Monroe and freshman center Cierra Bravard combined for half of the Seminoles' points with 18 and 13 points, respectively.

Monroe, Bravard and Courtney Ward all started their fifth straight game while junior Angel Gray and sophomore Christian Hunnicutt got the nod in place of senior captains Mara Freshour and Tanae Davis-Cain.

"I felt like (heading into Tuesday's game) that our defensive effort wasn't what it needed to be," Semrau said, "and Mara and Tanae were part of that and Christian (Hunnicutt) and Angel (Gray) gave us great speed, they gave us the ability to defend and I think you could see what happened. We held them to 16 percent shooting and we have to play defense before we worry about offense."

The Seminoles shot 52.2 percent from the field while holding the Redhawks to 16.9 percent from the field. FSU also had a 45-30 rebounding edge. Florida State enjoyed 36 points in the paint in all and got a lift from the bench players with 22 points.

FSU went into the locker room up 27-15 at the half thanks to a 14-2 run in the final 7:49 of the first half and in the second half, the Seminoles picked up right where they left off. Monroe and Bravard combined for 12 of FSU's first 13 points in the second half while the Seminole defense held SEMO scoreless for nearly the first four minutes.

While Hunnicutt contributed five points, she led the team with nine rebounds and six assists, both career-highs. Freshman Kayli Keough came off of the bench and provided valuable minutes with seven points and four rebounds in 15 minutes of action.

 
NO        NAME          GS MIN FGM FGA 3FGM 3FGA FTM FTA PTS   OREB DREB REB PF AST TO BLK STL
== ==================== == === === === ==== ==== === === ===   ==== ==== === == === == === ===
 1 Angel Gray            g  25   0   1    0    0   4   8   4      2    3   5  0   1  1   0   2
 5 Christian Hunnicutt   g  29   1   3    0    1   3   4   5      2    7   9  0   6  4   1   1
12 Courtney Ward         g  20   0   1    0    0   0   1   0      1    3   4  2   3  6   0   3
50 Jacinta Monroe        f  25   9  13    0    0   0   0  18      0    3   3  1   2  2   2   1
54 Cierra Bravard        c  18   6   9    0    0   1   4  13      5    2   7  2   0  1   1   0
 2 Alysha Harvin             4   0   0    0    0   0   0   0      0    1   1  0   0  1   0   0
 4 Cayla Moore              19   2   3    0    0   0   2   4      0    3   3  3   0  2   0   1
10 Mara Freshour            21   1   2    1    2   0   0   3      0    1   1  1   3  2   1   0
20 Tanae Davis-Cain         24   3  10    2    7   0   0   8      0    4   4  2   3  4   0   0
22 Kayli Keough             15   2   4    0    0   3   4   7      1    3   4  2   0  0   0   0
   Team                                                                4   4                  
                     =========================================================================
   FSU                   5 200  24  46    3   10  11  23  62     11   34  45 13  18 23   5   8
   Opp                     200  10  59    3   24   8  12  31     13   17  30 18   8 17   2  10


  1 2 Total
SE Missouri State
15
16
31
Florida State
27
35
62

Florida State 85, Murray State 50
11/28/2008, Rocky Mountain Invitational, Fort Collins, Colo.

From the FSU Website, seminoles.com.

Seminoles Blast Murray State 85-50 to Start Coors Rocky Mountain Invitational.

Florida State women's basketball team will now play in the tournament's championship game Saturday against Valparaiso.

FORT COLLINS, CO - The Florida State women's basketball team opened the Coors Rocky Mount Invitational on the campus of Colorado State with an 85-50 victory over Murray State Friday.

FSU (5-1) was led to victory by a tightfisted defense and an offensive onslaught that featured five players that scored in double figures.

"We got our running game going as a result of our strong defense," FSU head coach Sue Semrau said. "The players didn't really worry too much about the altitude and it was really nice to be able to play a lot of people a lot minutes. I just think we did a tremendous job."

Three days after switching her starting lineup for the first time this season, Semrau stuck with the change that helped spark a 62-31 dismantling of Southeast Missouri State on Nov. 25 as guards Christian Hunnicutt and Angel Gray were given the nod against Murray State (2-3) over seniors Tanae Davis-Cain and Mara Freshour.

Still, that didn't stop the Seminole seniors from leaving their respective marks on the ballgame. Davis-Cain bounced back from a slow start to the game to tally 11 points while Freshour added six points, six rebounds and four assists.

Hunnicut contributed a season-high 11 points while post-players Jacinta Monroe and Cierra Bravard contributed 10 and 11 points, respectively. Alysha Harvin was the fifth Seminole in double figures as she poured in a season-high 11 points as well.

The Seminole defense helped set up that offensive show by slowing Murray State down all evening long at the Moby Arena. The Racers were held to just 32.1-percent shooting from the field.

Just as importantly, FSU limited Racers star Ashley Hayes to just 15 points. The 5-foot-10 senior entered the game as one of the top offensive players in the country as she was averaging 24 points per outing.

"We just tried to be a good defensive team out there and let it feed our offense," said FSU junior forward Cayla Moore, who had her best game of the season as she recorded season highs in points (eight) and rebounds (10). "We just did a good job of talking out there to each other and really playing together as a team on both ends of the floor."

Moore's 10 boards led a Seminole effort that resulted in a 49-25 rebounding advantage by game's end. The 'Noles also dominated the points-in-the-paint battle 46-12.

FSU boasted a 41-27 lead at the halftime break thanks to nine first-half points from Bravard. Hunnicutt had seven of her points while Ward and Freshour contributed six points apiece in the opening 20 minutes.

The Seminoles will now face Valparaiso after they defeated Colorado State following FSU's game. The championship matchup will take place at 5 p.m. MT/7 p.m. ET on Saturday.

FSU arrived in the Mile High State on Wednesday and spent the night in Denver before enjoying the Thanksgiving Holiday at the family home of graduate assistant coach Joanna Reitz. Following a delicious home-cooked meal, the 'Noles boarded the team bus for the hour-long drive to Fort Collins on Thursday afternoon.

 
NO        NAME          GS MIN FGM FGA 3FGM 3FGA FTM FTA PTS   OREB DREB REB PF AST TO BLK STL
== ==================== == === === === ==== ==== === === ===   ==== ==== === == === == === ===
 1 Angel Gray            g  21   2   6    0    1   4   5   8      0    1   1  2   0  1   0   2
 5 Christian Hunnicutt   g  23   5  10    0    1   1   1  11      1    2   3  1   0  1   0   2
12 Courtney Ward         g  24   2   5    2    3   0   2   6      0    3   3  2   2  5   0   1
50 Jacinta Monroe        f  17   3   5    0    1   4   4  10      1    1   2  1   0  1   0   1
54 Cierra Bravard        c  13   3   3    0    0   5   7  11      2    2   4  1   0  1   2   0
 2 Alysha Harvin            24   5   8    1    2   0   0  11      1    5   6  0   0  3   0   0
 4 Cayla Moore              19   3   6    0    0   2   4   8      6    4  10  2   1  2   0   2
10 Mara Freshour            21   3   7    0    2   0   0   6      3    3   6  0   4  1   0   0
20 Tanae Davis-Cain         22   5  10    1    2   0   1  11      1    1   2  4   0  3   0   1
22 Kayli Keough             16   1   3    0    0   1   1   3      1    4   5  3   0  3   0   2
   Team                                                           1    6   7                  
                     =========================================================================
   FSU                   5 200  32  63    4   12  17  25  85     17   32  49 16   7 21   2  11
   Opp                     200  17  53    8   25   8  10  50      5   20  25 23   6 24   5   5


  1 2 Total
Florida State
41
44
85
Murray State
27
23
50

Valparaiso 80, Florida State 74
11/29/2008, Rocky Mountain Invitational, Fort Collins, Colo.

From the FSU Website, seminoles.com.

FSU Falls in Coors Rocky Mountain Invitational Championship Game to Valparaiso 80-74.

Seminoles can't overcome foul issues as they trail the entire game on the campus of Colorado State University.

FORT COLLINS, CO - The Florida State women's basketball team fell to underdog Valparaiso in the championship game of the Coors Rocky Mountain Invitational Saturday night by a score of 80-74.

The Seminoles (5-2) fought back from as many as 19 points down to cut the Crusaders (3-1) lead to four points with just over 30 seconds remaining in the game but in the end it wasn't enough to avoid the upset.

On a night when the Mountain West Conference officiating crew was quick with the whistle, the Seminoles battled foul issues all evening long. In total, FSU finished with 29 total team fouls compared to 17 by Valparaiso. Because of that discrepancy, the Crusaders were able to go to the free-throw line a school-record 42 times and they made the most of it connecting on 35 of those tries.

On the opposite end of the spectrum, the Seminoles went to the charity stripe just 16 times but did make 13 of those attempts.

Cierra Bravard and Alysha Harvin were penalized the most for FSU as both post players fouled out late in the second half.

Defensively, Florida State allowed four different players to score in double figures and two to score at least 20.

For the Seminoles, senior guard Mara Freshour had her best game of the year with a team- and season-high 16 points. Junior forward Jacinta Monroe also added 13 points while junior guard Angel Gray tied her career high with 10 points. Courtney Ward and Cierra Bravard posted 12 and 11 points, respectively, as well.

Valparaiso benefited from an 11-0 run late in the first half as the Seminoles didn't score for over a three-minute time span. Combine near-perfect free-throw shooting by Valpo with FSU foul trouble, and the 'Noles found themselves trailing 30-44 at the halftime break.

 
NO        NAME          GS MIN FGM FGA 3FGM 3FGA FTM FTA PTS   OREB DREB REB PF AST TO BLK STL
== ==================== == === === === ==== ==== === === ===   ==== ==== === == === == === ===
 1 Angel Gray            g  30   3   7    0    0   4   4  10      1    4   5  1   2  2   0   2
 5 Christian Hunnicutt   g  18   1   8    0    0   2   2   4      3    4   7  3   0  1   0   0
12 Courtney Ward         g  30   5   8    2    5   0   0  12      1    1   2  3   6  4   0   1
50 Jacinta Monroe        f  31   6  12    0    0   1   2  13      4    4   8  3   2  1   1   0
54 Cierra Bravard        c  14   3   5    0    1   5   7  11      2    2   4  4   0  0   1   0
 2 Alysha Harvin            12   0   4    0    0   0   0   0      2    1   3  5   0  1   0   0
 4 Cayla Moore              16   2   2    0    0   1   1   5      3    2   5  4   1  1   0   3
10 Mara Freshour            28   6  13    4    8   0   0  16      1    4   5  3   0  1   0   0
20 Tanae Davis-Cain         14   1   8    1    5   0   0   3      0    0   0  2   0  2   0   1
22 Kayli Keough              7   0   1    0    0   0   0   0      0    2   2  1   0  1   0   1
   Team                                                           1    1   2         1        
                     =========================================================================
   FSU                   5 200  27  68    7   19  13  16  74     18   25  43 29  11 15   2   8
   Opp                     200  20  46    5   17  35  42  80      5   24  29 17   8 13   3   8


  1 2 Total
Florida State
30
44
74
Valparaiso
44
36
80

Florida State 73, Penn State 60
12/03/2008, ACC-Big 10 Challenge, Tallahassee, Fla.

From the FSU Website, seminoles.com.

Seminoles Bounce Back, Defeat Penn State 73-60 in ACC/Big Ten Challenge.

After a disappointing performance its last time out, FSU women's basketball team rebounds with an impressive win against a talented Penn State Lady Lions' squad.

TALLAHASSEE, FL - The Florida State women's basketball team defeated visiting Penn State 73-60 Wednesday night at the Donald L. Tucker Center as part of the ACC/Big Ten Challenge.

The FSU (6-2) victory over the Lady Lions (4-3) comes on the heels of an upset loss in the championship contest of the Coors Rocky Mountain Invitational in Fort Collins, Colo.

After falling to Valparaiso in a game in which the Seminoles never had a lead, FSU never trailed in the matchup against Penn State Wednesday night. The Seminoles led by as many as 23 points in the ballgame.

"I was really pleased with the way we came out defensively," FSU head coach Sue Semrau said. "That was really the difference tonight."

Florida State limited the Lady Lions to 41.5-percent shooting and forced 29 turnovers. More importantly, the Seminoles held a very good 3-point-shooting Penn State team to just 20 percent shooting from behind the arc.

After allowing 12 fast-break points in the first half, the Seminoles dug their heels in and didn't allow another easy Lady Lions basket in the game's final 20 minutes.

"We discussed the transition points at length at half time," Semrau said. "And we came back out and didn't allow any."

The stout defensive performance by the Seminoles did its part in setting up things on the offensive end. In total, three FSU players scored in double figures as junior Jacinta Monroe led the scoring assault with a team-high 18 points, five rebounds and four blocks. She was also a stellar 8-for-8 from the free-throw line.

True freshman center Cierra Bravard added 15 and five rebounds while junior forward Alysha Harvin provided a spark off the bench with a season-high 14-point performance.

Senior Mara Freshour, who returned to the starting lineup after coming off the bench the previous three games, added eight points, three assists and four rebounds from her spot at the point guard position.

"Penn State is a very big, very tall team," Semrau said. "They have good girth and good size and are very strong. I think we just out-quicked them and I think that was really our advantage."

Florida State won the rebounding battle 43-36, including 20 offensive boards compared to 15 by Penn State. The Seminoles also converted 17 second-chance points while the Lady Lions mustered just six.

 
NO        NAME          GS MIN FGM FGA 3FGM 3FGA FTM FTA PTS   OREB DREB REB PF AST TO BLK STL
== ==================== == === === === ==== ==== === === ===   ==== ==== === == === == === ===
 1 Angel Gray            g  30   2   4    0    0   2   4   6      3    4   7  4   2  2   0   4
 5 Christian Hunnicutt   g  30   2  12    0    0   1   2   5      2    3   5  2   2  3   0   1
10 Mara Freshour         g  32   3  13    2    7   0   1   8      1    3   4  1   3  4   0   1
50 Jacinta Monroe        f  30   5   9    0    0   8   8  18      4    1   5  3   1  3   4   2
54 Cierra Bravard        c  15   6   7    0    0   3   3  15      1    1   2  5   0  3   0   0
 2 Alysha Harvin            21   5  10    1    1   3   4  14      1    3   4  3   1  2   0   0
 4 Cayla Moore              13   1   2    0    0   0   1   2      3    0   3  5   0  0   0   1
12 Courtney Ward            16   1   1    1    1   0   0   3      0    2   2  2   3  3   0   2
20 Tanae Davis-Cain         13   1   7    0    3   0   0   2      0    1   1  0   2  3   1   0
22 Kayli Keough              0   0   0    0    0   0   0   0      0    0   0  0   0  0   0   0
   Team                                                           5    5  10                  
                     =========================================================================
   FSU                   5 200  26  65    4   12  17  23  73     20   23  43 25  14 23   5  11
   Opp                     200  22  53    1    5  15  25  60     15   21  36 28  10 29   5  11


  1 2 Total
Penn State
28
32
60
Florida State
37
36
73

Florida State 86, Temple 67
12/07/2008, Philadelphia, Pa.

From the FSU Website, seminoles.com.

Seminoles Take Down Temple 86-67.

Tanae Davis-Cain finished the game with 20 points and became FSU's all-time leader in three-pointers.

PHILADELPHIA, PA - Highlighted by a record-setting performance by Tanae Davis-Cain, the Florida State women's basketball team defeated Temple 86-67 in Philadelphia, Pa. Sunday afternoon.

FSU's (7-2) triumph over the Owls (4-3) certainly wasn't short on a storyline.

Davis-Cain will remember Sunday not just for the victory but also as the day in which she made history in front of a very special audience and busted out of an uncharacteristic slump.

