2019-20 Women's Basketball - Year In Review | |
| Coaching Staff Sue Semrau, Head Coach Melissa Bruner, Director of Operations JC Carter, Assistant Coach Will Cowen, Dir of Player Development Joy McCorvey, Assistant Coach, Recruiting Coordinator Dave Plettl, Strength and Conditioning Brooke Wyckoff, Associate Head Coach  Click here to see individual mug shots |
 |
London Clarkson, 6-2, F-C, Pflugerville, Tex.
Bianca Jackson, 5-11, G, Montgomery, Ala.
Sammie Puisis, 6-1, G-F, Mason, Ohio
Kiah GIllespie earns Associated Press All-America honors. March 19, 2020 TALLAHASSEE, Fla. - Florida State Women's Basketball redshirt senior forward Kiah Gillespie has been named a 2020 Associated Press Honorable Mention All-American,
announced on Thursday by the AP. The Meriden, Conn., native finished her second and final season with the Seminoles, yet earned All-America honors in both years played with FSU. Gillespie becomes
the sixth Seminole to earn All-America honors in multiple seasons, joining Sue Galkantas (1981 and 1983), Natasha Howard (2011 and 2014), Adut Bulgak (2015 and 2016), Leticia Romero (2015, 2016, 2017)
and Shakayla Thomas (2016, 2017, 2018). Gillespie led the Seminoles with 15.6 points, 8.7 rebounds and shot 45.1 percent (195-of-432) from the floor. She also went 70.7 percent (65-of-92) from the
free throw line and added nearly two assists per game (1.8). Had Florida State's NCAA postseason not gotten canceled due to COVID-19, Gillespie would have been well on her way to being the second
Seminole with multiple seasons of 500+ points. In 2018-19, Gillespie scored 533 total points. In 2019-20, still with NCAA play to go, she had 499 points. Gillespie would have joined Florida State
Athletics Hall of Famers Galkantas and Wanda Burns along with Thomas as Seminoles with multiple season of 500+ points scored. In her first playing season with Florida State, Gillespie became the
19th All-American in program history, earning honors from the Women's Basketball Coaches Association. March 23, 2020 TALLAHASSEE, Fla. - Florida State redshirt senior forward Kiah Gillespie picked up her second
All-America honor since the 2019-20 season ended. On Monday she was selected as an honorable-mention All-American by the United States Basketball Writers Association. The Meriden, Conn., native was
named an All-American last week by the Associated Press, with more organizations still announcing awards this week as well. She is also a Top 5 finalist for the Katrina McClain Award, which is given
to the nation's top power forward. In just two playing seasons with Florida State, Gillespie averaged 15.9 points, 9.0 rebounds and shot 43.8 percent from the floor. She tallied 25 career
double-doubles in just 65 career games played with FSU. Gillespie was also named to the All-ACC First Team for the second straight year, and was added to the ACC All-Tournament First Team after
helping FSU to the ACC Championship Game vs. NC State. In her outstanding senior year, the All-American finished with nine 20-point games, 15 10-rebound games as well as 12 double-doubles.
Gillespie also finished in the Top 10 in ACC play in scoring (15.6), rebounding (7.7), field goal percentage (44.2) and defensive rebounds (5.7). April 2, 2020 TALLAHASSEE, Fla. -
Florida State Women's Basketball's Kiah Gillespie and Nicki Ekhomu were honored on Thursday as part of the Women's Basketball Coaches Association's honorable mention All-Americans, announced by the
organization. The selections mark the ninth time in program history that Florida State has had two or more All-Americans in a single season. It also happened in 1983, 1991, 1993, 2011, 2015, 2016,
2017 and 2018. It last occurred when FSU Alumna Shakayla Thomas and Imani Wright earned All-America honors in 2018. Ekhomu, a Bolingbrook, Ill., native, caps her career with her first All-America
selection. She has emerged as a potential pick in the WNBA Draft after becoming one of the ACC's best point guards. This past season, she finished in the Top 7 in ACC play in scoring (16.0), field
goal percentage (46.3), assists (5.1) and assist/turnover ratio (1.88). The versatile player became just the fourth Seminole to amass 1,000+ points, 300+ assists and 100+ 3s (joins Courtney Ward,
Leticia Romero, April Traylor) in a career. She is only the 12th Seminole with 1,400 career points, finishing with 1,414. Gillespie earns her third post-season All-America honor in 2020, adding
Thursday's selection to her honors from the Associated Press and the United States Basketball Writers Association. She tied for the second-fastest Seminole ever to score 1,000 career points, doing it
in just 64 career games at FSU. The Meriden, Conn., native proved to be at her best against big-time competition, which could play very well for her at the next level. In 2019-20, she averaged 21.0
points, 10.3 rebounds, 52.6 percent shooting (61-116) and 41.9 percent from downtown (18-43) in eight AP Top 25 games.
2019-20 Roster - By Name
L
T PY
R No Name Pos Hgt Cl Ltr Hometown (Prior School)
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
* 1 River Baldwin C 6-5 Fr Andalusia, Ala. (Pleasant Home)
* 4 Amaya Brown G 5-11 So * Albuquerque, N.Mex. (Cibola)
* 34 London Clarkson F-C 6-2 Fr Pflugerville, Tex. (Pflugerville)
* 12 Nicki Ekhomu G 5-9 Sr *** Bolingbrook, Ill. (Joliet Catholic Academy)
* 15 Kiah Gillespie F 6-2 Sr-R * Meriden, Conn. (Capital Prep/Maryland)
0 Bianca Jackson G 5-11 So-R Montgomery, Ala. (Brewbaker Tech Magnet/South Carolina)
* 24 Morgan Jones G 6-2 So * Jonesboro, Ga. (Our Lady of Mercy)
3 Sayawni Lassiter G 5-10 So-R * Dorchester, Mass. (Newton North)
11 Iho Lopez F 6-2 Jr-R * Blanes, Spain (IMG Academy)
* 32 Valencia Myers F 6-3 So * Solon, Ohio (Solon)
33 Izabela Nicoletti G 5-10 So Sao Paulo, Brazil (Neuse Christian Academy)
* 2 Sammie Puisis G-F 6-1 Fr Mason, Ohio (William Mason)
* 10 Kourtney Weber G 5-10 So * New Orleans, La. (Ursuline Academy)
31 Savannah Wilkinson G 6-0 Jr ** London, England (Barking Abbey)
* 13 Nausia Woolfolk G 5-9 Sr *** Fort Valley, Ga. (Peach County)
2019-20 Roster - By Number
L
T PY
R No Name Pos Hgt Cl Ltr Hometown (Prior School)
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
0 Bianca Jackson G 5-11 So-R Montgomery, Ala. (Brewbaker Tech Magnet/South Carolina)
* 1 River Baldwin C 6-5 Fr Andalusia, Ala. (Pleasant Home)
* 2 Sammie Puisis G-F 6-1 Fr Mason, Ohio (William Mason)
3 Sayawni Lassiter G 5-10 So-R * Dorchester, Mass. (Newton North)
* 4 Amaya Brown G 5-11 So * Albuquerque, N.Mex. (Cibola)
* 10 Kourtney Weber G 5-10 So * New Orleans, La. (Ursuline Academy)
11 Iho Lopez F 6-2 Jr-R * Blanes, Spain (IMG Academy)
* 12 Nicki Ekhomu G 5-9 Sr *** Bolingbrook, Ill. (Joliet Catholic Academy)
* 13 Nausia Woolfolk G 5-9 Sr *** Fort Valley, Ga. (Peach County)
* 15 Kiah Gillespie F 6-2 Sr-R * Meriden, Conn. (Capital Prep/Maryland)
* 24 Morgan Jones G 6-2 So * Jonesboro, Ga. (Our Lady of Mercy)
31 Savannah Wilkinson G 6-0 Jr ** London, England (Barking Abbey)
* 32 Valencia Myers F 6-3 So * Solon, Ohio (Solon)
33 Izabela Nicoletti G 5-10 So Sao Paulo, Brazil (Neuse Christian Academy)
* 34 London Clarkson F-C 6-2 Fr Pflugerville, Tex. (Pflugerville)
From the FSU Website, seminoles.com.
The redshirt senior forward becomes the sixth Seminole to earn multiple All-America
honors.
Gillespie selected as USBWA All-American.
Redshirt senior forward Kiah
Gillespie earns her second All-America honor so far following the 2019-20 season.
Two Seminoles named WBCA
All-Americans.
Nicki Ekhomu and Kiah Gillespie are selected as honorable mention All-Americans by the Women's Basketball Coaches Association.
2019-20 Conference Awards
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Nicki Ekhomu Atlantic Coast Conference - All-Conference - 1st Team
Atlantic Coast Conference - All-Tournament Team - 2nd Team
Kiah Gillespie Atlantic Coast Conference - All-Conference - 1st Team
Atlantic Coast Conference - All-Tournament Team - 1st Team
Nausia Woolfolk Atlantic Coast Conference - All-Tournament Team - 1st Team
All-Conference - 3
2019-20 All-Americans
Name Organization
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Nicki Ekhomu Women's Basketball Coaches Association - All-American - Honorable Mention
Kiah Gillespie Associated Press - All-American - Honorable Mention
US Basketball Writers Association - All-American - Honorable Mention
Women's Basketball Coaches Association - All-American - Honorable Mention
All-Americans - 2
2019-20 Schedules and Results
GAME |
SCORE |
||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Charleston Southern | |||||
| Louisiana State | |||||
| Jacksonville | |||||
| Samford | |||||
| Illinois-Chicago | |||||
| Florida | |||||
| Texas A&M Fort Worth, Tex. |
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| Michigan State ACC/Big 10 Challenge |
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| Clemson | |||||
| Saint John's | |||||
| North Florida | |||||
| Michigan Uncasville, Conn. |
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| Virginia Tech | |||||
| Syracuse OT |
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| Miami | |||||
| Georgia Tech | |||||
| North Carolina | |||||
| North Carolina State | |||||
| Wake Forest | |||||
| Miami | |||||
| Boston College | |||||
| Pittsburgh | |||||
| Louisville | |||||
| Virginia | |||||
| Duke | |||||
| Wake Forest | |||||
| Georgia Tech | |||||
| Clemson | |||||
| Notre Dame | |||||
| Wake Forest ACC, Greensboro, N.C. |
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| Louisville ACC, Greensboro, N.C. |
|||||
| North Carolina State ACC Championship, Greensboro, N.C. |
EOY StatsRef Overall Home Away Neutral ------------------------------------------------ FSU record is 24- 8 12- 3 8- 4 4- 1 vs ACC 11- 7 6- 3 5- 4 0- 0
2020 Atlantic Coast Conference Results 1 Louisville 16- 2 27- 4 2 North Carolina State 14- 4 28- 4 3 Duke 12- 6 18-12 4t Boston College 11- 7 20-12 4t Florida State 11- 7 24- 8 4t Virginia Tech 11- 7 21- 9 7 Georgia Tech 10- 8 20-11 8 Syracuse 9- 9 16-14 9t Notre Dame 8-10 13-17 9t Virginia 8-10 13-17 11t Miami 7-11 15-15 11t North Carolina 7-11 16-14 11t Wake Forest 7-11 16-16 14 Clemson 3-15 8-23 15 Pittsburgh 1-17 5-26
2020 CONFERENCE TOURNAMENT, Greensboro, NC Date Score Comments ========== ================================================== ================================== 03/04/2020 (13)Wake Forest 83, (12)North Carolina 73 Round 1 03/04/2020 (15)Pittsburgh 67, (10)Notre Dame 65 Round 1 03/04/2020 (14)Clemson 71, (11)Miami 56 Round 1 03/05/2020 (13)Wake Forest 58, (5)Virginia Tech 55 Round 2 03/05/2020 (8)Syracuse 67, (9)Virginia 50 Round 2 03/05/2020 (7)Georgia Tech 68, (15)Pittsburgh 58 Round 2 03/05/2020 (6)Boston College 85, (14)Clemson 73 Round 2 03/06/2020 (4)Florida State 76, (13)Wake Forest 47 Round 3 03/06/2020 (1)Louisville 71, (8)Syracuse 46 Round 3 03/06/2020 (2)North Carolina State 57, (7)Georgia Tech 48 Round 3 03/06/2020 (6)Boston College 84, (3)Duke 77 Round 3 03/07/2020 (4)Florida State 62, (1)Louisville 60 Round 4 03/07/2020 (2)North Carolina State 82, (6)Boston College 75 Round 4 03/08/2020 (2)North Carolina State 71, (4)Florida State 66 Round 5
2019-20 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 =================================================================================================================================== Kiah Gillespie 32 32 1081 195 432 .451 44 145 .303 65 92 .707 499 15.6 73 206 279 8.7 58 0 57 60 16 19 Nicki Ekhomu 32 32 1090 168 390 .431 47 146 .322 94 125 .752 477 14.9 8 79 87 2.7 63 0 156 77 10 33 Nausia Woolfolk 31 30 1001 167 395 .423 42 133 .316 65 83 .783 441 14.2 54 106 160 5.2 72 1 85 76 11 47 Morgan Jones 32 29 629 83 150 .553 0 0 .000 20 37 .541 186 5.8 49 94 143 4.5 53 0 27 33 27 24 Valencia Myers 32 29 611 66 127 .520 0 1 .000 49 75 .653 181 5.7 44 108 152 4.8 89 2 25 63 27 14 River Baldwin 32 1 483 68 120 .567 0 0 .000 45 68 .662 181 5.7 37 79 116 3.6 59 1 12 35 31 14 Sammie Puisis 31 0 646 56 148 .378 49 123 .398 9 13 .692 170 5.5 29 41 70 2.3 26 0 25 16 0 18 Kourtney Weber 32 7 607 54 143 .378 22 59 .373 19 27 .704 149 4.7 36 48 84 2.6 51 0 32 46 9 19 London Clarkson 25 0 187 7 16 .438 0 0 .000 16 23 .696 30 1.2 15 21 36 1.4 22 0 9 9 3 3 Amaya Brown 13 0 77 2 8 .250 0 1 .000 3 5 .600 7 0.5 2 3 5 0.4 10 0 3 2 0 2 Savannah Wilkinson 2 0 12 0 1 .000 0 0 .000 0 0 .000 0 0.0 3 3 6 3.0 2 0 0 0 1 0 Team 70 58 128 0.0 4 ============================================================================================================== FSU 32 866 1930 .449 204 608 .336 385 548 .703 2321 72.5 420 846 1266 39.6 505 4 431 421 135 193 Opp 32 716 1887 .379 179 586 .305 313 458 .683 1924 60.1 361 688 1049 32.8 548 11 351 434 87 200
12/13 Florida State women's hoops wins big in opener.