The 5-foot-10 guard, whose mother lives in Philadelphia and was in attendance at the Liacouras Center with a host of other family members and friends, hit two first-half 3-pointers to officially move to No. 1 in the FSU record books for most 3-pointers made in a career - breaking the previous record of 134 triples held by Wendy Hampton.

Davis-Cain finished the day with a season-high 20 points but perhaps more importantly for the Seminoles, emerged from a 2-for-15 shooting slump that had plagued her over the past two ballgames.

She was 7-for-10 against Temple, including a perfect 4-for-4 from behind the arc.

"It felt good coming in to Philadelphia," Davis-Cain said. "I have been having a rough couple of games but I came here and played to win. My family is here and I am happy to see everybody."

On an afternoon when FSU's two leading scorers - post players Jacinta Monroe and Cierra Bravard - combined for just seven points while battling with foul concerns, several other Seminoles picked up the slack.

In addition to Davis-Cain's memorable performance, junior forward Alysha Harvin had one of her own as the Dania, Fla. native finished the day with a career-high 20 points. She also came with one rebound of achieving a double-double as she finished with nine boards and made all nine of her free-throw attempts.

Senior guard Mara Freshour also contributed 16 points.

Defensively, the Seminoles held Temple to just 35-percent shooting while connecting on 44.3-percent of their own shots. FSU forced 21 Temple turnovers.

"Temple is very athletic and has kids that can shoot the ball," FSU head coach Sue Semrau said. "I just thought that the way we came out ready to defend really made the difference in the basketball game."

Davis-Cain's 135th career 3-pointer was actually the final first-half field goal by a Seminoles squad that dominated all facets of the game in the first 20 minutes and took a 45-17 lead into intermission. Temple's 17 first-half points were the second lowest output allowed by the Seminoles' defense in the opening period since they limited Southeast Missouri State to just 15 on Nov. 25.

Harvin, Freshour and Davis-Cain took control with a combined 34 points in the initial period as Monroe and Bravard were held scoreless in the first half for the first time this year.

 
NO        NAME          GS MIN FGM FGA 3FGM 3FGA FTM FTA PTS   OREB DREB REB PF AST TO BLK STL
== ==================== == === === === ==== ==== === === ===   ==== ==== === == === == === ===
 1 Angel Gray            g  27   1   2    0    0   3   6   5      3    3   6  1   3  2   0   0
 5 Christian Hunnicutt   g  27   3   7    0    1   3   3   9      0    3   3  4   1  3   0   2
10 Mara Freshour         g  28   6  13    1    5   3   4  16      0    3   3  0   1  2   0   3
50 Jacinta Monroe        f  18   2   7    0    0   1   2   5      1    5   6  4   0  3   3   2
54 Cierra Bravard        c  17   1   4    0    0   0   4   2      3    0   3  4   0  2   0   2
 2 Alysha Harvin            28   5  12    1    3   9   9  20      6    3   9  1   0  3   0   0
 4 Cayla Moore              16   0   2    0    0   1   5   1      2    3   5  3   1  1   1   0
12 Courtney Ward            11   2   4    1    1   2   2   7      1    1   2  4   3  1   0   2
20 Tanae Davis-Cain         26   7  10    4    4   2   2  20      0    3   3  3   2  1   0   1
22 Kayli Keough              2   0   0    0    0   1   2   1      0    1   1  0   0  0   0   0
   Team                                                           4    1   5                  
                     =========================================================================
   FSU                   5 200  27  61    7   14  25  39  86     20   26  46 24  11 18   4  12
   Opp                     200  21  60    4   16  21  32  67     18   22  40 31  10 21   2  11


  1 2 Total
Florida State
45
41
86
Temple
17
50
67

Florida State 74, Mercer 54
12/14/2008, Tallahassee, Fla.

From the FSU Website, seminoles.com.

Florida State Muscles Past Mercer 74-54.

FSU women's basketball team earns third-straight victory of the season with win over Bears Sunday.

TALLAHASSEE, FL - Three Seminoles scored in double figures Sunday afternoon as the Florida State women's basketball team earned its third-straight victory with a 74-54 triumph over Mercer at the Donald L. Tucker Center.

Junior forward Jacinta Monroe posted a game-high 20 points for FSU (9-2) while senior guard Tanae Davis-Cain added 13 points and junior guard Angel Gray achieved a career-high 12 points while tying her career high in rebounds with seven.

Freshman center Cierra Bravard and sophomore guard Courtney Ward also contributed eight points apiece.

"We have a lot of different weapons," FSU head coach Sue Semrau said. "It's early in the year and we are putting them together."

The Seminoles garnered their ninth victory of the season by beating the Bears (5-3) in several hustle categories.

In addition to winning the rebounding battle 46-31 and points-in-the-paint contest 36-18, FSU also scored 10 fast-break points compared to just two by Mercer and also scored 21 second-chance points while the Bears mustered just eight.

And Monroe and Gray were at the heart of that determined effort. Monroe, who has led the Seminoles in blocking in each of the past two seasons and figures to do the same this year, swatted six Mercer shots. With six blocks on the day, she came within one of tying her career high in the category.

"The thing that she is doing is she is blocking shots without fouling," Semrau said. "I will tell you, she has just developed great timing. She bails us out a bunch."

As for Gray, the Stone Mountain, Ga., native was recently named a captain of the team and she has continued to set an example on both ends of the floor while starting in six-straight ballgames for the Seminoles.

Against Mercer that was no different as Gray earned one steal and altered the Mercer offense in a variety of ways that won't show up on the post-game box score.

"The coaches talked to me before the season ever started and I remember them saying `we want you to get in on every ball,'" Gray said. "(I thought) that's impossible. But if that's going to make the team better than that's what I am thinking about."

Defensively, the Seminoles limited the Bears to just 36.8-percent shooting from the field - including just 28.6-percent shooting in the first half. FSU also forced 20 turnovers and held Mercer's leading scorer, LaToya Jackson to just eight points.

On the offensive end, Florida State shot 42.2-percent from the field, 33.3-percent from 3-point range and 78.9-percent from the free-throw line.

The Seminoles boasted a 38-23 lead at halftime.

 
NO        NAME          GS MIN FGM FGA 3FGM 3FGA FTM FTA PTS   OREB DREB REB PF AST TO BLK STL
== ==================== == === === === ==== ==== === === ===   ==== ==== === == === == === ===
 1 Angel Gray            g  27   3   8    0    2   6   6  12      1    7   8  1   3  3   0   1
 5 Christian Hunnicutt   g  25   1   4    0    0   0   0   2      1    2   3  2   1  1   1   1
10 Mara Freshour         g  23   1   5    1    3   0   0   3      1    4   5  0   1  4   0   0
50 Jacinta Monroe        f  26   8  13    0    0   4   5  20      3    4   7  2   1  1   6   2
54 Cierra Bravard        c  14   3   5    0    0   2   2   8      2    1   3  3   0  4   1   0
 2 Alysha Harvin            18   2   7    0    1   0   0   4      0    1   1  0   2  0   0   2
 4 Cayla Moore              11   1   1    0    0   0   0   2      3    1   4  4   0  0   0   0
12 Courtney Ward            23   2   3    1    2   3   4   8      1    1   2  2   5  4   0   0
20 Tanae Davis-Cain         23   5  14    3    7   0   2  13      3    1   4  1   1  1   1   0
22 Kayli Keough             10   1   4    0    0   0   0   2      1    2   3  0   0  0   0   0
   Team                                                           2    4   6                  
                     =========================================================================
   FSU                   5 200  27  64    5   15  15  19  74     18   28  46 15  14 18   9   6
   Opp                     200  21  57    5   11   7  13  54     10   21  31 16  10 20   4   8


  1 2 Total
Mercer
23
31
54
Florida State
38
36
74

Florida State 75, Northern Colorado 32
12/18/2008, Caribbean Classic, Cancun, Mexico

From the FSU Website, seminoles.com.

Florida State Women's Basketball Team Opens Caribbean Classic With 75-32 Win Over Northern Colorado.

Despite travel issues, Seminole defense sets the tone while three different FSU players score in double figures on the offensive end in Cancun, Mexico.

CANCUN, MEXICO - Highlighted by an impressive second-half defensive performance, the Florida State women's basketball team earned a 75-32 victory over Northern Colorado in the opening game of the Caribbean Classic in Cancun, Mexico Thursday afternoon.

The Seminoles (9-2) will have an extra reason to enjoy the sunny weather after a performance against the Bears (4-5) that was highlighted by the best 20 minutes of defensive basketball played by the team all season long.

After allowing a late 3-pointer to cut their lead to seven before the buzzer sounded to signal halftime, the Seminoles came out looking like a different team in the second half. Northern Colorado entered halftime with 23 points compared to FSU's 30 but the Bears would find that baskets were a premium in the final 20 minutes.

By holding Northern Colorado to just 20.3-percent shooting for the game - including a season-low 9.1-percent shooting in the second half - the FSU defense held UNC to just nine points after intermission. The nine-point output was the lowest allowed in a half this year by the Seminoles.

And the stellar statistics don't stop there. The 32 points allowed were the fewest ever given up by an FSU squad on a neutral court in the history of the program. FSU also achieved a season-high 13 steals.

"We just had each other's backs out there," FSU true freshman center Cierra Bravard said. "When we play with each other and talk out there we can play really good defense and we just need to build off this as we go on."

The Seminole defense did its part in setting the tone for the offense, too. Three FSU players scored in double figures as Bravard led the way with her first career double-double. To go along with her 13 points, she secured a career-high 12 rebounds.

Junior forward Jacinta Monroe added 14 points and six rebounds and senior guard Tanae Davis-Cain posted 10 points and five rebounds as the other two Seminoles to reach double figures.

Junior guard Angel Gray also had a terrific day for the Seminoles as she scored nine points to go along with a career-high five steals. She also tied her career high in assists with four.

For the game, the Seminoles grabbed a season-high 63 rebounds compared to just 25 by the Bears. FSU shot 43.3-percent from the floor and 37.5-percent from behind the 3-point line.

Interestingly enough, Monroe's and Davis-Cain's performances Thursday were even more special considering the ordeal that the two had to go through just to get to the game against Northern Colorado.

Head coach Sue Semrau, assistant coach Lance White, Monroe, reserve forward Cayla Moore, Davis-Cain and true freshman Chasity Clayton, who is taking a redshirt this season, all arrived in Mexico just minutes before tip-off. Those coaches and players - as well as a few members of the FSU women's basketball support staff - had a connecting flight from Tallahassee, Fla. on Wednesday through Charlotte, NC while the rest of the players, coaches and staff were on a separate flight routed through Atlanta, Ga.

But due to weather issues, the flight through Charlotte was late and those members missed the connecting flight to Cancun and were consequently forced to spend the night in North Carolina before boarding a plan for Cancun very early Thursday morning.

Once again, however, reaching Mexico proved to be a difficult task. After taking off from Charlotte, the plane had to make a stop in Tampa, Fla. due to an onboard mechanical malfunction. The Seminoles were then forced to de-plane and board another aircraft bound for the Caribbean and arrived just in time for tip-off.

Game time was delayed one hour to allow FSU to have all its members in attendance.

Because of those travel issues, Monroe, who had started every game of the season entering the showdown with the Bears, had to come off the bench for FSU because she missed most of pregame warm-ups. Junior Alysha Harvin earned a start for the first time this year in place of Monroe and posted seven points, two assists and one steal in 22 minutes of action.

"I just saw a lot of resiliency on the part of my team," Semrau said after the game. "I thought that the players were here believed they were going to have to go out and just play with seven and without the players that were with me. I was just pleased with the way that everybody handled the adversity."

 
NO        NAME          GS MIN FGM FGA 3FGM 3FGA FTM FTA PTS   OREB DREB REB PF AST TO BLK STL
== ==================== == === === === ==== ==== === === ===   ==== ==== === == === == === ===
 1 Angel Gray            g  24   2   3    0    0   5   7   9      1    6   7  0   4  2   1   5
 2 Alysha Harvin         g  22   3   5    1    1   0   0   7      1    1   2  2   2  6   0   1
 5 Christian Hunnicutt   g  25   1   6    0    0   1   1   3      1    7   8  0   1  3   1   2
10 Mara Freshour         g  24   2   7    0    2   2   2   6      4    4   8  0   2  3   0   1
54 Cierra Bravard        c  21   4  12    0    0   5   9  13      6    6  12  1   0  4   1   0
 4 Cayla Moore              12   2   2    0    0   0   0   4      1    1   2  4   0  0   0   0
12 Courtney Ward            20   1   2    0    0   2   2   4      1    2   3  1   3  1   0   0
20 Tanae Davis-Cain         23   4  12    2    5   0   0  10      0    5   5  2   1  0   1   3
22 Kayli Keough             12   1   2    0    0   3   3   5      0    5   5  1   0  0   0   0
50 Jacinta Monroe           17   6   9    0    0   2   2  14      3    3   6  0   0  2   2   1
   Team                                                           5        5                  
                     =========================================================================
   FSU                   5 200  26  60    3    8  20  26  75     23   40  63 11  13 21   6  13
   Opp                     200  12  59    6   33   2   6  32     10   15  25 17   7 18   9   9


  1 2 Total
Florida State
30
45
75
Northern Colorado
23
9
32

Washington 62, Florida State 60
12/19/2008, Caribbean Classic, Cancun, Mexico

From the FSU Website, seminoles.com.

Seminoles Fall to Washington in a Close One, 62-60.

Late four-point play by senior guard Mara Freshour isn't enough as FSU women's basketball team can't avoid the upset.

CANCUN, MEXICO - Doomed by turnover problems and poor foul shooting, the Florida State women's basketball team lost to Washington 62-60 Friday night in the second game for both programs at the Caribbean Classic in Cancun, Mexico.

FSU (9-3) trailed most of the second half but made things interesting against the Huskies (4-4) late in the contest.

Trailing 62-56 with under one minute left to play, senior guard Mara Freshour made an improbable 3-pointer despite the fact that she was fouled on the shot. The Nashville, Ind. native then went to the line and calmly drilled her one free-throw to cut the Huskies' lead to just 62-60 with 43 seconds left in regulation.

Then on Washington's ensuing offensive possession, the FSU defense did its job and forced a turnover by Huskies guard Christina Rozier with 21 seconds remaining. But the Seminoles couldn't capitalize as sophomore guard Christian Hunnicutt's potential game-tying shot missed its mark as the buzzer sounded.

For the game, three FSU players reached double figures as both Alysha Harvin and Jacinta Monroe scored 13 points apiece. Freshour added 11 points of her own.

The Seminoles were ultimately done in by a collective poor performance at the free-throw line. FSU went to the charity stripe 25 times but converted only 14 of those attempts for a mark of just 56 percent.

Not helping matters was the fact that the Seminoles tied their season high in turnovers with 26 giveaways. The Huskies, who were coming off the worst loss in program history after falling to No. 1-ranked UConn 109-51 a day earlier, capitalized on those opportunities as they scored 23 points off of turnovers.

Laura McLellan led all Washington scorers with 11 points.

Both teams went to the locker rooms at halftime with the score knotted at 34-34. Trailing by as many as 11 early on, Washington closed the gap by going on a 22-11 run to close the first half.