Four Seminoles finish in double figures in 88-36 romp over Charleston Southern.
by Gianna Arantes
TALLAHASSEE, Fla. - In their season opener against Charleston Southern, Florida State Women's Basketball showcased why they were ranked 12th in the nation on the AP Top 25 Preseason poll, coming out strong with an 88-36 win over the Buccaneers for their fourth consecutive season-opening win. The triumph marked FSU's 100th non-conference victory since the 2011-12 season.
"Didn't know exactly what we were going to get tonight," FSU Head Coach Sue Semrau said. "Thought we sputtered a little bit when we were trying to figure out what kind of shots we wanted to take, but once we got in a rhythm defensively, things changed. I thought our bench was tremendous; they came in and gave us a ton of energy. It was a good opener for us."
The Seminoles (1-0) never trailed. The team opened up the scoring with a three-pointer from senior point guard Nicki Ekhomu, and took a lead that would not be challenged for the rest of the evening.
FSU closed out the first half on a 10-0 run, ending on four straight field goals with a Kourtney Weber buzzer-beating three-pointer to take a 41-22 lead.
The Seminoles broke away when they ended the third quarter on a 9-0 run, turning a 58-31 advantage into a 67-31 blowout. They ended the game on another explosive 17-0 run, putting the finishing touches on a 52-point edge in the victory.
An overall team effort propelled the Seminoles to their first win of the season, with four players in Kiah Gillespie (12), Ekhomu (18), Morgan Jones (14), and River Baldwin (13) all scoring in double digits.
Ekhomu, a 2019-20 Preseason All-ACC Team member, went 7-12 from the floor and 3-5 from downtown adding 18 points. She added five rebounds in the win.
"We just wanted to make a statement, wanted to win," Ekhomu said. "I think my teammates really helped me get open shots and I think we just did great as a team and our toughness showed."
Another Preseason All-ACC team selection in Gillespie demonstrated the strength of the Seminoles' dominant core by collecting her 14th career double-double at Florida State. She grabbed 10 rebounds, two assists, and went 6-10 from the floor to tack on 12 points.
Jones picked up 14 points, with six rebounds and a career-high four assists.
Baldwin made a strong debut dropping 13 points in 15 minutes, 21 seconds of action. The McDonald's All-American from Andalusia, Ala. also added four rebounds, three blocks and two steals.
Along with Baldwin, two of Florida State's true freshmen in Sammie Puisis, and London Clarkson made quality contributions. Puisis drained her first 3-pointer off the bench and added six points with an assist. Clarkson got her first point from the free throw line, adding four points with two rebounds. The trio combined to score 23 of 88 points for the Seminoles.
Kicking off the season on a high note, it was a career night for several other returning Seminoles. Sophomore forward Valencia Myers tied her career high in assists with three and added five rebounds. Senior guard Nausia Woolfolk recorded four assists and a career-high three blocks with just one turnover. Weber went 2-3 from three-point range, tied her career high in rebounds with five and set a career high in steals, adding two.
FSU held their opponent to two second-chance points while totaling 19 of their own.
The Seminole defense forced the Buccaneers into a sloppy performance, as CSU produced just five assists to 15 turnovers, compared to Florida State's 18 assists to 12 turnovers.
The team out-rebounded Charleston Southern 51-21, and held a sizeable advantage in the paint at 54-16.
"Yeah, I think having help on the post is really beneficial to us," Gillespie said. "I think Valencia Myers had a lot of the load last year being our sole five player, so I think having River Baldwin and London Clarkson come in and helping us be a post is very big for us,and I just think we're just so big with them two on the floor."
NO NAME GS MIN FGM FGA 3FGM 3FGA FTM FTA PTS OREB DREB REB PF AST TO BLK STL
== ==================== == === === === ==== ==== === === === ==== ==== === == === == === ===
10 Kourtney Weber g 26 3 7 2 3 0 0 8 4 1 5 1 2 6 0 2
12 Nicki Ekhomu g 24 7 12 3 5 1 1 18 0 5 5 2 1 2 1 1
13 Nausia Woolfolk g 27 3 9 0 2 0 0 6 0 3 3 2 4 1 3 1
15 Kiah Gillespie f 27 6 10 0 1 0 1 12 1 9 10 1 2 1 0 1
32 Valencia Myers f 19 1 3 0 0 5 8 7 3 2 5 1 3 1 0 0
1 River Baldwin 15 6 7 0 0 1 2 13 2 2 4 1 1 0 3 2
2 Sammie Puisis 21 2 7 2 6 0 0 6 0 0 0 1 1 1 0 0
24 Morgan Jones 19 7 10 0 0 0 1 14 3 3 6 2 4 0 1 1
31 Savannah Wilkinson 9 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 1 3 4 0 0 0 1 0
34 London Clarkson 13 1 1 0 0 2 4 4 1 1 2 1 0 0 0 0
Team 4 3 7
=========================================================================
FSU 5 200 36 66 7 17 9 17 88 19 32 51 12 18 12 9 8
Opp 200 13 51 4 13 6 8 36 4 17 21 11 5 15 1 7
| 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | Total | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Charleston Southern | |||||
| Florida State |
Ekhomu, Puisis lift No. 12 FSU past LSU 70-62.
Nicki Ekhomu recorded 21 points while Sammie Puisis buried four 3-point field goals in the
win.
BATON ROUGE, La. - Nicki Ekhomu scored 21 points, Sammie Puisis added 16, including four free throws in the last half minute, and No. 12 Florida State closed with an 8-0 run to defeat LSU 70-62 on Saturday.
Khayla Pointer, who led LSU with 22 points, hit a jumper and a 3-pointer, and Ayana Mitchell scored inside to tie the game at 62 with 3:33 to play. But from there the Tigers (1-1) missed their last six shots and had a turnover.
Nausia Woolfolk, who also scored 16 points for the Seminoles (2-0), ended a near 4-minute scoring drought with a basket in the lane with 1:19 to play. That was the last field goal of the game.
Ekhomu made two free throws with 39.8 seconds left to make it 66-62, and Puisis pushed the lead to six at 26.8 seconds. LSU's Jaelyn Richard-Harris was fouled on a 3-point attempt with 20 seconds to play but missed all three free throws. Puisis then iced the game, her final free throws providing the biggest lead of the game for either team.
FSU shot 45 percent, made six 3-pointers, was plus-10 rebounding and went 14 of 16 from the foul line but committed 17 turnovers. Puisis made all four of her shots, all from behind the arc, and her four free throws.
LSU, which won last year's matchup 58-45, shot 41 percent, only went 2 of 10 from distance and was 16 of 28 from the foul line.
NO NAME GS MIN FGM FGA 3FGM 3FGA FTM FTA PTS OREB DREB REB PF AST TO BLK STL
== ==================== == === === === ==== ==== === === === ==== ==== === == === == === ===
10 Kourtney Weber g 12 0 1 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 2 0 3 0 0
12 Nicki Ekhomu g 37 7 15 1 6 6 6 21 0 1 1 3 3 5 1 1
13 Nausia Woolfolk g 37 7 15 0 3 2 4 16 2 4 6 4 1 5 0 1
15 Kiah Gillespie f 39 4 12 1 4 0 0 9 6 5 11 2 2 1 1 0
32 Valencia Myers f 22 3 6 0 0 0 0 6 2 4 6 3 0 1 0 0
1 River Baldwin 10 0 1 0 0 2 2 2 0 2 2 2 0 1 2 0
2 Sammie Puisis 25 4 4 4 4 4 4 16 0 2 2 3 0 1 0 0
24 Morgan Jones 9 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 1 2 3 2 1 0 0 0
31 Savannah Wilkinson 3 0 1 0 0 0 0 0 2 0 2 2 0 0 0 0
34 London Clarkson 6 0 1 0 0 0 0 0 0 1 1 2 1 0 0 0
Team 2 4 6
=========================================================================
FSU 5 200 25 56 6 17 14 16 70 15 25 40 25 8 17 4 2
Opp 200 22 54 2 10 16 28 62 12 18 30 20 10 11 0 8
| 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | Total | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Florida State | |||||
| Louisiana State |
Woolfolk Leads Seminoles Past Dolphins.
Nausia Woolfolk's game-high 22 points helped No. 12 Florida State Women's Basketball to a 75-41 win over
Jacksonville.
By Gianna Arantes
TALLAHASSEE, Fla. - The No. 12 Florida State Women's Basketball team moves to a 3-0 start for the third consecutive season with a 75-41 victory over Jacksonville on Wednesday evening in the Donald L. Tucker Center. The triumph moves them to 9-0 in their all-time series record with the Dolphins.
"I thought we had a much better second half than the first half," FSU head coach Sue Semrau said. "I think Jacksonville did a good job of taking away our interior in the first half and we had to adjust. The kids came out in the second half and created some offense through their defense."
Jacksonville kept the game within reach through the first quarter by establishing an aggressive zone defense. FSU led by just eight points going into the second, finishing on a 6-0 run capped off with a steal and a buzzer-beating jumper by senior guard Nausia Woolfolk to create a 15-7 lead.
Woolfolk continued to dominate through the first half, kicking off the second quarter with a three-pointer for the 70th of her career. The team responded, overcoming their early shooting struggles to extend their lead to double-digits.
"I would say just like Coach (Sue) said about how we came out a little slow," Woolfolk added. "We just needed that boost of energy and once we got a steal that gave us a flow. When my teammates opened up the lane, that gave me the opportunity to score. That gave me the confidence to knock down shots."
A lot of back and forth action to begin the second half kept Florida State on their toes, but the team held on to a double-digit lead for the remainder of the game. They scored 25 points in the final quarter to solidify the victory.
Tonight's win was outlined by outstanding performances from the Seminole veterans. A trio of seniors in Woolfolk, Nicki Ekhomu and Kiah Gillespie combined to score 50 of FSU's 75 points.
Woolfolk, the player of the evening, carried the Seminoles to a 32-19 advantage at the end of the first half, scoring 14 points by the intermission and totaling 22 on the night for her eighth career 20-point game. She grabbed two rebounds, two assists, and five steals.
Point guard Nicki Ekhomu added 14 points to move her career total to 990, just 10 shy of becoming the 36th Seminole to reach the 1,000 mark. She picked up four rebounds and two assists.
Forward Kiah Gillespie, earned her second double-double of the season and her 15th at Florida State. She dropped 14 points and pulled down 10 rebounds, adding a block in the victory.
Right behind the senior leaders were the potent Seminole freshmen. Center River Baldwin tacked on nine points, pulled down a career-high five rebounds, and added three blocks in just 13 minutes, 27 seconds of action. Guard Sammie Puisis put up four points with a career-high three rebounds and an assist. London Clarkson added an assist.
Sophomore forward Valencia Myers added five points, six rebounds, two blocks and an assist. Sophomore guard Kourtney Weber picked up two rebounds and two assists.
Florida State's defense forced 24 total turnovers, while holding the Dolphins to 31.6 percent shooting and 23.5 percent from three-point range. FSU also got out in transition quite a bit, totaling 24 fast-break points.
The team out-rebounded JU 41-30, and held the advantage in the paint at 40-20.
The Seminoles as a whole shot 70 percent from the line, with Ekhomu (6 of 6) and Woolfolk (3 of 3) both perfect on the evening.
NO NAME GS MIN FGM FGA 3FGM 3FGA FTM FTA PTS OREB DREB REB PF AST TO BLK STL
== ==================== == === === === ==== ==== === === === ==== ==== === == === == === ===
10 Kourtney Weber g 24 0 3 0 0 1 2 1 0 2 2 0 2 1 0 0
12 Nicki Ekhomu g 29 4 11 0 3 6 6 14 1 6 7 0 4 2 0 2
13 Nausia Woolfolk g 30 9 14 1 1 3 3 22 1 1 2 2 2 7 0 5
15 Kiah Gillespie f 29 6 14 0 2 2 4 14 2 8 10 2 0 1 1 0
32 Valencia Myers f 22 2 4 0 0 1 2 5 1 5 6 2 1 2 2 0
1 River Baldwin 13 3 3 0 0 3 4 9 2 3 5 3 0 0 3 0
2 Sammie Puisis 20 1 4 1 3 1 2 4 1 2 3 2 1 0 0 0
24 Morgan Jones 17 2 2 0 0 2 4 6 1 1 2 1 2 1 0 2
34 London Clarkson 16 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 1 2 0 0
Team 2 2 4
=========================================================================
FSU 5 200 27 55 2 9 19 27 75 11 30 41 12 13 16 6 9
Opp 200 18 57 4 17 1 5 41 11 19 30 22 5 24 3 11
| 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | Total | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Jacksonville | |||||
| Florida State |
Woolfolk Leads No. 12 Noles Past Samford.
by Steve Stone
TALLAHASSEE, Fla. - Nausia Woolfolk hit four 3-pointers and scored 23 points and grabbed 12 rebounds to lead No. 12 Florida State to an 88-59 win over Samford on Sunday.
It is the second time in her career Woolfolk has had back-to-back 20-point games and her second career double-double, the first with points and rebounds.
All five starters were in double figures for the Seminoles (4-0) with Kiah Gillespie scoring 15 points. The other three starters each had 10, including Nicki Ekhomu, who surpassed 1,000 career points. All nine Seminoles scored.
Woolfolk scored the first five points of the game and raced to an 11-0 lead. Woolfolk closed the first quarter with a 3 to make it 21-11 and the lead was in double figures the rest of the game.
Sarah Myers and Natalie Armstrong had 12 points apiece for the Bulldogs (1-4), who were outscored by 12 at the foul line and outrebounded by 20.
NO NAME GS MIN FGM FGA 3FGM 3FGA FTM FTA PTS OREB DREB REB PF AST TO BLK STL
== ==================== == === === === ==== ==== === === === ==== ==== === == === == === ===
12 Nicki Ekhomu g 20 2 6 1 3 5 8 10 0 3 3 1 3 1 0 1
13 Nausia Woolfolk g 28 9 14 4 5 1 1 23 7 5 12 3 4 2 0 1
15 Kiah Gillespie f 29 6 15 2 7 1 2 15 1 3 4 0 2 2 0 0
24 Morgan Jones g 26 5 8 0 0 0 0 10 0 2 2 0 0 0 0 0
32 Valencia Myers f 17 1 3 0 0 8 8 10 1 2 3 3 0 1 0 0
1 River Baldwin 22 4 5 0 0 0 0 8 1 4 5 2 1 2 2 1
2 Sammie Puisis 23 2 6 1 3 1 2 6 2 2 4 3 2 0 0 1
10 Kourtney Weber 22 1 4 1 2 0 0 3 2 2 4 3 5 2 1 0
34 London Clarkson 13 1 1 0 0 1 1 3 4 2 6 3 0 3 0 1
=========================================================================
FSU 5 200 31 62 9 20 17 22 88 18 25 43 18 17 13 3 5
Opp 200 24 57 6 18 5 10 59 10 13 23 20 14 16 1 7
| 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | Total | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Samford | |||||
| Florida State |
NO. 12 Noles Roll Past UIC
Kiah Gillespie (16 points) and Kourtney Weber (16 points) lead Florida State to an 86-42 win in Chicago.