 
NO        NAME          GS MIN FGM FGA 3FGM 3FGA FTM FTA PTS   OREB DREB REB PF AST TO BLK STL
== ==================== == === === === ==== ==== === === ===   ==== ==== === == === == === ===
 1 Angel Gray            g  29   0   2    0    0   0   1   0      2    3   5  3   2  4   0   2
 5 Christian Hunnicutt   g  21   1   5    0    0   0   0   2      1    0   1  2   5  0   0   1
10 Mara Freshour         g  33   4   9    2    4   1   1  11      1    1   2  1   2  3   0   2
50 Jacinta Monroe        f  26   4   7    0    0   5   9  13      1    7   8  3   2  8   0   1
54 Cierra Bravard        c  17   4   4    0    0   0   2   8      2    4   6  4   0  4   1   0
 2 Alysha Harvin            22   4   8    1    2   4   4  13      0    3   3  3   0  1   0   0
 4 Cayla Moore              12   1   3    0    0   0   2   2      2    0   2  3   0  3   0   0
12 Courtney Ward            19   2   4    1    2   2   2   7      3    1   4  2   1  1   0   1
20 Tanae Davis-Cain         18   1   8    0    4   2   4   4      0    1   1  1   2  2   1   1
22 Kayli Keough              3   0   0    0    0   0   0   0      0    0   0  1   0  0   0   0
   Team                                                           2    3   5                  
                     =========================================================================
   FSU                   5 200  21  50    4   12  14  25  60     14   23  37 23  14 26   2   8
   Opp                     200  22  51    5   12  13  18  62      8   19  27 23  13 20   2  11


  1 2 Total
Florida State
34
26
60
Washington
34
28
62

Connecticut 83, Florida State 71
12/21/2008, Caribbean Classic, Cancun, Mexico

From the FSU Website, seminoles.com.

Florida State Fights Hard From Start to Finish but Falls to No. 1-Ranked UConn, 83-71.

Seminoles conclude Caribbean Classic in Cancun, Mexico with a valiant effort against the nation's top women's basketball team as Tanae Davis-Cain scores season-high 25 points.

CANCUN, MEXICO - Everybody associated with the Florida State women's basketball team knew Sunday's culmination to the Caribbean Classic in Cancun, Mexico would be a daunting task.

The Seminoles' opponent, after all, was the country's best team in No. 1 UConn. And in the end, FSU (9-4) got just what it expected from the undefeated Huskies (10-0) and fell to UConn by a score of 83-71.

But credit the Seminoles with never giving up and never looking back two days after being upset by Washington in the team's second game in the Caribbean. The Huskies led by as many as 22 points but were never able to run away from the Seminoles in the contest.

The Huskies had outscored the other two schools participating in the Caribbean Classic, Northern Colorado and Washington, by a combined score of 194-91. And it looked like the Seminoles may be on the verge of suffering the same fate early as they fell into an early 13-0 hole before ultimately bouncing back.

"I just felt like early on it was just some unfortunate errors," FSU head coach Sue Semrau said. "I didn't think anything was being forced on us. I just thought we were perhaps a little careless but just the fact that we continued to battle back. I thought it was a great battle the whole game. They are a great basketball team."

Semrau's pleasure with the fact that her team didn't crumple despite falling behind early was echoed by FSU's second half performance. Trailing 43-29 at halftime, the Seminoles outscored the Huskies 42-40 in the game's final 20 minutes.

Tanae Davis-Cain led all Seminoles on the offensive end of the floor. The senior guard, who started the contest after coming off the bench the past eight-straight games, finished with a season-high 25 points on 9-for-17 shooting from the field.

Included in those statistics was her stellar performance from behind the 3-point line as she drilled five of her nine attempts from long range. Davis-Cain also grabbed a season-high six rebounds and played a season-high 35 minutes.

"Coach Sue told me, 'If you've got an open shot, take it,'" Davis-Cain said. "'Just stroke it and don't think about it.' And that's what I did. I just tried to get good shots and make the most of it."

Helping Davis-Cain were junior forward Alysha Harvin and sophomore point guard Courtney Ward.

Harvin finished the game with 11 points, two rebounds and two assists while Ward had one of the best performances of her career. The Montgomery, Ala. native was 4-for-5 from the field - including a perfect 2-for-2 from 3-point land - en route to scoring a season-high 14 points off the bench while tying her season-high with six assists.

For the Huskies, Renee Montgomery knocked down seven 3-pointers - one shy of the school record - and posted 25 points. All-America candidate Maya Moore added 18 points and seven rebounds.

UConn won the rebounding battle 36-34 and scored 42 points in the paint - compared to just 16 by FSU. The Huskies also registered 12 fast-break points to the Seminoles' four. FSU did, however, have the better bench performance as the Seminole reserves posted 27 points while UConn's had 17.

 
NO        NAME          GS MIN FGM FGA 3FGM 3FGA FTM FTA PTS   OREB DREB REB PF AST TO BLK STL
== ==================== == === === === ==== ==== === === ===   ==== ==== === == === == === ===
 1 Angel Gray            g  18   0   4    0    0   0   0   0      0    4   4  2   1  1   0   2
10 Mara Freshour         g  35   2   9    1    3   0   0   5      2    1   3  0   5  4   0   1
20 Tanae Davis-Cain      g  35   9  17    5    9   2   3  25      1    5   6  0   2  1   0   0
50 Jacinta Monroe        f  27   2   5    0    0   2   5   6      4    3   7  3   0  2   1   1
54 Cierra Bravard        c  23   3   5    0    0   2   2   8      1    2   3  2   0  3   2   0
 2 Alysha Harvin            25   3   7    1    2   4   6  11      1    1   2  2   2  0   0   0
 4 Cayla Moore               5   0   0    0    0   0   0   0      0    0   0  1   0  1   0   0
 5 Christian Hunnicutt       6   1   2    0    0   0   0   2      0    1   1  1   0  0   0   0
12 Courtney Ward            26   4   5    2    2   4   4  14      0    3   3  3   6  3   0   1
   Team                                                           1    4   5         1        
                     =========================================================================
   FSU                   5 200  24  54    9   16  14  20  71     10   24  34 14  16 16   3   5
   Opp                     200  35  68    9   24   4   7  83     12   24  36 14  31  8   7   6


  1 2 Total
Florida State
29
42
71
Connecticut
43
40
83

Florida State 61, Louisiana State 57
12/28/2008, Baton Rouge, La.

From the FSU Website, seminoles.com.

Thriller on the Bayou: FSU Earns 61-57 Victory Over LSU in Baton Rouge, La.

Clutch free-throw shooting late, defensive stops at the end of regulation preserves Seminoles' win over the Tigers Sunday afternoon.

BATON ROUGE, LA - The Florida State women's basketball team defeated LSU 61-57 Sunday in a nail-biting contest at the Pete Maravich Assembly Center in Baton Rouge, La.

With the Seminoles (10-4) trailing 55-54 with 1:35 left in the game, sophomore point guard Courtney Ward drew a shooting foul and consequently drilled both of her free-throws to give the Seminoles a 56-55 lead. But LSU's Katherin Graham answered on the other end with a short jumper to put the Tigers back on top 57-56 with just over a minute to play.

Not to be outdone, FSU senior captain Mara Freshour then connected on an off-balance shot to give the Seminoles a 58-57 advantage with 43 seconds left.

On LSU's ensuing defensive possession, Ward again left her mark on the game's waning moments as she forced a Tiger turnover before being fouled. The Montgomery, Ala. native then hit one of her two free-throw shots to extend FSU's lead to 59-57 with 11 seconds left in regulation.

The FSU defense then did its job again as LSU leading scorer Allison Hightower's running left-hander was off target. The Tigers grabbed the offensive rebound but couldn't tie the game and junior forward Jacinta Monroe secured the defensive rebound before being fouled and making both free-throw shots that followed with only three seconds left.

"It's never easy to score points against an LSU defense," FSU head coach Sue Semrau said. "You could see that out here in the first half when they threw a triangle and two defense at us. It was something we hadn't seen yet and I think we adjusted in the second half. It was just some big plays being made in the end by these players to give us a big win."

The win snapped FSU's two-game skid on the season and ended LSU's (5-4) 3-0 win-streak over the Seminoles in the two programs' past three meetings.

For the game, Ward came off the bench for the Seminoles to score a team-high 12 points on 3-for-5 shooting - including 2-for-2 from 3-point range. She also added five assists and two steals.

Junior forward Alysha Harvin also added 10 points off the bench while helping the FSU reserves outscore the LSU reserves 27-24.

"The thing about Courtney and Alysha that's so great is that they are fearless," Semrau said. "Those kids are going to come out and either make something good happen or something bad happen. But more and more as they are getting comfortable in the system this year it's been on the good side."

Ward and Harvin picked up the slack as Monroe - FSU's leading scorer - was held to just seven points on 2-for-11 shooting.

Senior guard Tanae Davis-Cain added nine points on 3-for-7 shooting.

In total, the Seminole offense shot just 38.5-percent from the floor but was 46.7-percent from behind the 3-point line. Helping matters was the fact that FSU committed a season-low 12 turnovers.

The Seminoles won the rebounding battle 35-34 but were outscored in the paint, 30-14.

Hightower led the Tigers with a game-high 20 points.

The Seminoles had difficulty finding much of an offensive rhythm through much of the first half but never trailed by more than five points in the period. FSU took a 28-27 lead into halftime after going on a 10-4 run to close out the game's first 20 minutes.

 
NO        NAME          GS MIN FGM FGA 3FGM 3FGA FTM FTA PTS   OREB DREB REB PF AST TO BLK STL
== ==================== == === === === ==== ==== === === ===   ==== ==== === == === == === ===
 1 Angel Gray            g  19   2   6    0    1   0   0   4      1    2   3  1   0  1   0   0
10 Mara Freshour         g  32   3   5    2    3   1   2   9      2    3   5  3   2  0   0   1
20 Tanae Davis-Cain      g  21   3   7    2    3   1   1   9      0    1   1  4   0  2   0   0
50 Jacinta Monroe        f  30   2  11    0    2   3   4   7      2    3   5  3   0  0   2   0
54 Cierra Bravard        c  19   0   3    0    0   5   8   5      1    2   3  2   0  2   1   0
 2 Alysha Harvin            27   5  11    0    3   0   1  10      1    0   1  2   0  4   0   0
 4 Cayla Moore               5   0   0    0    0   0   0   0      1    0   1  0   1  1   0   0
 5 Christian Hunnicutt      17   2   4    1    1   0   0   5      0    0   0  0   1  0   0   0
12 Courtney Ward            30   3   5    2    2   4   6  12      1    6   7  1   5  1   0   2
   Team                                                           2    7   9         1        
                     =========================================================================
   FSU                   5 200  20  52    7   15  14  22  61     11   24  35 16   9 12   3   3
   Opp                     200  25  58    1    8   6   8  57     10   24  34 18  12 12   4   6


  1 2 Total
Florida State
28
33
61
Louisiana State
27
30
57

Florida State 82, Central Florida 70
12/31/2008, Tallahassee, Fla.

From the FSU Website, seminoles.com.

Tanae Davis-Cain Reaches 1,000 Career Points as Florida State Defeats UCF, 82-70.

Senior guard becomes the 22nd player in program history to reach the scoring milestone.

TALLAHASSEE, FL - Senior guard Tanae Davis-Cain reached the 1,000-point plateau in her career and the Florida State women's basketball team defeated UCF 82-70 Wednesday afternoon at the Donald L. Tucker Center.

The victory extends FSU's (11-4) winning streak over the Knights (2-11) to nine-straight games and is the Seminoles' 13th victory all-time over their in-state foes.

"UCF has played a lot of teams from the ACC and SEC very close," FSU head coach Sue Semrau said. "They have done a tremendous job. I think (UCF head coach) Joi Williams is on to something down there."

While the Seminoles led by as many as 24 points late in the second half and beat the Knights in a host of different categories, it was Davis-Cain that stole the show.

Already this season the 5-foot-11 guard has become FSU's all-time leader in 3-pointers made and her layup with 5:44 remaining in the contest against UCF pushed her career scoring total to 1,001 points. She becomes the 22nd player in program history to score at least 1,000 points in a career.

Davis-Cain finished the day with a team-high 19 points on 7-for-11 shooting - including a 3-for-5 mark from 3-point range.

The Dawson, Ga. native admitted at game's end that she was unaware at the time of her mark on the Seminole record books.

"I actually had no idea," Davis-Cain said. "I am kind of surprised. It's a big accomplishment to be up there among people who have scored over 1,000. I really had no idea at the time I had that many points."

Junior forward Jacinta Monroe also put a dent in the scoring chart as she bounced back from a poor shooting performance in the Seminoles' previous game against LSU to score 17 points against the Knights.

Junior forward Alysha Harvin, who started her second game of the season on Wednesday, finished with 13 points to go along with a career-high two blocks. Junior guard Angel Gray also posted a career-high 11 rebounds to go along with six points after combing for just four the past three ballgames.

Courtney Ward added eight points and a season-high seven assists while Mara Freshour contributed nine points and six assists for the Seminoles.

The Knights had two players score over 20 points as Chelsie Wiley accrued a game-high 24 points and Emma Cannon contributed 21 in the losing effort.

For the game, FSU won the rebounding battle 43-41, scored more points in the paint (42-36) and registered more points off turnovers than UCF (29-14). The Knights did, however, score 19 second-chance points compared to just 11 by the Seminoles.

 
NO        NAME          GS MIN FGM FGA 3FGM 3FGA FTM FTA PTS   OREB DREB REB PF AST TO BLK STL
== ==================== == === === === ==== ==== === === ===   ==== ==== === == === == === ===
 2 Alysha Harvin         g  27   4  11    1    2   4   4  13      0    2   2  4   1  2   2   1
10 Mara Freshour         g  24   2   5    1    4   4   4   9      0    4   4  1   6  5   0   1
12 Courtney Ward         g  26   2   7    1    3   3   5   8      0    0   0  2   7  4   1   0
20 Tanae Davis-Cain      g  29   7  11    3    5   2   2  19      1    2   3  1   3  2   0   2
50 Jacinta Monroe        f  20   7  10    0    0   3   3  17      0    3   3  3   0  1   2   0
 1 Angel Gray               24   3   4    0    0   0   1   6      2    9  11  1   2  1   0   3
 4 Cayla Moore              12   0   2    0    0   0   0   0      3    1   4  3   0  0   0   0
 5 Christian Hunnicutt      12   1   6    0    1   0   0   2      0    1   1  1   1  2   1   0
22 Kayli Keough              9   0   2    0    0   0   0   0      0    1   1  2   0  1   0   0
54 Cierra Bravard           17   2   4    0    0   4   6   8      3    4   7  4   1  2   2   0
   Team                                                           5    2   7                  
                     =========================================================================
   FSU                   5 200  28  62    6   15  20  25  82     14   29  43 22  21 20   8   7
   Opp                     200  24  70    3   16  19  25  70     21   20  41 21  12 19   6  10


  1 2 Total
Central Florida
23
47
70
Florida State
35
47
82

Florida State 60, Texas A&M 53
01/05/2009, Tallahassee, Fla.

From the FSU Website, seminoles.com.

Upset Alert! Seminoles Rally From Behind to Beat No. 3 Texas A&M, 60-53.

FSU women's basketball team uses big second half to hand Aggies their first loss of the season.

TALLAHASSEE, FL - Thanks to a 20-3 run to finish the game, the Florida State women's basketball team upset No. 3-ranked Texas A&M, 60-53, in front of a raucous home crowd Monday night.

The Seminoles (12-4) fought back from as many as 17 points down to outscore the previously unbeaten Aggies (12-1) 41-24 in the second half. FSU shot just 20.8-percent from the field in the game's first 20 minutes but bounced back in a big way by shooting a staggering 65.2-percent in the second period.

"We had every shot we wanted in the first half and couldn't make any of them," FSU head coach Sue Semrau said. "I thought the fortitude shown by the players to keep shooting the ball when things weren't going our way and the confidence to knock shots down was key."

Coming off a game in which she became the 22nd player in program history to reach 1,000 career points, senior guard Tanae Davis-Cain scored 11 of her 13 total points in the second half. Her 3-pointer with 4:42 remaining in the ballgame cut Texas A&M's lead to just 50-47.

After a lay-up by Angel Gray and a couple of Cierra Bravard free-throws gave FSU a 51-50 lead with just over four minutes remaining, Courtney Ward converted a lay-up and hit a 3-pointer to put the Seminoles on top for good at 56-50.