CHICAGO, Ill. - Kiah Gillespie and Kourtney Weber scored 16 points apiece and No. 12 Florida State made 14-3-pointers to roll to an 86-42 win over Illinois-Chicago on Saturday.
Nicki Ekhomu had 15 points in her homecoming game and Nausia Woolfolk added 13 points for the Seminoles (5-0). Weber tied her career high and Ekhomu, a native of Bolingbrook, Illinois, was playing in her first game since surpassing 1,000 for her career.
Gillespie had four 3-pointers to lead the way and Sammie Puisis hit two, giving the freshman a long-distance shot in the first five games of her career. That is the longest streak to start a career since Alexa Deluzio made a three in her first six games in 2009.
Sophomore Amaya Brown scored five points in her first game since being injured last January.
In addition to going 14 of 34 (41%) from 3-point range, the Seminoles were a plus-10 in rebounding and had 26 assists on 30 baskets and committed just nine turnovers.
Leading 15-11 after one quarter, FSU turned 11-straight points into an 18-3 run going into halftime for a 38-20 lead. The Seminoles scored the first five points of the third quarter and then went on a 17-1 run.
Tylah Lampey led the Flames (0-5) with 20 points on 8 of 14 shooting. Her teammates went 7 of 43.
NO NAME GS MIN FGM FGA 3FGM 3FGA FTM FTA PTS OREB DREB REB PF AST TO BLK STL
== ==================== == === === === ==== ==== === === === ==== ==== === == === == === ===
12 Nicki Ekhomu g 31 4 13 3 8 4 7 15 0 2 2 0 6 1 0 2
13 Nausia Woolfolk g 23 5 12 3 7 0 3 13 3 4 7 3 3 2 1 2
15 Kiah Gillespie f 25 6 13 4 8 0 0 16 0 6 6 0 3 0 0 1
24 Morgan Jones g 14 1 3 0 0 0 0 2 3 1 4 1 2 1 0 2
32 Valencia Myers f 20 2 2 0 0 3 6 7 3 4 7 4 1 3 3 0
1 River Baldwin 20 2 6 0 0 1 2 5 2 4 6 1 2 0 2 1
2 Sammie Puisis 24 2 9 2 8 0 0 6 2 3 5 1 4 0 0 1
4 Amaya Brown 8 2 3 0 0 1 1 5 0 0 0 1 0 0 0 0
10 Kourtney Weber 19 6 9 2 3 2 2 16 2 3 5 4 4 2 2 2
34 London Clarkson 16 0 0 0 0 1 2 1 0 4 4 0 1 0 0 0
Team 3 3
=========================================================================
FSU 5 200 30 70 14 34 12 23 86 15 34 49 15 26 9 8 11
Opp 200 15 57 3 13 9 16 42 10 29 39 19 8 19 2 7
| 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | Total | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Florida State | |||||
| Illinois-Chicago |
Noles Win Fourth Straight Over Gators.
GAINESVILLE, Fla. - Kiah Gillespie scored 17 points and matched her career high with 18 rebounds and No. 12 Florida State turned back rival Florida 66-55 on Tuesday night.
Nicki Ekhomu added 15 points and Valencia Myers 10 for the Seminoles, who secured the game with a late 8-0 run. Gillespie has 16 double-doubles in her two years with FSU, three this season.
Leading 58-52 with less than three minutes to play, Gillespie hit a jumper. Ekhomu followed with two baskets before Nausia Woolfolkâs layup with 25 seconds to play put the Seminoles on top 66-52. The Gators missed six straight shots and had a turnover before a late 3-pointer closed it out.
Ekhomu and Woolfolk are the first seniors to go undefeated in the rivalry. The Seminoles (6-0) have won 7 of the last eight. Coach Sue Semrau, after losing her first eight in the series, now has a 13-12 record against the Gators.
Florida (4-2) never led and trailed by as many as 11 in the first half but entered the fourth quarter only down two, 46-44. Gillespie hit a 3-pointer and a jumper to open the fourth quarter and the Gators never recovered.
Kiara Smith scored 15 points for Florida and Zada Williams and Ariel Johnson had 12 each with Williams grabbing 11 rebounds.
NO NAME GS MIN FGM FGA 3FGM 3FGA FTM FTA PTS OREB DREB REB PF AST TO BLK STL
== ==================== == === === === ==== ==== === === === ==== ==== === == === == === ===
12 Nicki Ekhomu g 38 6 12 1 4 2 4 15 1 3 4 2 5 0 0 2
13 Nausia Woolfolk g 37 4 13 1 3 0 0 9 2 4 6 0 2 0 0 1
15 Kiah Gillespie f 36 8 16 1 3 0 2 17 5 13 18 1 2 2 0 0
24 Morgan Jones g 12 3 7 0 0 0 2 6 2 0 2 2 0 2 0 0
32 Valencia Myers f 22 5 6 0 0 0 0 10 0 6 6 2 3 1 0 1
1 River Baldwin 18 3 6 0 0 1 2 7 2 2 4 2 0 0 2 0
2 Sammie Puisis 13 0 1 0 1 0 0 0 1 2 3 0 1 1 0 0
10 Kourtney Weber 22 1 5 0 2 0 0 2 2 0 2 1 1 1 1 1
34 London Clarkson 2 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 1 1 0 0 0
Team 2 2
=========================================================================
FSU 5 200 30 66 3 13 3 10 66 15 32 47 11 15 7 3 5
Opp 200 23 70 6 25 3 5 55 16 25 41 11 7 8 1 3
| 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | Total | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Florida State | |||||
| Florida |
No. 12 Noles Take Down Sixth-Ranked Texas A&M.
Florida State Women's Basketball wins convincingly, 80-58, over the Aggies at the Maggie Dixon
Classic.
by Steve Stone
FORT WORTH, Texas - Nausia Woolfolk scored a season-high 24 points, Kiah Gillespie added 22 points with nine rebounds and the 12th-ranked Florida State women led most of the way in an 80-58 victory over No. 6 Texas A&M on Sunday night.
The first meeting between the teams since the Seminoles won on the Aggies' home court in the second round of the 2016 NCAA Tournament came at TCU in the Maggie Dixon Classic, named for the late sister of Horned Frogs men's coach Jamie Dixon.
It's the second straight year TCU has hosted the event, in its 14th season. The previous year, coach Gary Blair and his Aggies were the hosts. Maggie Dixon died of heart arrhythmia in 2006. The first tournament in her honor was held later that year at Army, where she coached.
Chennedy Carter, the Southeastern Conference preseason player of the year, scored 20 points but had a rough shooting night. Carter missed all seven of her 3-point attempts, including a good look that could have pulled the Aggies (5-1) within four late in the third quarter. She was 8 of 22 from the field.
Gillespie was 5 of 6 from inside the 3-point line while going 3 of 10 outside the arc, but one of those 3s opened the second half and gave the Seminoles (7-0) their first double-digit lead at 43-32.
Florida State's 13-point lead in the third quarter was down to five late in the period before buckets late in the shot clock from Kourtney Weber and Nicki Ekhomu, a senior who had a career-high 12 assists and scored 15 points.
BIG PICTURE
Florida State: The Seminoles are off to a strong start defensively, coming off consecutive games of holding opponents to less than 33% shooting. They outscored the Aggies 19-6 in the fourth quarter and held them to 36% shooting in the second half.