Ward, who started for the second game in a row at the point guard position, finished the contest with nine points, three assists and three rebounds. Junior forward Jacinta Monroe led all FSU players with 15 points and nine rebounds and Bravard added 10 points and four rebounds.

"I am at a loss for words right now," Monroe said. "It was so exciting. It was such a team effort for us out there. Playing so together was something we hadn't done in a while and to play as a team that is able to come back from trailing by so much and to pull out the win feels really good."

The game's outcome marked the first time FSU has defeated a ranked opponent since beating then-No. 25 Ohio State last year. The Seminoles' last win over a top-five-ranked team occurred in the 2007 NCAA Tournament when they upset then-No. 5 Stanford.

The victory over Texas A&M also marked the Seminoles' first win over a top-three program since downing then-No. 2 Duke in 2004.

With Monday's win, FSU now has three wins all-time against top-three-ranked teams.

The Seminoles shot 42.6-percent from the field for the game compared to just 30.6-percent shooting by the Aggies. In addition to outshooting Texas A&M, FSU also outrebounded the Aggies 37-36 and had more points in the paint (34-20).

Tanisha Smith led all Aggies players with 17 points while leading scorer Takia Starks was held in check all evening. Texas A&M's do-it-all guard was limited to just six points on 3-for-18 shooting - including her 0-for-8 mark from 3-point range.

 
NO        NAME          GS MIN FGM FGA 3FGM 3FGA FTM FTA PTS   OREB DREB REB PF AST TO BLK STL
== ==================== == === === === ==== ==== === === ===   ==== ==== === == === == === ===
 2 Alysha Harvin         g  28   0   4    0    0   2   2   2      2    5   7  2   1  1   1   1
10 Mara Freshour         g  29   1   5    0    1   3   4   5      1    1   2  3   4  4   0   1
12 Courtney Ward         g  23   4   4    1    1   0   0   9      0    3   3  4   3  6   0   0
20 Tanae Davis-Cain      g  31   5  16    1    5   2   2  13      0    1   1  2   1  2   1   2
50 Jacinta Monroe        f  34   6   8    0    0   3   5  15      2    7   9  1   0  0   3   2
 1 Angel Gray               32   2   4    0    0   2   3   6      1    2   3  0   0  4   0   3
 5 Christian Hunnicutt       4   0   1    0    0   0   0   0      0    0   0  1   1  1   0   0
54 Cierra Bravard           19   2   5    0    0   6   8  10      3    3   6  4   0  1   0   0
   Team                                                           1    4   5                  
                     =========================================================================
   FSU                   5 200  20  47    2    7  18  24  60     10   26  36 17  10 19   5   9
   Opp                     200  19  62    4   20  11  18  53     18   19  37 20   8 17   2  11


  1 2 Total
Texas A&M
29
24
53
Florida State
19
41
60

Florida State 67, Virginia Tech 63
01/08/2009, Blacksburg, Va.

From the FSU Website, seminoles.com.

Seminoles Avoid Letdown, Outlast Virginia Tech, 67-63, in ACC Opener.

True freshman Cierra Bravard leads all Seminoles with 14 points in a game full of runs for both teams.

BLACKSBURG, VA - The Florida State women's basketball team held off Virginia Tech in Blacksburg, Va. Thursday night, 67-63, in the Atlantic Coast Conference opener for both programs.

The victory marks FSU's third-straight win over Virginia Tech (8-6) and the team's 12th in the past 13 games over the Hokies. The Seminoles (13-4) have now won four-straight overall and are still undefeated in opponents' home gyms on the season.

FSU also now owns a three-game winning streak in conference openers dating back to the 2006-07 season.

"We avoided any kind of letdown after the win over Texas A&M," FSU head coach Sue Semrau said. "It's tough to go on the road in the ACC and everybody guarded against that letdown."

For the game, four different Seminoles scored in double figures as true freshman Cierra Bravard led all FSU players with 14 points. Playing in her first-career ACC game, the Sandusky, Ohio native made six of her 11 shots while grabbing six rebounds and posting a career-high three blocks despite playing with four fouls late in the game.

Tanae Davis-Cain finished with 12 points - 10 of which she accrued in the first half - and her fellow guards, Mara Freshour and Courtney Ward, also added 12 points apiece. Ward added seven assists.

"I thought Cierra's poise was tremendous," Semrau said. "She would catch the ball down low and there was no hesitation. She was going up and she was going to score and she got big, big buckets for us. I thought our guards did a good job of getting her the ball."

Thursday's contest was a game of runs for both squads.

The Seminoles used a 20-11 run through the first 13 minutes of the second half to build a 56-38 lead on Virginia Tech. But just as they had done in the first half in a similar situation, the Hokies were able to come up with an answer as they generated a 14-2 run to cut the gap to just 58-52 with just over four minutes left in the ballgame.

After Freshour drilled a 3-pointer put FSU on top 61-52 with 3:07 left, the pesky Hokies still wouldn't go away as they scored eight of the game's next 10 points to put the score at 63-60 in favor of the Seminoles.

Ward and Freshour then made two clutch free-throws apiece with under 28 seconds left to play to keep Virginia Tech at bay.

After hitting just two 3-pointers in the upset win over Texas A&M, the Seminoles more than doubled that totaled against Virginia Tech. FSU finished the game shooting 46.7-percent from long range as the team made seven of its 15 3-point attempts.

Despite being outscored in the second half by the Hokies 36-31, the Seminoles won the battle of points in the paint 28-20 and achieved a 46-40 rebounding edge.

Three Virginia Tech players scored in double figures with Utahya Dryer registering a game-high 18 points. Lindsay Biggs and Shanel Harrison contributed 15 and 14 points, respectively.

The Seminoles boasted a 36-27 lead at the game's intermission. Florida State had built an early 26-9 advantage but Virginia Tech stormed back to within single digits thanks to an 18-10 run to close the first half.

 
NO        NAME          GS MIN FGM FGA 3FGM 3FGA FTM FTA PTS   OREB DREB REB PF AST TO BLK STL
== ==================== == === === === ==== ==== === === ===   ==== ==== === == === == === ===
 2 Alysha Harvin         g  29   4   8    1    2   0   0   9      2    3   5  1   2  3   0   1
10 Mara Freshour         g  32   4  11    2    4   2   2  12      3    4   7  2   3  4   0   1
12 Courtney Ward         g  24   3   4    2    2   4   4  12      0    4   4  2   7  5   1   0
20 Tanae Davis-Cain      g  30   5  14    2    7   0   1  12      0    6   6  5   2  4   2   0
50 Jacinta Monroe        f  29   3  16    0    0   0   1   6      2    5   7  2   0  2   4   1
 1 Angel Gray               29   1   1    0    0   0   2   2      2    2   4  2   1  5   0   1
 4 Cayla Moore               2   0   0    0    0   0   0   0      0    2   2  1   0  0   0   0
 5 Christian Hunnicutt       5   0   1    0    0   0   0   0      0    0   0  1   1  0   0   0
22 Kayli Keough              3   0   0    0    0   0   0   0      0    0   0  1   1  1   0   0
54 Cierra Bravard           17   6  10    0    0   2   3  14      3    3   6  4   0  2   3   0
   Team                                                           3    2   5                  
                     =========================================================================
   FSU                   5 200  26  65    7   15   8  13  67     15   31  46 21  17 26  10   4
   Opp                     200  19  63    4   18  21  28  63     16   24  40 14   8 19   4  14


  1 2 Total
Florida State
36
31
67
Virginia Tech
27
36
63

Florida State 80, Clemson 54
01/11/2009, Tallahassee, Fla.

From the FSU Website, seminoles.com.

Florida State's Balanced Attack Trounces the Tigers, 80-54.

Four Seminoles score in double figures and the defense does its job in Sunday's victory over visiting Clemson.

TALLAHASSEE, FL - The Florida State women's basketball program earned its fifth-straight victory of the season Sunday with an 80-54 win against Clemson at the Donald L. Tucker Center.

FSU's performance against the Tigers (10-6, 1-2 Atlantic Coast Conference) was the team's most balanced of the 2008-09 season. Not only did the Seminoles (14-4, 2-0) got things done on both offense and defense but they excelled at beating Clemson in the very important hustle categories.

The Seminoles outrebounded the Tigers 47-31, outscored them in second-chance points 26-7 and had a season-low 14 turnovers to go along with 15 assists.

"We rebounded the ball well and took care of it," FSU head coach Sue Semrau said. "Those are two things that you have to do well to be successful. To outrebound an ACC team by 16 rebounds is quite a feat in my mind. For us to have a positive assist-to-turnover ratio and for us to have Mara (Freshour) and Tanae (Davis-Cain) playing the way they did tonight really helps."

Semrau's praise of her two senior guards was well deserved against the Tigers.

Davis-Cain finished the contest with a game-high 21 points - 16 of which she garnered in the first half - on 7-for-17 shooting, including a 4-for-6 mark from 3-point range. She also added a season-high eight rebounds.

As for Freshour, FSU's do-it-all guard has been asked to serve in a variety of roles all season long. Sunday, it was her role as scorer that really set the tone for Florida State throughout the contest.

The Nashiville, Ind. native accrued a season-high 17 points on 6-for-8 shooting to go along with a season-best nine rebounds. She also got her teammates involved by dishing out four assists.

Junior forward Jacinta Monroe and true freshman center Cierra Bravard also scored in double figures for the Seminoles. Monroe earned her fourth triple-double of the year and first in the past 14 games with 13 points and 10 rebounds while Bravard added 17 points and eight rebounds.

FSU's scoring onslaught coincided with a stout defensive performance. While the Seminoles were spreading the basketball and getting points from several players, the defense held Clemson to just 35.6-percent shooting.

And perhaps most importantly, the Seminoles didn't allow the Tigers to cut too deep into a lead that was as many as 26 points in the second half - unlike the team's win over Virginia Tech when the Hokies were able to eliminate a large FSU lead despite still losing.

"The Virginia Tech game, we let them get back into it," Freshour said. "We were up big and then we let them have a run and then we were up big again and let them have another run. I think we showed tonight that we are making strides in getting better about not relaxing with a lead. We got a good lead on Clemson and they were able to score some points but never make a big run against us in the second half."

Lele Hardy led Clemson with 12 points and April Parker added 10 in the loss.

The Seminoles shot 41.5-percent from the field and were an even 50 percent from the 3-point line en route to achieving the second-high offensive output of the season.

 
NO        NAME          GS MIN FGM FGA 3FGM 3FGA FTM FTA PTS   OREB DREB REB PF AST TO BLK STL
== ==================== == === === === ==== ==== === === ===   ==== ==== === == === == === ===
 2 Alysha Harvin         g  30   1   7    0    2   5   6   7      3    2   5  2   1  2   0   0
10 Mara Freshour         g  31   6   8    2    4   3   5  17      3    6   9  0   4  2   1   0
12 Courtney Ward         g  28   1   7    1    2   0   0   3      0    3   3  3   5  5   0   0
20 Tanae Davis-Cain      g  32   7  17    4    6   3   3  21      1    7   8  1   2  0   1   2
50 Jacinta Monroe        f  30   5  10    0    0   3   3  13      4    6  10  1   2  1   3   0
 1 Angel Gray               18   1   2    0    0   0   2   2      0    0   0  1   1  2   0   3
 4 Cayla Moore               1   0   1    0    0   0   0   0      0    0   0  0   0  0   0   0
 5 Christian Hunnicutt      11   0   3    0    0   0   0   0      0    0   0  1   0  0   0   1
22 Kayli Keough              2   0   1    0    0   0   0   0      0    0   0  0   0  1   0   0
54 Cierra Bravard           17   6   9    0    0   5   7  17      4    4   8  3   0  1   0   1
   Team                                                           2    2   4                  
                     =========================================================================
   FSU                   5 200  27  65    7   14  19  26  80     17   30  47 12  15 14   5   7
   Opp                     200  21  59    6   16   6  10  54      8   23  31 20  13 16   1   7


  1 2 Total
Clemson
31
23
54
Florida State
45
35
80

Florida State 64, North Carolina State 59
01/15/2009, Raleigh, N.C.

From the FSU Website, seminoles.com.

Semrau Earns First Career Win at NC State as FSU Defeats Wolfpack 64-59.

FSU women's basketball coach Sue Semrau achieves her first win at Reynolds Coliseum on a night when the Seminoles boost their current winning streak to six-straight games.

RALEIGH, NC - The Florida State women's basketball team defeated NC State 64-59 Thursday night and in doing so gave head coach Sue Semrau her first-ever victory at Reynolds Coliseum.

Entering the Atlantic Coast Conference showdown, Semrau was 0-8 all-time in the Wolfpack's home gym during her 12-year FSU career.

Thursday's outcome not only puts an end to Semrau's unfavorable streak but it extends the Seminoles' (15-4, 3-0 ACC) very favorable winning streak to six-straight games - three of which have come in conference play.

"I'll tell you, it wasn't easy," Semrau said. "I am just proud of this team for the way that they accomplish something new everyday. We conquered something brand new by getting a 'W' in this place."

The Seminoles were led offensively by a balanced attack that featured four players scoring in double figures against NC State (8-9, 0-2).

Junior forward Jacinta Monroe led all Seminoles with 14 points while achieving her fifth double-double of the season as she grabbed a game-high 15 rebounds. Sophomore point guard Courtney Ward also added 12 points and senior Mara Freshour contributed 11 of her own to go along with four assists.

Starters Tanae Davis-Cain and Alysha Harvin both looked like they were going to put on an offensive clinic to start the game. But after combining for 11 points midway through the first half, Harvin picked up her third foul just before halftime and Davis-Cain was called for her third early in the second period.

Despite having their collective minutes limited because of the foul trouble, both players still were able to leave their marks in the box score. Davis-Cain finished with 10 points and Harvin posted nine.

True freshman Cierra Bravard also scored eight.

"We didn't even know that Coach Sue had never won here," Monroe said. "We just came out playing hard and we knew that NC State would be a very tough matchup. Their crowd here is crazy. They stick with their players from beginning to end and it's never going to be easy to play here."

NC State trailed by double digits through much of the second half but made things interesting in the waning moments with a 9-1 run to cut the score to 59-50 with just over a minute left to play.

After Freshour made two free-throws with 1:10 left to play to put FSU on top 61-50, NC State's Shayla Fields connected on a 3-pointer to move the score to 61-53. After Ward made a free throw, Fields then hit another triple to cut the Seminoles' lead to just 62-56 with 33 seconds remaining in regulation.

Monroe's two free throws in the final seconds then sealed the victory for the Seminoles.

For the game, FSU shot 39.7 percent from the field while NC State shot 29.3 percent.

Fields led the Wolfpack with 25 points.

Florida State's current six-game winning streak is special in a variety of ways.

Not only has it propelled the Seminoles to a 15-4 record but quality wins at LSU, Virginia Tech and now NC State, coupled with a win at home over previously No. 3-ranked Texas A&M has given FSU a lot of confidence as the team's conference schedule isn't going to get any easier.

The Seminoles took a 31-24 advantage into the locker room at halftime. FSU was led in the first period by Freshour's seven points and Bravard's six.

FSU shot just 38.2 percent from the field in the game's first 20 minutes but NC State was worse as the Wolfpack shot a paltry 29.4 percent to start the game. Both teams were even in rebounds at 23 at halftime.

 
NO        NAME          GS MIN FGM FGA 3FGM 3FGA FTM FTA PTS   OREB DREB REB PF AST TO BLK STL
== ==================== == === === === ==== ==== === === ===   ==== ==== === == === == === ===
 2 Alysha Harvin         g  18   3   5    2    3   1   2   9      0    2   2  3   2  1   0   0
10 Mara Freshour         g  33   4  10    1    2   2   2  11      2    5   7  0   4  1   0   0
12 Courtney Ward         g  34   4  12    1    4   3   6  12      1    4   5  1   1  1   0   2
20 Tanae Davis-Cain      g  23   4   9    2    4   0   2  10      1    1   2  4   2  1   0   1
50 Jacinta Monroe        f  33   6  13    0    0   2   3  14      5   10  15  1   2  5   3   1
 1 Angel Gray               22   0   3    0    0   0   2   0      1    1   2  2   3  0   0   3
 5 Christian Hunnicutt       8   0   0    0    0   0   0   0      0    3   3  1   0  0   0   0
22 Kayli Keough              0   0   0    0    0   0   0   0      0    0   0  0   0  0   0   0
54 Cierra Bravard           29   4  11    0    0   0   0   8      1    3   4  2   0  2   2   1
   Team                                                           1    5   6         2        
                     =========================================================================
   FSU                   5 200  25  63    6   13   8  17  64     12   34  46 14  14 13   5   8
   Opp                     200  22  75    7   22   8  13  59     20   32  52 15  11 12   4   4


  1 2 Total
Florida State
31
33
64
North Carolina State
24
35
59

Florida State 59, Georgia Tech 49
01/18/2009, Tallahassee, Fla.

From the FSU Website, seminoles.com.

Monroe's School-Record Nine Blocks Helps the Seminoles Swat the No. 24 Yellow Jackets, 59-49.

Junior forward Jacinta Monroe flirted with a triple-double Sunday night as Florida State achieved its seventh-straight victory and remained undefeated in ACC play.

TALLAHASSEE, FL - Propelled by a strong defense that featured a record-setting night by junior forward Jacinta Monroe, the Florida State women's basketball team defeated No. 24 Georgia Tech 59-49 Sunday night at the Donald L. Tucker Center.

Monroe's school-record nine blocks were the highlight of an FSU defensive performance that forced the Yellow Jackets to commit a season-high 27 turnovers and shoot a season-low 33.9-percent from the field.

With the win, the Seminoles (16-4, 4-0 Atlantic Coast Conference) have now won seven-straight ballgames this season and are perfect in conference play. The last time that FSU reeled off this many victories in a row happened during the 2004-05 season and the only other time in program history that the team started 4-0 in conference play occurred during the 2006-07 campaign.

The Seminoles led by as many as eight points through the first 14 minutes of the second half against the Yellow Jackets (13-4, 1-2), but gave up their lead at the game's 5:52 mark when Georgia Tech guard Jacqua Williams hit a 3-pointer to put her squad up 46-45.

But as a home crowd of nearly 3,000 fans looked on, the Seminoles answered in a big way. Sparked by Monroe's record ninth block of the game with 5:15 left to play, FSU went on a 14-4 run to close out the game.

"I saw a little heart come out," Florida State head coach Sue Semrau said. "I think they got a little mad when they relinquished the lead on that one possession. I thought they came out with the same kind of grit that got us the lead and for us to continue to push through these types of games and not let up whatsoever makes me really, really proud."

Monroe finished the night with a staggering stat-line that put her within one block of securing her first-career triple-double. The 6-foot-4 post-player from Fort Lauderdale, Fla. registered team-highs in both points (15) and rebounds (10) to go along with her staggering number of blocks.

As it stands, her double-double against the Yellow Jackets was her second in as many games and sixth of the season. Monroe now has 14 career double-doubles to her credit while she continues to climb the ladder in her quest to become the program's all-time blocks leader.

With her nine blocks Sunday night, Monroe is now just 15 shy of tying former Seminole Brooke Wycoff's all-time record of 209 in a career.

In addition to Monroe, point guard Courtney Ward had a terrific night for the Seminoles.

The sophomore from Mobile, Ala. dished out a career-high nine assists to go along with 12 points and four rebounds. She also tied her career-best with four steals.

"You just look at the build of these two," Semrau said, referencing Monroe and Ward, "and you've got to be really proud. They are two of the most slender that we have and they way that they've been working out in the weight room you can see they weren't going to be pushed around tonight."

Senior guard Mara Freshour also added 13 points and eight rebounds for the Seminoles in a team-high 38 minutes. Junior forward Alysha Harvin scored seven points but all of her scoring came in the first half after she suffered a mild concussion and was held out of the rest of the game after halftime. She is expected to be fine in time for FSU's next contest.

For the game, FSU shot just 40.7-percent from the field and just 47.8-percent from the free-throw line. But on a night when Monroe was seemingly all over the court blocking shots, it was the defense and ability of the Seminole players to grab rebounds that earned the victory.

In addition to forcing the most Georgia Tech turnovers of the year, FSU also won the rebounding battle 41-36.

Alex Montgomery led the Yellow Jackets with 14 points and 13 rebounds.

 
NO        NAME          GS MIN FGM FGA 3FGM 3FGA FTM FTA PTS   OREB DREB REB PF AST TO BLK STL
== ==================== == === === === ==== ==== === === ===   ==== ==== === == === == === ===
 2 Alysha Harvin         g  16   3   7    1    1   0   0   7      0    1   1  1   0  3   0   1
10 Mara Freshour         g  38   4   9    2    3   3   5  13      6    2   8  1   0  3   0   0
12 Courtney Ward         g  35   5  10    0    3   2   6  12      1    3   4  3   9  8   0   4
20 Tanae Davis-Cain      g  33   2  14    1    6   0   1   5      0    3   3  1   1  4   0   1
50 Jacinta Monroe        f  34   6  10    0    0   3   5  15      1    9  10  2   2  2   9   1
 1 Angel Gray               19   1   1    0    0   0   0   2      2    2   4  1   1  2   0   0
 4 Cayla Moore               4   0   1    0    0   0   0   0      1    0   1  1   0  0   0   0
54 Cierra Bravard           21   1   2    0    0   3   6   5      3    2   5  2   0  1   0   1
   Team                                                           2    3   5                  
                     =========================================================================
   FSU                   5 200  22  54    4   13  11  23  59     16   25  41 12  13 23   9   8
   Opp                     200  20  59    4   17   5   9  49     14   22  36 22   6 27   3  11


  1 2 Total
Georgia Tech
28
21
49
Florida State
28
31
59

Florida State 80, Virginia 75
01/23/2009, Charlottesville, Va.

From the FSU Website, seminoles.com.

Florida State Women's Basketball Team Beats Virginia 80-75, Sets New School Record With 5-0 ACC Start.

All five starters score in double figures for the No. 22 Seminoles as they defeat the No. 16 Cavaliers and extend their current winning streak to eight games.

CHARLOTTESVILLE, VA - The No. 22 Florida State women's basketball team defeated No. 16 Virginia 80-75 Friday night in Charlottesville, Va. and by doing so achieved the first 5-0 start to Atlantic Coast Conference play in program history.

Not only have the Seminoles (17-4, 5-0 ACC) won their first five conference ballgames but they have also now won eight-straight contests and have defeated back-to-back top-25-ranked teams.

Five players scored in double figures against the Cavaliers (15-4, 2-2) in a game that was a seesaw battle from start to finish.

Junior forward Jacinta Monroe continued her torrid pace through conference play as she achieved her fourth-straight double-double with 10 points and 11 rebounds. Senior guard Mara Freshour scored 11 points to go along with three assists and four rebounds.

Alysha Harvin, who missed the second half of FSU's victory over Georgia Tech after sustaining a mild concussion in that contest, showed no ill signs of her injury against Virginia. The Dania, Fla. finished the game with 14 points despite playing the majority of the second half with four fouls.

Tanae Davis-Cain didn't miss any time for the Seminoles against Georgia Tech but instead struggled with her shot against the Yellow Jackets and scored just five points. Against the Cavaliers that wasn't a problem as she scored 16 points before fouling out of the ballgame with under two minutes to play in regulation.

Like Davis-Cain, Ward also fouled out in the final moments of the game but not before leaving a big mark in the box score. Ward finished the evening with a new-career high in points with 18 on 6-for-10 shooting - including a 4-for-5 mark from 3-point range. She also added a game-high five assists.

Florida State unknotted a halftime tie by benefitting from a 21-8 run that built a 59-46 lead with just under 12 minutes left to play in the second.

But the Cavaliers dug their heels in on the defensive end and answered with an 8-0 run to cut the Seminole lead to just 59-54. But Freshour scored six-straight points and Cierra Bravard hit a lay-up to put the Seminoles more comfortably ahead at 67-54 with 7:18 left in regulation.

The good feelings on the FSU bench wouldn't last for long, however, as Virginia's Britney Edwards hit a 3-pointer to end FSU's 8-0 run at the game's 6:47 mark. Edwards' triple sparked a 12-0 run by the Cavaliers that whittled the FSU lead to 67-66 with 4:34 to play in the game.

Monroe then put in a missed Angel Gray free throw to push FSU's lead to 69-66. After baskets by both teams, Ward hit a 3-pointer with 2:42 on the game clock to give the Seminoles a 74-70 lead.

After two free throws by Wright and one more by Cavaliers forward Chelsea Shine moved the score to 74-73, Monroe nailed two free throws of her own with just 20 seconds left to push the FSU advantage to 76-73. Once again Wright answered as her converted lay-up off an offensive rebound on the opposite end put Virginia down just one at 76-75. With just over 10 seconds left.

Freshour then hit two free throws after a foul and Wright's ensuing 3-pointer was off the mark. Monroe then hit two free throws after another foul and FSU escaped with the 80-75 win and consequent school record.

The whistle of the referee was a common sound Friday night. In addition to Ward and Davis-Cain, Bravard also fouled out. The Seminoles finished the night with 26 team fouls.

For the game, FSU shot 45.5 percent from the field and 47.6 percent from 3-point range. After several games of poor free-throw shooting, the Seminoles made it count from the charity stripe against Virginia as they finished with a 74.1-percent mark.

All-America candidate Wright finished the game with 24 points for the Cavaliers while Lyndra Littles added 21 and Aisha Mohammed had 15. Virginia shot 38.6 percent from the field, though.

FSU closed out the first period with an 8-3 run and Ward's buzzer-beating 3-pointer tied the game at 38-38 at the break.

FSU shot 40 percent from the floor in the opening half. Harvin led the Seminoles with 12 in that same period.

 
NO        NAME          GS MIN FGM FGA 3FGM 3FGA FTM FTA PTS   OREB DREB REB PF AST TO BLK STL
== ==================== == === === === ==== ==== === === ===   ==== ==== === == === == === ===
 2 Alysha Harvin         f  27   4   8    1    3   5   7  14      1    1   2  4   0  2   0   2
10 Mara Freshour         g  37   3  12    1    6   4   5  11      3    1   4  0   3  1   0   0
12 Courtney Ward         g  28   6  10    4    5   2   2  18      1    3   4  5   5  4   0   0
20 Tanae Davis-Cain      g  26   6  12    4    7   0   0  16      0    2   2  5   1  1   0   0
50 Jacinta Monroe        f  31   2   8    0    0   6   6  10      3    8  11  3   0  2   1   2
 1 Angel Gray               25   1   2    0    0   2   6   4      0    3   3  2   2  1   0   2
 4 Cayla Moore               5   0   0    0    0   0   0   0      0    0   0  1   0  0   0   0
 5 Christian Hunnicutt       5   0   1    0    0   0   0   0      0    1   1  1   1  0   0   0
54 Cierra Bravard           16   3   3    0    0   1   1   7      0    1   1  5   0  0   1   1
   Team                                                           2    3   5         1        
                     =========================================================================
   FSU                   5 200  25  56   10   21  20  27  80     10   23  33 26  12 12   2   7
   Opp                     200  22  56    4    9  27  33  75     13   21  34 20   6 15   1   3


  1 2 Total
Florida State
38
42
80
Virginia
38
37
75

Florida State 82, Duke 75
01/29/2009, OT, Tallahassee, Fla.

From the FSU Website, seminoles.com.

'Noles Nab ACC Lead with OT Defeat of Duke.

Freshour's 21 points helped lead Florida State to an 82-75 win.

TALLAHASSEE, FL - Down 12 points, 10 points, even six points with 45 seconds left in regulation wasn't too much for the No. 18-ranked Florida State women's basketball to overccome as the Seminoles upset third-ranked Duke 82-75 in overtime Thursday to grab sole possession of first place in the Atlantic Coast Conference.

Mara Freshour scored a season-high 21 points as the Seminoles (18-4, 6-0 ACC) erased a six-point deficit in the final 48 seconds to get the game to overtime while winning their ninth straight and ending Duke's 15-game win streak. Freshour's 3-pointer from the left side with 21.6 seconds left sent the game into overtime tied at 68. She added another from long distance midway through the extra period to spark the win as the Seminoles never trailed in overtime.

The win gave Florida State its third straight win over a ranked opponent and fourth overall this season. The Seminoles now own two wins this season over the nation's third-ranked team as Texas A&M was ranked No. 3 back on January 5th when FSU pulled the 60-53 upset.

Jacinta Monroe and Tanae Davis-Cain added 17 points apiece for the Seminoles and Courtney Ward had 11 points, 10 assists and four steals in Thursday's victory.

Monroe, Freshour and Davis-Cain each grabbed eight rebounds to help the Seminoles to a 40-33 advantage.

Duke (17-2, 5-1) was led by Jasmine Thomas' 16 points.

Joy Cheek's jumper with 58 seconds left gave the Blue Devils what appeared to be a safe lead at 66-60, but Freshour countered 12 seconds later and then drilled the game-tying shot after a basket and free throw by freshman Cierra Bravard while Duke went scoreless.

Freshour put the game away with two free throws with 23 seconds left in overtime.

The Blue Devils built a 28-16 lead in the first half, capitalizing on a Florida State scoreless drought that lasted almost 6 minutes but the Seminoles pulled to within three at 37-34 by halftime. Davis-Cain forced the game's second tie with a three-pointer to open the second half but Duke went on a 16-6 run to go up 53-43 with 12:41 remaining inthe game.

Florida State owned the overtime period, shooting 50 percent from the field and 70 percent from the free throw line on 7-for-10 and hit its only three-point attempt.

 
NO        NAME          GS MIN FGM FGA 3FGM 3FGA FTM FTA PTS   OREB DREB REB PF AST TO BLK STL
== ==================== == === === === ==== ==== === === ===   ==== ==== === == === == === ===
 2 Alysha Harvin         g  13   1   3    1    2   0   0   3      0    2   2  2   0  2   0   0
10 Mara Freshour         g  39   7  14    3    7   4   4  21      4    4   8  1   2  2   0   1
12 Courtney Ward         g  42   5  14    1    2   0   0  11      1    3   4  1  10  6   0   4
20 Tanae Davis-Cain      g  30   6  15    2    6   3   7  17      1    7   8  3   0  1   0   0
50 Jacinta Monroe        f  35   7  10    0    0   3   4  17      3    5   8  4   0  3   7   0
 1 Angel Gray               24   1   3    0    0   2   2   4      3    0   3  0   1  1   0   1
 4 Cayla Moore              12   0   1    0    0   0   0   0      0    0   0  1   0  0   0   1
 5 Christian Hunnicutt       3   1   1    0    0   0   0   2      0    0   0  0   0  1   0   0
54 Cierra Bravard           27   2   5    0    0   3   5   7      0    2   2  3   1  2   0   0
   Team                                                           3    2   5                  
                     =========================================================================
   FSU                   5 225  30  66    7   17  15  22  82     15   25  40 15  14 18   7   7
   Opp                     225  31  63    6   12   7  11  75      9   24  33 23  15 21   5  10


  1 2 OT Total
Duke
37
31
7
75
Florida State
34
34
14
82

Maryland 72, Florida State 71
02/02/2009, Tallahassee, Fla.

From the FSU Website, seminoles.com.

No. 13 Maryland Edges No. 15 Florida State on Buzzer-Beater, 72-71.