Texas A&M: Since their best 3-point shooting game of the season, the Aggies have struggled from long range in three straight games. Texas A&M missed its first six shots beyond the arc and is 6 of 29 over the past three games. Carter is 1 of 13 in those games.
NO NAME GS MIN FGM FGA 3FGM 3FGA FTM FTA PTS OREB DREB REB PF AST TO BLK STL
== ==================== == === === === ==== ==== === === === ==== ==== === == === == === ===
12 Nicki Ekhomu g 36 6 14 1 5 2 2 15 0 4 4 1 12 3 0 1
13 Nausia Woolfolk g 33 9 15 2 4 4 4 24 2 4 6 3 5 5 0 2
15 Kiah Gillespie f 38 8 16 3 10 3 6 22 0 9 9 1 1 1 1 2
24 Morgan Jones g 12 1 1 0 0 0 0 2 1 1 2 1 1 2 0 2
32 Valencia Myers f 30 5 9 0 0 0 1 10 3 3 6 3 0 1 0 0
1 River Baldwin 6 1 2 0 0 0 0 2 1 0 1 3 0 2 0 0
2 Sammie Puisis 11 1 1 1 1 0 0 3 1 0 1 0 1 0 0 0
4 Amaya Brown 4 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 3 0 0 0 0
10 Kourtney Weber 24 1 2 0 1 0 0 2 1 3 4 2 1 1 0 0
34 London Clarkson 6 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 1 1 0
Team 2 1 3 1
=========================================================================
FSU 5 200 32 60 7 21 9 13 80 11 25 36 17 21 17 2 7
Opp 200 23 58 1 11 11 15 58 11 19 30 20 17 17 3 10
| 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | Total | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Florida State | |||||
| Texas A&M |
Noles Take Tough Path To Win Over No. 19 Spartans.
by Bob Thomas
TALLAHASSEE, Fla. - On a night when nothing came easy, No. 8 Florida State cashed in from the free throw line when it mattered most, pulling away to a 78-68 victory Thursday over No. 19 Michigan State.
The Noles converted their final 18 free throw attempts and limited the Spartans to just two field goals on their final 14 attempts. The net result was an eighth consecutive Big Ten/ACC Challenge victory for the Noles, who moved to 8-0 for the fourth time in coach Sue Semrau's 23 seasons at the helm.
"I'm just really proud of the way we responded after a big win on the road and after having three road games," said Semrau, whose team won 80-58 at No. 6 Texas A&M on Sunday. "Michigan State is a great team...they rattled us for a while. We hadn't seen that kind of defensive pressure. I thought we made some good adjustments in the second half.
"The kids battled. I'm just really proud of them."
Kiah Gillespie led the Noles with 24 points and 12 rebounds, while Nicki Ekhomu added 15 points. They combined for 21 of the team's 29 fourth quarter points - their highest quarter output of the season - to outscore the Spartans by 13 and seal the victory.
The Noles navigated a difficult path to their first back-to-back wins over Top-25 non-conference opponents since 1992. They overcame their lowest scoring quarter and largest deficit of the season after being outscored 19-9 by the Spartans in the second quarter.
Michigan State (6-2) opened up a 35-25 lead on Taryn McCutcheon's 3-pointer with 2:01 to play in the half. It was the eighth 3-pointer of the half for the Spartans, who were 8-of-18 from beyond the arc. It also turned out to be their final basket.
Spinning through the lane, Nausia Woolfolk's left-handed bank snapped FSU's nearly, six-minute scoring drought.with 1:40 remaining. Kourtney Webber closed out the half with a traditional three-point play, converting an offensive rebound and tacking on the free throw as the Noles went to the locker room trailing 35-30.
Woolfolk led the Noles with 11 points at the break, nine of which came in the first quarter as FSU opened up a 21-16 lead.
Semrau was not happy with her squads' inability to match the Spartans' toughness and defensive pressure in the first half.
"We didn't have any sense of urgency on the defensive end," Semrau said. "You lose a quarter 19-9. That's not who we are. They did a great job talking about it halftime; staying mature. The leadership, I thought, was very good."
While the senior trio of Gillespie, Ekhomu and Woolfolk provide the bulk of that leadership, to go along with their production (50 points, 26 rebounds), sophomore center Valencia Myers stepped to the fore midway through the third quarter.
"I'm considered one of the toughest players on the team," Myers said. "I'm also an energy player, so I know if I go on my runs - I'm playing stronger and playing aggressive - it's going to help the team tremendously. I got my head back right that's what happened."
Myers powered her way six straight points for the Noles over the final two minutes of the third quarter as FSU trimmed a seven-point deficit to 52-49 with a quarter to play.
From there the Noles' defense took control, contesting shots and dominating the glass. The Spartans were just 3-of-18 from 3-point range in the second half and the Noles held a commanding 46-30 rebounding advantage.
Michigan State's Nia Clouden (22 points) hit a pull-up jumper with 5:35 remaining for a 58-54 lead, but the Spartans missed their next nine field goal attempts over a five-minute stretch. A Gillespie putback pulled the Noles within one and a pair of Ekhomu free throws put FSU on top 59-58 with 3:42. It was the Noles' first lead since early in the second quarter and one they would not relinquish.
"We just picked up our energy and intensity," said Myers, who contributed a season-high 12 points. "We figured out ways to handle their pressure. We got the ball to our point people and we started making free throws. We got into more of a rhythm to finish the fourth."
And the Spartans.
NO NAME GS MIN FGM FGA 3FGM 3FGA FTM FTA PTS OREB DREB REB PF AST TO BLK STL
== ==================== == === === === ==== ==== === === === ==== ==== === == === == === ===
12 Nicki Ekhomu g 36 3 11 1 2 8 9 15 0 3 3 3 5 4 0 0
13 Nausia Woolfolk g 35 4 13 1 3 2 2 11 1 10 11 1 0 2 1 2
15 Kiah Gillespie f 39 6 10 2 4 10 12 24 2 10 12 3 2 4 0 0
24 Morgan Jones g 27 3 5 0 0 0 0 6 2 3 5 2 0 2 1 1
32 Valencia Myers f 24 3 7 0 1 6 6 12 0 4 4 3 2 3 0 0
1 River Baldwin 16 2 3 0 0 0 2 4 2 4 6 2 1 4 1 0
2 Sammie Puisis 12 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 1 0 0
10 Kourtney Weber 10 1 3 0 0 3 3 5 1 0 1 0 0 0 0 0
34 London Clarkson 1 0 0 0 0 1 2 1 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0
Team 4 4
=========================================================================
FSU 5 200 22 52 4 10 30 36 78 12 34 46 14 10 20 3 3
Opp 200 24 69 11 36 9 15 68 11 19 30 31 12 14 6 10
| 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | Total | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Michigan State | |||||
| Florida State |
Puisis, Gillespie lead No. 8 FSU to 81-64 win at Clemson.
Freshman Sammie Puisis and redshirt senior Kiah Gillespie each score 17 points to
highlight an ACC-opening win for the Seminoles.
CLEMSON, S.C. - Florida State coach Sue Semrau sees plenty of things to improve for her eighth-ranked Seminoles, no matter how polished and poised they looked in their Atlantic Coast Conference opener.
Florida State moved to 9-0 for the second time in three seasons in starting ACC play with an 81-64 victory over Clemson on Sunday.