The Seminoles move to 18-5 on the year.

TALLAHASSEE, FL - Kristi Toliver's 3-point shot as the buzzer sounded lifted No. 13 Maryland to a 72-71 win at Florida State on Monday, snapping the 15th-ranked Seminoles nine-game winning streak and handing them their first conference loss.

After streaking upcourt with the dribble, Toliver let the game-winner fly from the right of the circle and officials confirmed it beat the final horn.

Florida State freshman Cierra Bravard scored from underneath with 4.9 seconds left with an offensive rebound to give the Seminoles a 71-69 lead.

Toliver led the Terrapins (17-4, 5-2 Atlantic Coast Conference) with 17 points to go along with a game-high 7 assists.

Tanae Davis-Cain scored 19 points for Florida State (18-5, 6-1 ACC) which led 69-65 with 1:08 left. Jacinta Monroe added 14 points and 9 rebounds for the Seminoles.

Florida State came into the game as the lone unbeaten team in the league, but dropped into a first-place tie with Duke, which beat Boston College on Monday.

The game was back and forth with 14 ties and 14 lead changes and no team leading by more than five points.

Both teams shot well from behind the arc in a see-saw first half with Florida State making 7-of-13 3-pointers while Maryland was 5-for-9. Both cooled down from the outside in the second half.

 
NO        NAME          GS MIN FGM FGA 3FGM 3FGA FTM FTA PTS   OREB DREB REB PF AST TO BLK STL
== ==================== == === === === ==== ==== === === ===   ==== ==== === == === == === ===
 2 Alysha Harvin         f  21   3   8    2    3   0   0   8      1    1   2  1   1  1   0   2
10 Mara Freshour         g  35   3   6    1    3   4   4  11      4    3   7  1   3  2   0   1
12 Courtney Ward         g  28   4   7    3    3   0   0  11      2    0   2  5   3  8   0   1
20 Tanae Davis-Cain      g  35   6  22    4   15   3   4  19      0    3   3  3   1  0   0   1
50 Jacinta Monroe        f  34   7  13    0    0   0   0  14      7    2   9  2   1  0   2   1
 1 Angel Gray               20   0   3    0    0   0   0   0      0    0   0  0   2  0   0   1
 5 Christian Hunnicutt       2   0   0    0    0   0   0   0      0    1   1  0   0  0   0   0
54 Cierra Bravard           25   3   6    0    0   2   6   8      2    2   4  2   0  4   0   0
   Team                                                           3    3   6                  
                     =========================================================================
   FSU                   5 200  26  65   10   24   9  14  71     19   15  34 14  11 15   2   7
   Opp                     200  26  54    7   18  13  15  72     12   24  36 14  14 18   1   7


  1 2 Total
Maryland
39
33
72
Florida State
40
31
71

Florida State 64, Boston College 53
02/05/2009, Chestnut Hill, Mass.

From the FSU Website, seminoles.com.

Florida State Downs Boston College, 64-53.

Mara Freshour finished with 22 points and became the 23rd player in FSU history to scored 1,000 points.

BOSTON, MA - Mara Freshour scored 22 points, Tanae Davis-Cain had 11 and No. 15 Florida State rebounded from a last-second loss earlier this week by beating Boston College 64-53 Thursday night.

The Seminoles (19-5, 7-1 Atlantic Coast Conference), off to their best start ever in conference play, posted their 10th win in 11 games.

Stefanie Murphy led cold-shooting BC (17-6, 5-3) with 16 points. The Eagles shot just 31 percent, hitting only five of 20 3-pointer.

BC scoring leader Mickel Picco, who entered averaging 17.4 per game, was held to seven points on 3-for-15 shooting, including 1-for-10 on 3-pointers.

The Eagles had cut Florida State's eight-point lead to 48-47 before the Seminoles took control with a 9-1 run that was capped by Freshour's 3-pointer with three minutes to play.

Florida State scored 11 straight points midway into the second half, turning a three-point deficit into a 46-38 edge on Alysha Harvin's fastbreak layup with 9:30 to play. Christian Hunnicutt hit a 3-pointer in the run.

The Seminoles held BC scoreless for 7:10.

Eagles rebounding leader Carolyn Swords was cut over her right eye and went to the locker room with 8:17 left. She didn't return, finishing with six points and 11 rebounds.

BC responded by scoring seven consecutive points, cutting its deficit to 48-47 on Picco's two free throws with 6:52 to play.

Florida State, which has reached its highest ranking ever in the AP Top 25, was coming off a heartbreaking, last-second loss against Maryland on Monday. That loss--capped by Kristi Tolliver's buzzer-beating 3-pointer--snapped the Seminoles' nine-game winning streak.

FSU, picked fifth in the ACC preseason poll, already has more wins than last season and is one of conference's surprises at the top of the league's standings, battling with perennial powers Duke and Maryland.

 
NO        NAME          GS MIN FGM FGA 3FGM 3FGA FTM FTA PTS   OREB DREB REB PF AST TO BLK STL
== ==================== == === === === ==== ==== === === ===   ==== ==== === == === == === ===
10 Mara Freshour         g  31   6  12    4    5   6   6  22      1    6   7  2   1  2   0   2
12 Courtney Ward         g  28   1   5    0    0   1   2   3      1    3   4  0   8  4   0   1
20 Tanae Davis-Cain      g  30   5  11    1    3   0   0  11      0    2   2  2   2  0   0   0
50 Jacinta Monroe        f  31   3   7    0    0   2   2   8      2    3   5  4   1  0   0   1
54 Cierra Bravard        c   9   1   4    0    0   1   1   3      0    2   2  3   1  1   1   0
 1 Angel Gray               17   2   3    0    0   0   0   4      0    0   0  1   1  3   0   0
 2 Alysha Harvin            32   2   5    0    1   1   4   5      2    1   3  1   2  2   0   1
 4 Cayla Moore               9   1   1    0    0   1   2   3      0    1   1  2   0  1   0   0
 5 Christian Hunnicutt      13   2   2    1    1   0   0   5      1    2   3  2   1  0   0   1
   Team                                                           1    2   3         3        
                     =========================================================================
   FSU                   5 200  23  50    6   10  12  17  64      8   22  30 17  17 16   1   6
   Opp                     200  17  55    5   20  14  17  53     16   19  35 15  11 19   2   6


  1 2 Total
Florida State
28
36
64
Boston College
26
27
53

Florida State 75, Miami 59
02/08/2009, Coral Gables, Fla.

From the FSU Website, seminoles.com.

Florida State Stays Undefeated on the Road with 75-59 Victory at Miami.

Seminoles reach 20 wins overall and eight in the Atlantic Coast Conference the fastest in program history as they defeat the Hurricanes for the seventh-straight time.

CORAL GABLES, FL - The No. 15/19 Florida State women's basketball team defeated in-state rival Miami, 75-59, Sunday afternoon at the Bank United Center in Coral Cables, Fla. to stay undefeated in road games this season.

The Seminoles are now 20-5 overall, 8-1 in the conference, and a perfect 8-0 in opponents' gyms while the Hurricanes fell to 12-11 overall and just 1-7 in league play. FSU has now won seven-straight over Miami and 12 of the last 13. The 20 wins overall and eight in the ACC is the fastest the team has achieved that many wins in program history.

Sunday's outcome also means that Seminoles coach Sue Semrau now boasts a 199-157 career record. FSU's 12th-year head coach will have the opportunity to achieve victory No. 200 at home in a battle of top-15 teams as the No. 8/9 North Carolina Tar Heels travel to Tallahassee for an ACC showdown on Friday.

"North Carolina is a very talented basketball team," Semrau said following the win over Miami. "They are just like Duke and Maryland. They are going to be really tough to defend and we have to come to play."

Against the Hurricanes, senior guard Tanae Davis-Cain led all Seminole players with 19 points on 7-for-11 shooting while sophomore guard Courtney Ward accrued five assists to go with 11 points.

Junior forwards Jacinta Monroe and Alysha Harvin - both South Florida natives playing in front of friends and family - scored in double figures as they registered 10 and 13 points, respectively. Monroe also had seven rebounds and two blocks and Harvin tied her career-high with two blocks and six rebounds of her own.

"It's fun knowing that I have friends and family here supporting us," Harvin said. "It just felt good to come down here and win in front of all of them."

Sophomore guard Christian Hunnicutt came off the bench to contribute eight points - her highest offensive output in 13 games this season. True freshman Cierra Bravard scored nine points.

For the game, FSU shot just 39.7-percent from the field but more than made up for it from the free-throw line. The Seminoles shot a season-high 90.5-percent from the charity stripe - well above their season average of 66 percent.

"They were a little bit more relaxed when they were shooting those free throws," Semrau said. "They shot them with more looseness in their shoulders and they weren't tight. I think the reps we do in practice really contributed to that."

The Hurricanes answered a small FSU run early in the second period by scoring 12-straight points to tie the score at 40-40 before Ward hit a 3-pointer with 13:25 on the clock to end the Seminoles' scoring skid.

Ward's clutch shot from long range helped spark an FSU 11-1 run that built a 51-41 score in favor of the Seminoles with just over 10 minutes to play in regulation. The Hurricanes kept it competitive the rest of the ballgame but never could get closer than 59-54 score.

It wasn't easy, but the margin of victory was the highest since FSU defeated Miami 79-54 during the 2005-06 season.

"Every time we play somebody in-state, it's always tough," Harvin said. "We have to come out with extra fight in those games."

Miami was led by freshman Shenise Johnson's 20 points.

Behind Davis-Cain's 14 first-half points, the Seminoles took a 34-24 lead into the locker room at halftime. Harvin also had seven points in the opening period.

 
NO        NAME          GS MIN FGM FGA 3FGM 3FGA FTM FTA PTS   OREB DREB REB PF AST TO BLK STL
== ==================== == === === === ==== ==== === === ===   ==== ==== === == === == === ===
 2 Alysha Harvin         g  28   4  16    1    2   4   4  13      2    4   6  3   3  3   2   2
10 Mara Freshour         g  32   2   7    0    3   2   2   6      1    4   5  2   2  2   0   0
12 Courtney Ward         g  27   4   9    1    4   2   2  11      1    1   2  1   5  4   0   2
20 Tanae Davis-Cain      g  26   7  11    4    7   0   0  18      3    2   5  1   1  2   1   3
50 Jacinta Monroe        f  30   3   9    0    0   4   6  10      4    3   7  2   2  2   2   2
 1 Angel Gray               20   0   1    0    0   0   0   0      1    1   2  2   0  2   1   1
 4 Cayla Moore               4   0   1    0    0   0   0   0      1    0   1  1   0  0   0   1
 5 Christian Hunnicutt      15   3   4    0    0   2   2   8      0    0   0  2   1  1   1   2
54 Cierra Bravard           18   2   5    0    0   5   5   9      2    4   6  1   0  0   0   0
   Team                                                           4    1   5                  
                     =========================================================================
   FSU                   5 200  25  63    6   16  19  21  75     19   20  39 15  14 16   7  13
   Opp                     200  23  55    4   11   9  16  59     15   20  35 18  11 23   7   7


  1 2 Total
Florida State
34
41
75
Miami
24
35
59

Florida State 77, North Carolina 70
02/13/2009, Tallahassee, Fla.

From the FSU Website, seminoles.com.

Seminoles Stop Tar Heels, 77-70.

FSU will play at Clemson on Thursday.

TALLAHASSEE, FL - Freshman Cierra Bravard had 16 points and 10 rebounds Friday night, leading 14th-ranked Florida State to a 77-70 victory over No. 8 North Carolina 77-70 for coach Sue Semrau's 200th victory.

Florida State (21-5, 9-1 Atlantic Coast Conference) built a 15-point lead in the first half and led by as many as 17 late in the game, defeating the Tar Heels for the first time in four years and just the second time in this decade.

The Seminoles have defeated five ranked teams, including three in the Top 10, since Jan. 3.

North Carolina (20-4, 6-3) dropped two games behind the Seminoles, who remain alone in first place in the ACC. Rashanda McCants 18 points and 13 rebounds, Cetera DeGraffenreid added 16 points and Jessica Breland 11 for the Tar Heels, who shot just 32 percent.

Seniors Mara Freshour and Tanae Davis-Cain scored 15 points apiece for Florida State, and Angel Gray added 14.

The Seminoles led 72-55 with 5:42 left, but didn't score another field goal and poor free throw shooting allowed the Tar Heels to whittle the lead down.

Florida State had a 32-24 lead after a sloppy first half when the two teams combined for 27 turnovers and shot poorly. The Seminoles led despite shooting just 26.3 percent from the floor, but North Carolina made only 24.1 percent of its shots.

The Seminoles used an 25-5 run midway through the first half to build a 28-13 lead with 7:20 left in the half.

Bravard, who had her second double-double, had eight points and eight rebounds in the opening half. She had 13 points and 12 rebounds during a win at Northern Colorado on Dec. 18.

Jacinta Monroe, Florida State's leading scorer, didn't get her first basket until 16:51 left in the game and finished with just five points.

Friday's crowd of 6,309 fans nearly doubled the previous record to watch a Florida State women's game.

 
NO        NAME          GS MIN FGM FGA 3FGM 3FGA FTM FTA PTS   OREB DREB REB PF AST TO BLK STL
== ==================== == === === === ==== ==== === === ===   ==== ==== === == === == === ===
 2 Alysha Harvin         g  24   3  12    2    5   0   0   8      2    1   3  5   3  1   0   3
10 Mara Freshour         g  34   4  10    2    5   5   8  15      2    3   5  0   3  4   0   2
12 Courtney Ward         g  27   1   6    0    2   2   6   4      0    2   2  4   8  5   0   1
20 Tanae Davis-Cain      g  33   5  19    2    7   3   3  15      3    1   4  3   0  3   0   2
50 Jacinta Monroe        f  23   2   6    0    0   1   2   5      1    3   4  3   1  1   2   3
 1 Angel Gray               25   6   7    1    1   1   2  14      1    5   6  5   1  2   0   1
 4 Cayla Moore              10   0   1    0    0   0   2   0      2    3   5  1   0  1   0   0
 5 Christian Hunnicutt       4   0   0    0    0   0   0   0      0    1   1  1   1  0   0   0
54 Cierra Bravard           20   5   8    0    0   6   8  16      5    5  10  5   0  5   1   0
   Team                                                           6    1   7                  
                     =========================================================================
   FSU                   5 200  26  69    7   20  18  31  77     22   25  47 27  17 22   3  12
   Opp                     200  20  62    4   10  26  34  70     18   28  46 24  11 26   5   8


  1 2 Total
North Carolina
24
46
70
Florida State
32
45
77

Florida State 75, Clemson 58
02/19/2009, Clemson, S.C.

From the FSU Website, seminoles.com.

No. 11/12 Seminoles Extend Road Winning Streak to 9 Games With 75-58 Win at Clemson.

Jacinta Monroe's career-high 24 points leads Florida State past the Tigers.

CLEMSON, SC - Last time out, Florida State's Jacinta Monroe felt like she let her team down even though she was hampered by a sore shoulder. Thursday night, she ignored the lingering pain and played one of the best games of her career.

Monroe scored a career-best 24 points and had nine rebounds to lead the No. 11 Seminoles to a 75-58 win over Clemson. The win kept Florida State (22-5, 10-1 Atlantic Coast Conference) a game up on Maryland and Duke for first place in the ACC with three games to go as the Seminoles try to win a league title for the first time since joining the conference 18 years ago.

Monroe's sore shoulder limited her to just five points in 23 minutes against North Carolina, and she had scored a combined 23 points in her last three games. On Thursday, the junior made nine of her 12 shots from the field and 6 of 11 free throws for 24 points in 26 minutes. She also blocked a shot, tying the school record for blocked shots in a career at 209.