Semrau's team had five players in double figures, headed up with 17 apiece from Sammie Puisis and Kiah Gillespie. It also got a double-double from 6-foot-5 freshman River Baldwin and took control right before halftime, eventually building a 20-point lead against a Clemson team that swept the Seminoles a season ago.
Still, Semrau was not happy with her team's rebounding early against the feisty Tigers (3-7, 0-1 ACC).
"I felt like we handled their pressure well but didn't rebound well" early on, Semrau said.
Florida State had 24 rebounds the first 20 minutes, just two more than Clemson.
When the Seminoles got more aggressive at chasing down the basketball the final two quarters, they were able to put away the Tigers. They outrebounded Clemson 41-35.
We kept them off the glass in the second half and that was the difference," the coach said.
Puisis, a freshman, had season bests in points and with five made 3-pointers. Baldwin, another freshman, had her career best with 10 rebounds and two of Florida State's three blocked shots.
Florida State was swept by Clemson last year and looked to be in for another tough game when the Tigers went up 33-30 late in the second quarter on Kaylee Sticker's 3-pointer. But Gillespie tied it and started a 7-2 run to the break for a 40-35 lead in the Atlantic Coast Conference opener for both teams.
Florida State took charge the rest of the way.
The Seminoles had five players in double figures. Besides Puisis and Gillespie, Baldwin had 12 points, Nicki Ekhomu had 11 points and seven assists and Nausia Woolfolk had 10 points.
Kendall Spray had 19 points off six 3-pointers to lead Clemson. Amari Robinson added 14 points for the Tigers.
BIG PICTURE
Florida State: The Seminoles have started fast and their streak includes a pair of Top 25 wins by early December for just the second time program history. Florida State topped Texas A&M and Michigan State, joining the 1990-91 team in accomplishing that feat.
Clemson: The Tigers have work ahead if they hope to match last year's turnaround debut season of coach Amanda Butler as they made the NCAA Tournament this past March for the first time in 17 years.
NO NAME GS MIN FGM FGA 3FGM 3FGA FTM FTA PTS OREB DREB REB PF AST TO BLK STL
== ==================== == === === === ==== ==== === === === ==== ==== === == === == === ===
12 Nicki Ekhomu g 32 4 9 1 4 2 2 11 0 4 4 1 7 2 0 1
13 Nausia Woolfolk g 30 3 13 0 5 4 4 10 3 2 5 3 5 2 0 2
15 Kiah Gillespie f 35 5 13 4 9 3 4 17 1 6 7 3 2 1 0 1
24 Morgan Jones g 22 3 6 0 0 0 0 6 2 2 4 1 1 1 0 1
32 Valencia Myers f 15 2 2 0 0 0 0 4 0 1 1 3 1 1 0 1
1 River Baldwin 20 4 4 0 0 4 5 12 3 7 10 4 0 3 2 0
2 Sammie Puisis 24 6 10 5 8 0 0 17 5 1 6 0 0 0 0 0
4 Amaya Brown 3 0 1 0 1 0 0 0 0 0 0 1 0 0 0 2
10 Kourtney Weber 13 1 6 0 2 0 0 2 1 0 1 1 1 3 0 1
34 London Clarkson 6 1 1 0 0 0 0 2 1 0 1 4 0 1 1 0
Team 2 2
=========================================================================
FSU 5 200 29 65 10 29 13 15 81 18 23 41 21 17 14 3 9
Opp 200 21 57 9 21 13 19 64 16 19 35 16 11 15 2 8
| 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | Total | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Florida State | |||||
| Clemson |
Woolfolk nets 25 in 74-70 win over St. John's.
Senior guard Nausia Woolfolk set a season high in points to help No. 8 Florida State take down the
Red Storm.
TALLAHASSEE, Fla. - Nausia Woolfolk scored a season-high 25 points, Kiah Gillespie had 13 points and 13 rebounds and No. 8 Florida State held off St. John's 74-70 on Sunday.
Nicki Ekhomu had 10 points for the Seminoles (10-0), who used an 18-2 run in the second quarter to take the lead and stayed in front the rest of the way.
Qadashah Hoppie scored 16 points and Alissa Alston came off the bench to contribute 15 for St. John's (6-4).
Florida State has started 10-0 for the second time in three seasons and the fourth time in program history. All of those 10-0 starts have come since 2004-05 under coach Sue Semrau, who is in her 23rd season as FSU's coach.
NO NAME GS MIN FGM FGA 3FGM 3FGA FTM FTA PTS OREB DREB REB PF AST TO BLK STL
== ==================== == === === === ==== ==== === === === ==== ==== === == === == === ===
12 Nicki Ekhomu g 34 4 9 2 4 0 0 10 1 0 1 3 2 0 0 2
13 Nausia Woolfolk g 38 10 18 1 3 4 5 25 1 3 4 2 2 5 0 4
15 Kiah Gillespie f 37 5 12 0 3 3 4 13 4 9 13 2 0 4 0 1
24 Morgan Jones g 13 1 4 0 0 0 0 2 2 1 3 3 0 0 0 0
32 Valencia Myers f 11 3 5 0 0 0 0 6 0 2 2 4 0 2 0 0
1 River Baldwin 20 1 3 0 0 3 4 5 3 2 5 1 1 3 0 0
2 Sammie Puisis 17 2 3 1 2 0 1 5 0 0 0 3 0 0 0 0
10 Kourtney Weber 28 1 5 1 2 3 4 6 2 2 4 1 0 3 0 3
34 London Clarkson 2 1 1 0 0 0 0 2 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0
Team 2 1 3
=========================================================================
FSU 5 200 28 60 5 14 13 18 74 15 20 35 19 5 17 0 10
Opp 200 24 51 8 18 14 15 70 7 19 26 18 10 18 1 4
| 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | Total | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Saint John's | |||||
| Florida State |
Baldwin's big night lifts Noles past UNF.
Freshman River Baldwin's season-high 19 points help No. 8 Florida State to a 70-41 win over the
Ospreys.
TALLAHASSEE, Fla. - Freshman center River Baldwin scored a season-best 19 points, Kiah Gillespie added 13 points and eight rebounds and No. 8 Florida State routed North Florida 70-41 on Wednesday night.
Florida State is 11-0 for the second time in school history. The school record for the best start is 12-0 in 2004-05.
Baldwin shot 8 of 10 from the floor and had eight rebounds and three steals in 20 minutes.
Jazz Bond had 14 points and Adrienne Jackson added 11 points for North Florida (5-6).
Florida State cruised to a 33-14 halftime lead, the fewest first-half points the Seminoles have allowed this season. The Seminoles held North Florida to 15-of-53 shooting from the floor.
Valencia Myers had a season-high nine rebounds for Florida State.
TAKEAWAYS
North Florida: Jackson and Bond provided most of the majority of the scoring punch. The rest of the Ospreys scored just 16 points.
Florida State: The Seminoles had 20 offensive rebounds, which generated 32 second-chance points.