"My team has done a great job of stepping up for me, because I wasn't really showing up," Monroe said. "But this game I was focused on being there for my team."

This has been a breakthrough season for the Seminoles. When coach Sue Semrau took over in 1997, Florida State was coming off an 0-16 season. Since the ACC expanded five seasons ago, the Seminoles have finished no worse than fifth, and they tied a school record on Thursday with their 10th ACC win. The No. 11 ranking is the highest ever for the team.

But Semrau is taking extra care to make sure her team isn't overwhelmed with the prospect of at least a share of the ACC title if the Seminoles can win two of their last three. "This team doesn't even know they are in first place," she said.

Florida State breezed to a 26-point win when the teams played in January. But the Lady Tigers (13-14, 2-10) kept it closer this time.

Clemson opened the second half with a jumper by Thomas that cut Florida State's lead to 35-32. But the Seminoles responded with nine straight points from Monroe and Mara Freshour. They also forced turnovers on six of the Lady Tigers' next seven possessions.

Clemson stopped the run briefly, but Freshour and Alysha Harvin hit back-to-back 3-pointers to spark a 17-4 run that put the game away.

Semrau said she told her team at halftime to go harder for the loose balls and tighten up the zone. Lady Tigers coach Cristy McKinney said she can't figure out what happened to her team in the locker room.

"We just came out kind of flat," McKinney said, shaking her head. "I wish I knew, I wish I knew."

Lele Hardy had 21 points and eight rebounds and Sthefany Thomas added 12 points for Clemson, which will have to win two of its last three to finish over .500 for the first time in five seasons. The Lady Tigers are just a game out of last place in the ACC.

Tanae Davis-Cain scored 13 points and Harvin added 10 points and eight rebounds for Florida State.

The other big difference Thursday night came at the foul line. After missing four 3-pointers in the first five minutes, the Seminoles started pounding the ball inside, and Clemson couldn't stop fouling. Florida State shot 34 free throws to just 14 foul shots for the Lady Tigers, picking up 15 extra points from the line. At one point in the second half, Monroe was fouled by Thomas immediately after sinking a foul shot.

McKinney said her team was at fault for the big disparity.

"We want it to be easy, so we just reach and grab instead of move our feet," she said. "That's been a problem all year long."

Florida State finishes the season with Miami, Virginia and Wake Forest and has already beaten the Cavaliers and Hurricanes this season. Three wins, and the Seminoles win the league title outright. Two, and they can do no worse than share the league crown.

But Monroe said Florida State isn't concentrating on where it is now.

"We're not letting all the success we've been having get to our heads because once you get boastful, it slips from under you," Monroe said.

And Semrau has no plans to let her team see the ACC standings any time soon.

"After the season is over," the coach said, "we'll just tell them what seed they are in the tournament."

 
NO        NAME          GS MIN FGM FGA 3FGM 3FGA FTM FTA PTS   OREB DREB REB PF AST TO BLK STL
== ==================== == === === === ==== ==== === === ===   ==== ==== === == === == === ===
 2 Alysha Harvin         g  27   2   7    1    3   5   7  10      2    6   8  3   1  2   0   2
10 Mara Freshour         g  29   4   7    1    3   2   2  11      0    5   5  1   1  1   1   6
12 Courtney Ward         g  33   0   3    0    1   3   4   3      0    4   4  2   8  3   0   1
20 Tanae Davis-Cain      g  31   5  12    1    5   2   2  13      1    3   4  2   2  2   1   1
50 Jacinta Monroe        f  26   9  12    0    0   6  11  24      5    4   9  1   1  5   1   0
 1 Angel Gray               21   1   3    0    0   2   2   4      1    0   1  0   1  1   0   0
 4 Cayla Moore               8   1   3    0    0   0   0   2      1    0   1  1   0  1   0   1
 5 Christian Hunnicutt       6   0   1    0    0   0   0   0      0    0   0  2   1  2   0   0
22 Kayli Keough              2   0   0    0    0   0   0   0      0    1   1  1   0  0   0   0
54 Cierra Bravard           17   1   2    0    0   6   6   8      1    3   4  2   0  2   1   0
   Team                                                           1        1                  
                     =========================================================================
   FSU                   5 200  23  50    3   12  26  34  75     12   26  38 15  15 19   4  11
   Opp                     200  23  57    3   18   9  14  58     11   19  30 24  14 24   3  11


  1 2 Total
Florida State
35
40
75
Clemson
30
28
58

Florida State 59, Miami 58
02/22/2009, Tallahassee, Fla.

From the FSU Website, seminoles.com.

No. 11/12 FSU Women's Basketball Team Slip Past Miami, 59-58.

Junior forward Alysha Harvin's free throws in the final seconds wins it for the Seminoles.

TALLAHASSEE, FL - Trailing for more than 30 minutes, No. 11 Florida State was on the verge of relinquishing sole possession of the Atlantic Coast Conference lead league against 10th-place Miami on Sunday.

"It was tough from the get-go," Florida State junior center Jacinta Monroe said. "We didn't come out focused. We didn't have the energy."

What the Seminoles did have was enough resolve to overcome a 16-point deficit and a little good fortune in the waning seconds to escape with a 59-58 victory.

Monroe scored 14 of her team-high 16 points in the second half and Tanae Davis-Cain added 15 for the Seminoles, but it was Alysha Harvin who put Florida State within one victory of their first ACC title.

Harvin sank two free throws with 8.7 seconds remaining and the Seminoles (23-5, 11-1) withstood a desperation putback attempt by Miami's Shenise Johnson, after she missed a game-tying free-throw attempt, to prevail.

"We came out of that one by the skin of our teeth," Seminoles' coach Sue Semrau said, after the Seminoles won their 11th ACC game for the first time in school history. "That was a Miami team that fought their guts out. This game came down to who was going to make the last mistake. Fortunately, it wasn't us."

LaToya Cunningham led the Hurricanes (13-14, 2-10) with 20 points and Epiphany Woodson added 13.

Miami, which limited FSU to a season-low 19 points in the first and led by 14 at the half, rebuffed three go-ahead possessions by the Seminoles in the second half before finally relinquishing the lead. Courtney Ward tied the game at 57-57 by making the first of two free-throw attempts, before teammate Angel Gray came up with a steal as the Hurricanes tried to push the ball up the floor.

Hurricanes' junior Diane Barnes, thinking her team trailed, fouled Harvin away from the ball with 8.7 seconds to go.

Harvin calmly sank both free throws to give the Seminoles their first lead since the 10:33 mark in the first half.

"My heart was beating pretty fast, being that the game was on the line and I didn't want to disappoint my teammates and my coaches," Harvin said.

The Hurricanes earned a final reprieve when Davis-Cain fouled Johnson on a drive to the basket with 5.2 seconds to play. Johnson, an 85 percent free throw shooter, converted the first attempt but missed the second. Her follow attempt bounced off the rim and the horn sounded as the players scrambled on the floor for the loose ball.

"We did some silly things at the end of the game and that will cost you on the road," Miami coach Katie Meier said. "Our hearts are hurting right now."

The Hurricanes were coming off a gut-wrenching overtime loss at No. 23 Virginia on Thursday.

The Seminoles have won 14 of their last 15 games.

"We came out and played complacent and Miami slapped us in the face," said Davis Cain, after the Seminoles missed 25 of their first 31 shot attempts. "We didn't prove we need to be No. 1 in the ACC."

 
NO        NAME          GS MIN FGM FGA 3FGM 3FGA FTM FTA PTS   OREB DREB REB PF AST TO BLK STL
== ==================== == === === === ==== ==== === === ===   ==== ==== === == === == === ===
 2 Alysha Harvin         g  24   0   5    0    2   4   4   4      3    2   5  4   0  2   0   0
10 Mara Freshour         g  31   2   9    1    2   4   4   9      1    2   3  1   1  0   1   1
12 Courtney Ward         g  28   1   3    0    1   3   4   5      2    6   8  3   4  5   0   2
20 Tanae Davis-Cain      g  36   6  14    3    9   0   0  15      0    2   2  3   2  2   0   3
50 Jacinta Monroe        f  30   5  11    0    0   6  10  16      3    6   9  0   3  4   2   1
 1 Angel Gray               22   1   3    0    0   2   4   4      0    5   5  1   0  2   0   2
 4 Cayla Moore               5   0   1    0    0   0   2   0      1    2   3  1   0  0   0   0
 5 Christian Hunnicutt       2   0   2    0    0   0   0   0      0    1   1  0   0  1   0   0
54 Cierra Bravard           22   1   4    0    0   4   5   6      1    0   1  3   0  1   1   0
   Team                                                           3    2   5                  
                     =========================================================================
   FSU                   5 200  16  52    4   14  23  33  59     14   28  42 16  10 17   4   9
   Opp                     200  21  59    5   17  11  17  58     12   26  38 24  15 17   4   6


  1 2 Total
Miami
33
25
58
Florida State
19
40
59

Virginia 68, Florida State 63
02/24/2009, Tallahassee, Fla.

From the FSU Website, seminoles.com.

Florida State Falls to Virginia, 68-63.

The Seminoles will play at Wake Forest on Sunday.

TALLAHASSEE, FL - Lyndra Littles scored 17 of her 24 points in the second half and No. 21 Virginia rallied to upset No. 11 Florida State 68-63 on Tuesday night.

Littles scored six points over the final 2:19, capped by a pair of free throws with 21.3 seconds remaining as the Cavaliers (22-7, 8-5) knocked the Seminoles out of sole possession of first place in the Atlantic Coast Conference.

Florida State (23-6, 11-2), which led by as many as 11, didn't trail until Virginia guard Britnee Miller drove the baseline for a layup and a 57-56 lead with 3:26 remaining. The teams traded the lead on the next five possessions before Littles scored off a lob pass to put the Cavaliers in front to stay, 61-60.

Monica Wright scored 17 points and Aisha Mohammed added 15 for the Cavaliers.

Courtney Ward led the Seminoles with 18 points and Tanae Davis-Cain added 13.

 
NO        NAME          GS MIN FGM FGA 3FGM 3FGA FTM FTA PTS   OREB DREB REB PF AST TO BLK STL
== ==================== == === === === ==== ==== === === ===   ==== ==== === == === == === ===
 2 Alysha Harvin         g  25   1   8    0    1   1   2   3      0    4   4  2   0  3   0   6
10 Mara Freshour         g  33   3   8    2    4   1   2   9      1    4   5  1   1  1   0   1
12 Courtney Ward         g  32   6  11    4    5   2   2  18      1    3   4  3   5  6   0   0
20 Tanae Davis-Cain      g  33   5  12    1    5   2   2  13      0    1   1  3   0  3   2   2
50 Jacinta Monroe        f  27   3   8    0    0   0   0   6      1    5   6  2   1  1   4   1
 1 Angel Gray               18   1   4    0    0   2   2   4      1    0   1  1   4  1   0   0
 4 Cayla Moore               3   0   0    0    0   0   0   0      0    0   0  1   0  0   0   0
 5 Christian Hunnicutt       3   1   2    0    0   0   0   2      0    1   1  0   0  1   0   0
54 Cierra Bravard           26   3   5    0    0   2   2   8      3    2   5  2   0  0   5   0
   Team                                                           3    1   4                  
                     =========================================================================
   FSU                   5 200  23  58    7   15  10  12  63     10   21  31 15  11 16  11  10
   Opp                     200  24  65    4    8  16  18  68     20   25  45 16  13 15   3   7


  1 2 Total
Virginia
27
41
68
Florida State
36
27
63

Florida State 58, Wake Forest 47
03/01/2009, Winston-Salem, N.C.

From the FSU Website, seminoles.com.

Making History! FSU Earns First Ever Regular-Season Title With 58-47 Win at Wake Forest.

No. 11 Seminoles also finish undefeated on the road for the first time in program history.

WINSTON-SALEM, NC - There's a first time for everything and Sunday afternoon at Wake Forest, the No. 11 Florida State women's basketball team earned the first ever Atlantic Coast Conference regular-season title in school history by defeating the Demon Deacons 58-47.

The Seminoles (24-6, 12-2 ACC) also accomplished another program first. By defeating Wake Forest (18-10, 5-9), FSU finished undefeated on the road this season with a staggering mark of 10-0 in opponents' home gyms.

The victory also ties head coach Sue Semrau's career high for wins in a season with 24.

"It's a little ironic that Wendy Hampton, who was on my first team (at FSU), was here in the crowd tonight," Semrau said. "And I brought her into the locker room afterwards and asked her, 'Did you ever think you'd see this?' And she said, 'No way.' I'll tell you, we have come a long way and there's just been a lot of great people and players that have had the courage to say they want to go and do something special.

"And these players got the benefit from that."

That benefit is the best regular-season in program history but the Seminoles are far from being done. Florida State will now take a No. 2 seed into the ACC Tournament later this week and will face the winner of the Boston College-Miami game.

FSU's matchup with either one of these two programs will tip off at 6 p.m. on Friday in Greensboro, N.C. The Seminoles are 2-0 against Miami this season and 1-0 against Boston College.

"I think our kids are really focused on what they can do in the tournament," Semrau said. "They know how we are going to get prepared in this week of practice and that is getting better at doing all of the little things."

And Sunday's win helps propel the Seminoles into the conference tournament after a disappointing loss to No. 21 Virginia earlier in the week.

Junior forward Jacinta Monroe only mustered six points in that loss to the Cavaliers but bounced back in a big way against the Demon Deacons. The Fort Lauderdale native set the tone on both ends as posted the eighth double-double of the season and 16th of her career with game-highs in both points (21) and rebounds (10).

She also added two blocks.

Playing in her final regular-season game as a Seminole, senior guard Tanae Davis-Cain contributed to the winning effort with 11 points and tied her career high with nine rebounds.

Fellow senior Mara Freshour also added nine points, three assists and a game-high five steals.

"We are really excited about we have done," Monroe said. "But we know that we have to keep the ball rolling. We don't want to stop here."

For the game, FSU shot 35.3 percent from the field and 57.6 percent from the free-throw line. The Seminoles outrebounded Wake Forest 45-34.

FSU lead 27-20 at halftime.

 
NO        NAME          GS MIN FGM FGA 3FGM 3FGA FTM FTA PTS   OREB DREB REB PF AST TO BLK STL
== ==================== == === === === ==== ==== === === ===   ==== ==== === == === == === ===
 2 Alysha Harvin         g  23   1   6    0    3   2   4   4      2    3   5  2   1  1   0   2
10 Mara Freshour         g  35   4  10    1    3   0   0   9      0    1   1  0   3  3   0   5
12 Courtney Ward         g  30   0   4    0    2   2   4   2      0    3   3  2   4  3   0   1
20 Tanae Davis-Cain      g  32   3  10    2    7   3   4  11      1    8   9  3   2  5   1   3
50 Jacinta Monroe        f  26   7  12    0    0   7   9  21      5    5  10  1   0  5   2   1
 1 Angel Gray               13   1   1    0    0   0   2   2      1    1   2  4   1  0   0   0
 4 Cayla Moore               8   1   2    0    0   0   2   2      2    1   3  0   0  1   0   0
 5 Christian Hunnicutt      12   0   3    0    0   0   0   0      0    4   4  0   0  0   0   0
54 Cierra Bravard           21   1   3    0    0   5   8   7      1    3   4  4   2  5   1   0
   Team                                                           4        4                  
                     =========================================================================
   FSU                   5 200  18  51    3   15  19  33  58     16   29  45 16  13 23   4  12
   Opp                     200  20  55    4   16   3   9  47      9   25  34 24  11 21   1  10


  1 2 Total
Florida State
27
31
58
Wake Forest
20
27
47

Florida State 83, Boston College 71
03/06/2009, ACC, Greensboro, N.C.

From the FSU Website, seminoles.com.

No. 12 Seminoles Defeat Boston College, 83-71.

Florida State will face either No. 8 Duke, or sixth-seeded Virginia on Saturday.

GREENSBORO, NC - Tanae Davis-Cain and Mara Freshour scored 20 points each to lead No. 12 Florida State past Boston College 83-71 on Friday night in the quarterfinals of the Atlantic Coast Conference tournament.

Jacinta Monroe, Courtney Ward and Cierra Bravard added 10 points each for the second-seeded Seminoles (25-6), who advance to the ACC tournament semifinals for just the second time in school history, and the first since 2001.

Florida State will face either No. 8 Duke, the tournament's third seed, or sixth-seeded Virginia on Saturday.

Carolyn Swords scored 17 points, Mickel Picco 13 and Stefanie Murphy 11 for the seventh-seeded Eagles (20-11), who have not made it past the quarterfinals in the ACC tournament since joining the league four years ago.

While Boston College had an advantage on the boards with a 41-31 rebounding edge, the Seminoles more than made up for it by shooting 47.2 percent from the field, hitting 11 of 18 3-pointers and forcing the Eagles into 19 turnovers.

Florida State, which shot better than 53 percent from the field - including 6 of 8 on 3-pointers - in racing to a 17-point halftime lead.

The Seminoles - who claimed a share (with No. 4 Maryland) of their first ACC regular-season title earlier this week - pulled away from there, building their lead to 22 points midway through the second half. Florida State improved to 5-0 overall against Boston College.

The Eagles made a brief run early in the second half, opening with a 12-4 spurt to cut the Seminoles' lead to 49-37 on a Swords layup with 16:17 to play.

But Bravard broke the Florida State slump with her three-point play, Davis-Cain added a pair of 3-pointers and Courtney Ward added another 3 to push the Seminoles' lead back to 63-43 with 11:55 remaining.

Florida State then took its biggest lead at 73-51 on a Monroe jumper with 7:24 to play.

Boston College managed to stay close early in the first half, pulling within one point twice - the last at 12-11 on a Swords hook shot with 14:30 left - before the Seminoles broke loose with a 19-8 run to take command.

Alysha Harvin kicked off the run with a 3-pointer from the corner with 13:59 left, and Davis-Cain kicked in two more - including a 3 with 6:33 to play - to give Florida State a 31-19 lead.

The Seminoles led 42-25 at halftime on Ward's buzzer-beating 3-pointer.

 
NO        NAME          GS MIN FGM FGA 3FGM 3FGA FTM FTA PTS   OREB DREB REB PF AST TO BLK STL
== ==================== == === === === ==== ==== === === ===   ==== ==== === == === == === ===
 2 Alysha Harvin         g  24   1   9    1    3   0   0   3      0    2   2  3   0  4   0   2
10 Mara Freshour         g  29   6  10    4    6   4   4  20      1    2   3  2   1  2   0   1
12 Courtney Ward         g  29   3   4    2    2   2   6  10      1    3   4  2   6  1   0   1
20 Tanae Davis-Cain      g  28   7  14    4    7   2   2  20      2    1   3  2   1  1   0   3
50 Jacinta Monroe        f  25   2   6    0    0   6   6  10      1    5   6  2   1  1   2   1
 1 Angel Gray               24   1   1    0    0   2   4   4      1    1   2  3   3  1   0   1
 4 Cayla Moore              12   2   2    0    0   1   3   5      2    0   2  4   1  0   0   0
 5 Christian Hunnicutt      12   0   2    0    0   1   2   1      1    2   3  0   0  0   0   0
54 Cierra Bravard           17   3   5    0    0   4   5  10      1    1   2  4   0  2   1   0
   Team                                                           2    2   4                  
                     =========================================================================
   FSU                   5 200  25  53   11   18  22  32  83     12   19  31 22  13 12   3   9
   Opp                     200  24  62    7   17  16  27  71     21   20  41 27  14 19   3   3


  1 2 Total
Florida State
42
41
83
Boston College
25
46
71

Duke 75, Florida State 57
03/07/2009, ACC, Greensboro, N.C.

From the FSU Website, seminoles.com.

Florida State Falls to Duke, 75-57.

The Blue Devils move on to play Maryland.

GREENSBORO, NC - Jasmine Thomas scored 14 points to help No. 8 Duke beat No. 12 Florida State 75-57 in the semifinals of the Atlantic Coast Conference tournament Saturday.

Carrem Gay added 13 points for the third-seeded Blue Devils (26-4), who easily avenged a regular-season loss and reached Sunday's championship game for the second straight year. They will face No. 4 Maryland, the top seed, as they look for their first title since a run of five straight from 2000-04.

Tanae Davis-Cain had 14 points for the second-seeded Seminoles (25-7), who have lost 28 of the past 31 meetings in the series. Florida State had earned a share of the ACC's regular-season title for the first time in school history, but fell behind by double figures midway through the first half and never recovered.

It was Duke's second dominating performance in the tournament in as many days. In Friday's quarterfinals, the Blue Devils jumped to leads of 17-2, 27-6 and ultimately 40-15 in the first half of a 76-53 win against No. 24 Virginia. The first half Saturday didn't look much different, with Duke's defense shutting down the Seminoles early while its offense operated with easy efficiency.

Four players scored in double figures, while senior Abby Waner continued her recent outside shooting surge. She overcame a 1-for-15 shooting performance in her final home game to make the go-ahead 3 with 45.8 seconds left in overtime to beat North Carolina in last week's regular-season finale.

She followed that by hitting 4 of 6 shots from behind the arc against the Cavaliers, then went 3-for-4 on 3s against the Seminoles to finish with nine points.

uke shot 52 percent for the game, including 7-for-12 from 3-point range, and scored 14 second-chance points. It defense frustrated the Seminoles into 34 percent shooting and 15 turnovers, which Duke converted into 20 points.

Duke used an 18-2 run midway through the first half to blow the game open. Chante Black had seven during the spurt, which ended with Bridgette Mitchell's stickback for a 30-11 lead with 7:05 to play. Gay scored in the final minute of the half to make it 40-18 at the break.

That margin was more than enough. Though Florida State started the half with a 16-3 run that cut the deficit to nine, Duke scored on three straight possessions - including a 3 from Waner - to push the lead back to 50-34 on Gay's stickback with 14 minutes left.

The Seminoles got no closer than 13 points, with even their best offensive flurries amounting to little more than trading baskets as their defense was unable to get critical stops.

 
NO        NAME          GS MIN FGM FGA 3FGM 3FGA FTM FTA PTS   OREB DREB REB PF AST TO BLK STL
== ==================== == === === === ==== ==== === === ===   ==== ==== === == === == === ===
 2 Alysha Harvin         g  21   3   6    0    2   0   0   6      1    1   2  2   0  2   0   0
10 Mara Freshour         g  29   4   8    2    4   2   3  12      3    1   4  2   4  0   0   2
12 Courtney Ward         g  37   2   8    1    4   0   0   5      2    4   6  0   8  7   0   2
20 Tanae Davis-Cain      g  29   4  18    4   11   2   2  14      1    2   3  1   1  2   0   2
50 Jacinta Monroe        f  25   3   7    0    0   2   2   8      0    3   3  4   1  1   0   1
 1 Angel Gray               13   0   1    0    0   0   0   0      1    0   1  0   0  1   0   1
 4 Cayla Moore              13   0   2    0    0   0   0   0      1    0   1  3   0  0   1   1
 5 Christian Hunnicutt      14   1   3    0    1   2   2   4      0    1   1  1   0  0   0   0
22 Kayli Keough              2   0   1    0    1   0   2   0      0    0   0  0   0  0   0   0
54 Cierra Bravard           17   3   5    0    0   2   2   8      2    3   5  2   0  2   1   0
   Team                                                           4    1   5                  
                     =========================================================================
   FSU                   5 200  20  59    7   23  10  13  57     15   16  31 15  14 15   2   9
   Opp                     200  29  56    7   12  10  12  75     11   25  36 17  14 16   6   7


  1 2 Total
Florida State
18
39
57
Duke
40
35
75

Florida State 83, North Carolina A&T 71
03/21/2009, NCAA, Duluth, Ga.

From the FSU Website, seminoles.com.

Florida State Advances Past NC A&T, 83-71.

Alysha Harvin led the Seminoles with 18 points.

DULUTH, GA - Florida State was supposed to be too big for North Carolina A&T.

Instead, it was the Seminoles' depth that finally made the difference.

Alysha Harvin scored 18 points to lead five players in double figures and Florida State pulled away to beat North Carolina A&T 83-71 Saturday in the first round of the NCAA tournament.

Tanae Davis-Cain added 16 points for the third-seeded Seminoles (26-7), who will face Arizona State on Monday night. Arizona State beat Georgia 58-47.

North Carolina A&T (26-7) trailed only 51-48 about 7 minutes into the second half and finished with a 33-30 edge in rebounds. The Aggies, who appeared to tire in the second half, lacked the depth to keep up with Florida State.

Ta'Wuana Cook, a 5-foot-8 guard, had 19 points to lead the Aggies. Lamona Smalley had 14 and Jaleesa Sams and Amber Bland each added 13.

North Carolina A&T's No. 14 seed is the highest ever for a Mid-Eastern Athletic Conference school. The Aggies were a No. 16 seed in 1994, their only previous NCAA appearance, when they were overwhelmed in a 111-37 loss to Tennessee.

The Aggies showed early this would not be another lopsided loss.

Florida State led 40-31 at halftime and couldn't stretch the lead in the opening minutes of the second half. Instead, Brittanie Taylor-James' 3-pointer, followed by Smalley's basket with 13:28 remaining, cut the lead to 51-48.

Florida State answered with seven straight points, including a 3 by Harvin. The Seminoles pushed the advantage to double digits for good in the final 7 minutes.

Florida State needs to beat Arizona State Monday night to advance to the round of 16 for only the second time in school history. The Seminoles made it that far in 2007, then lost to LSU.

The No. 3 seed is the highest in Florida State's history.

Mara Freshour, who tied a school record by playing in the 130th game of her career, had 14 points for Florida State. Two 6-foot-4 players, Cierra Bravard and Jacinta Monroe, each had 11 points for the Seminoles.

 
NO        NAME          GS MIN FGM FGA 3FGM 3FGA FTM FTA PTS   OREB DREB REB PF AST TO BLK STL
== ==================== == === === === ==== ==== === === ===   ==== ==== === == === == === ===
 2 Alysha Harvin         g  25   8  15    2    4   0   0  18      1    2   3  3   4  2   0   1
10 Mara Freshour         g  32   6   9    2    3   0   0  14      0    4   4  1   8  1   0   0
12 Courtney Ward         g  28   1   3    1    2   2   2   5      0    0   0  1   7  2   0   0
20 Tanae Davis-Cain      g  26   6  12    4    9   0   0  16      0    3   3  1   1  2   0   1
50 Jacinta Monroe        f  20   4   5    0    0   3   4  11      0    4   4  3   0  1   3   2
 1 Angel Gray               18   0   1    0    0   2   2   2      1    1   2  1   0  4   0   2
 4 Cayla Moore              16   2   4    0    0   0   0   4      2    2   4  1   0  1   0   2
 5 Christian Hunnicutt      16   0   2    0    1   2   2   2      0    1   1  4   3  0   0   0
22 Kayli Keough              2   0   0    0    0   0   0   0      0    0   0  0   0  0   0   0
54 Cierra Bravard           17   5   5    0    0   1   2  11      1    4   5  4   0  4   2   0
   Team                                                           2    2   4                  
                     =========================================================================
   FSU                   5 200  32  56    9   19  10  12  83      7   23  30 19  23 17   5   8
   Opp                     200  25  60    5   12  16  22  71     15   18  33 14  11 15   1  12


  1 2 Total
Florida State
40
43
83
North Carolina A&T
31
40
71

Arizona State 63, Florida State 58
03/23/2009, NCAA, Duluth, Ga.

From the FSU Website, seminoles.com.

Florida State Falls to Arizona State in NCAA Second Round.

Mara Freshour led the Seminoles with 15 points

DULUTH, GA - Arizona State senior Briann January returned from an ankle injury to give her team a spark, and the Sun Devils beat Florida State 63-58 on Monday night to advance to the NCAA regional semifinals.

Danielle Orsillo's 3-pointer with 32 seconds remaining gave the Sun Devils a 57-54 lead.

Following Orsillo's 3, Mara Freshour missed a 3-point attempt for third-seeded Florida State with 22 seconds remaining. January, Kate Engelbrecht and Orsillo each added two free throws for the Sun Devils in the final 20 seconds to protect the lead.

Sixth-seeded Arizona State (25-8) will play the winner of Tuesday's Texas A&M-Minnesota game on Sunday in Trenton, N.J.

Sybil Dosty had 13 points and 9 rebounds and Engelbrecht had 12 points for the Sun Devils.

Freshour led Florida State (26-8) with 15 points. Courtney Ward added 12 points.

Ward's 3-pointer for Florida State with 1:40 left tied the game again at 54-54. After misses by January and Jacinta Monroe, Arizona State coach Charli Turner Thorne called a timeout with 45 seconds remaining to set up Orsillo's go-ahead 3-pointer.

Florida State took the lead with a 10-0 run late in the first half and pulled away again with eight straight points to lead 40-31 midway through the second half.

January, the two-time Pac-10 defensive player of the year, played only 8 minutes in the first half while picking up three fouls. The senior guard hit a 3-pointer 5 minutes into the second half but left shortly after colliding with Tanae Davis-Cain with 9:40 remaining.

January, who was limping after falling to the floor, had her right ankle taped and returned with 6:44 remaining and Florida State leading 44-39.

January's return seemed to spark the Sun Devils. Gabby Fage made two 3-pointers in a span of 40 seconds and January added another 3 with 5:03 remaining to tie the score at 48. January picked up her fourth foul about 15 seconds after her 3 but left the game for only about a minute.

January had 11 points, six assists and two steals in only 23 minutes.

Florida State led 24-20 at halftime despite going more than 8 minutes without scoring.

A steal and basket by Florida State's Alysha Harvin tied the game at 8-8 with 15:10 left in the first half. The Seminoles did not score again until Cierra Bravard's layup with 8:04 remaining.

Arizona State led 17-12 before the Seminoles scored 10 straight points, capped by Monroe's fastbreak layup, for a 22-17 lead.

 
NO        NAME          GS MIN FGM FGA 3FGM 3FGA FTM FTA PTS   OREB DREB REB PF AST TO BLK STL
== ==================== == === === === ==== ==== === === ===   ==== ==== === == === == === ===
 2 Alysha Harvin         g  23   3   8    1    4   1   2   8      2    0   2  3   2  2   0   3
10 Mara Freshour         g  37   4  11    0    2   7   7  15      0    5   5  2   0  0   0   1
12 Courtney Ward         g  29   5  10    2    5   0   0  12      1    7   8  3   5  4   0   0
20 Tanae Davis-Cain      g  20   0   8    0    3   2   2   2      0    3   3  4   2  1   0   1
50 Jacinta Monroe        f  29   5   9    0    0   1   4  11      1    4   5  1   0  1   3   0
 1 Angel Gray               20   0   0    0    0   0   0   0      1    0   1  2   1  3   0   1
 4 Cayla Moore               1   0   0    0    0   0   0   0      1    0   1  1   0  1   0   0
 5 Christian Hunnicutt      14   0   1    0    0   0   0   0      0    0   0  1   0  1   0   2
54 Cierra Bravard           27   4   5    0    0   2   2  10      2    3   5  3   0  1   1   2
   Team                                                                3   3                  
                     =========================================================================
   FSU                   5 200  21  52    3   14  13  17  58      8   25  33 20  10 14   4  10
   Opp                     200  22  53    8   17  11  18  63     11   25  36 12  16 14   4   5


  1 2 Total
Florida State
24
34
58
Arizona State
20
43
63