NO NAME GS MIN FGM FGA 3FGM 3FGA FTM FTA PTS OREB DREB REB PF AST TO BLK STL
== ==================== == === === === ==== ==== === === === ==== ==== === == === == === ===
12 Nicki Ekhomu g 21 1 5 1 4 1 2 4 0 1 1 1 3 2 0 0
13 Nausia Woolfolk g 23 1 7 0 3 0 0 2 0 5 5 1 3 1 1 0
15 Kiah Gillespie f 23 5 11 1 5 2 2 13 3 5 8 0 1 1 0 0
24 Morgan Jones g 15 5 7 0 0 1 1 11 3 2 5 2 2 2 1 0
32 Valencia Myers f 17 3 3 0 0 0 0 6 1 8 9 1 0 4 0 0
1 River Baldwin 20 8 10 0 0 3 5 19 4 4 8 1 1 3 0 3
2 Sammie Puisis 26 2 8 2 8 0 0 6 0 3 3 0 0 0 0 2
4 Amaya Brown 15 0 1 0 0 0 0 0 0 1 1 2 1 1 0 0
10 Kourtney Weber 20 3 10 1 4 0 0 7 2 1 3 3 1 2 0 1
34 London Clarkson 20 0 4 0 0 2 2 2 4 3 7 1 2 0 0 0
Team 3 2 5
=========================================================================
FSU 5 200 28 66 5 24 9 12 70 20 35 55 12 14 16 2 6
Opp 200 15 53 6 28 5 9 41 6 18 24 13 4 13 2 4
| 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | Total | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| North Florida | |||||
| Florida State |
Gillespie's triple-double leads Noles past Michigan.
Florida State redshirt senior forward Kiah Gillespie has 14 points, 13 rebounds and 10 assists as No. 8 FSU defeats No. 24 Michigan 79-69.
UNCASVILLE, Conn. - Kiah Gillespie had quite the homecoming with her first career triple-double.
The Connecticut native had 14 points, 13 rebounds and 10 assists to lead No. 8 Florida State to a 79-69 win over No. 24 Michigan on Sunday in the Hall of Fame Women's Basketball Showcase.
She got her final assist with a pass to Nausia Woolfolk, who scored just before the buzzer.
"I knew I had eight (assists) with four minutes left," Gillespie said. "I'm so happy my teammates were there to help me get it."
Gillespie said she had about 100 friends and relatives at the game. She got most of her teammates' ticket allotment, and her family bought the remaining few that were needed.
She grew up about 45 minutes from Mohegan Sun Arena and the team went to her high school Friday. They had dinner there with her family and friends.
"We set up this game for her to play near her home," Florida State coach Sue Semrau said. "Pretty special way for her to celebrate her return."
It was the third triple-double in school history with the last coming from Leticia Romero in 2015.
Woolfolk scored 21 points to lead the Seminoles.
Leading 54-52, Florida State went on an 8-0 run early in the fourth quarter to build a double-digit advantage. Taylor Robbins scored the next five points for Michigan to spark a 9-2 run that got the Wolverines within 64-61 with under four minutes left.
The teams traded baskets over the next few minutes before Florida State (12-0) had back-to-back hoops -- the second coming off a steal and basket by Woolfolk with 58 seconds left that made it 72-65.
The Wolverines (9-2) couldn't convert on the other end and Kiah Gillespie hit two free throws to seal the game.
Amy Dilk scored a career-high 26 points to lead the Wolverines. Her previous best was 18 as a freshman last year against Washington.
"She can do a little bit of everything," Michigan coach Kim Barnes Arico said. "She's starting to score more and that will help us in the conference season."
Robbins added 20 points for the Wolverines.
Florida State now has three wins over Top 25 teams this season, also beating then-No. 6 Texas A&M and 19th-ranked Michigan State. The Seminoles only had two victories over ranked opponents last year.
Both teams got off to slow starts with Michigan holding a three-point lead after the first quarter. Florida State took a four-point lead in the second quarter before the Wolverines rallied to go up 32-31 at the half when Dilk scored in the lane just before the buzzer. She had 11 points in the first half, making all five of her shots.
Confetti fell sporadically during the first quarter of the game from the Miss America pageant, which was held in the arena on Thursday night.
NO NAME GS MIN FGM FGA 3FGM 3FGA FTM FTA PTS OREB DREB REB PF AST TO BLK STL
== ==================== == === === === ==== ==== === === === ==== ==== === == === == === ===
12 Nicki Ekhomu g 38 3 14 1 1 2 3 9 0 1 1 2 4 4 1 0
13 Nausia Woolfolk g 31 8 13 2 5 3 3 21 0 3 3 3 1 0 0 2
15 Kiah Gillespie f 39 4 13 0 2 6 7 14 4 9 13 2 10 3 1 2
24 Morgan Jones g 19 3 8 0 0 1 2 7 4 4 8 2 1 1 2 1
32 Valencia Myers f 19 4 5 0 0 2 4 10 1 3 4 4 0 4 2 0
1 River Baldwin 18 4 5 0 0 4 4 12 1 1 2 2 0 1 1 1
2 Sammie Puisis 17 2 2 0 0 0 0 4 2 0 2 0 0 0 0 0
10 Kourtney Weber 17 1 3 0 1 0 0 2 0 4 4 1 0 0 0 0
34 London Clarkson 2 0 1 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0
Team 3 2 5 1
=========================================================================
FSU 5 200 29 64 3 9 18 23 79 15 27 42 16 16 14 7 6
Opp 200 27 64 3 17 12 15 69 10 23 33 22 9 13 4 5
| 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | Total | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Florida State | |||||
| Michigan |
History made! Noles win 13st straight.
Florida State Women's Hoops secures record win streak with 86-62 win over Virginia Tech.
TALLAHASSEE, Fla. - Florida State has become consistently good the past few decades under coach Sue Semrau. But no team in school history has opened 13-0 -- until this year.
Nausia Woolfolk scored 21 points, making 8 of 12 shots from the floor, and Nicki Ekhomu added eight assists as Florida State cruised to an 86-62 victory over Virginia Tech on Sunday.
Florida State last opened 12-0 in 2004-05.
"It's a great feeling to know that this team can accomplish things like that," said guard Morgan Jones, who had 11 points and eight rebounds. "We just want to keep it rolling."
The Seminoles have won 11 games by 10 or more points and look like a team that could keep the streak going, too. Florida State had five players in double figures and the team played well on the defensive end with eight steals and seven blocks.
"They want to share the load," Semrau said. "And that's been really amazing. Five players in double figures today. That's big. That's what I love."
Semrau smiled when discussing the team's balance -- efficient performances from seniors like Woolfolk, Ekhomu and Kiah Gillespie (10 points, three rebounds). But it was also contributions from freshmen like River Baldwin (10 points, nine rebounds) and Sammie Puisis (three 3-pointers) coming off the bench.
"Couldn't have had a better team to do it with," Semrau said. "These guys are fantastic."
The Seminoles begin the day as one of nine Division I unbeaten teams in women's basketball, and they also have a 2-0 start in the Atlantic Coast Conference.
Elizabeth Kitley and Dara Mabrey each scored 14 points for Virginia Tech (10-2, 0-1). Lydia Rivers had 11 points and eight rebounds for Virginia Tech, which made 25 of 69 (36.2%) from the floor.
Florida State used a 17-2 run late in the second period to pull away and take a 42-30 halftime lead. Woolfolk had 12 of her points after halftime as the Seminoles were never challenged the rest of the way.
The Seminoles came into the game 15th nationally with a 46.8 shooting percentage and continued that trend on Sunday, shooting 35 of 73 (47.9%) from the floor.
POLL IMPLICATIONS
The Seminoles keep making an argument to
move up but may not be able to with so many unbeaten teams in front of them.
SUCCESSFUL DECADE
Florida State went 247-87 in the 2010s, including three Elite Eight appearances (2010, 2015
and 2017). The Seminoles played in an NCAA Tournament in nine of 10 years.
MILESTONE ASSIST
Ekhomu began her career as a shooting guard before evolving into a point guard. She recorded
her 300th career assist in Sunday's win.
BIG PICTURE
Virginia Tech: The Hokies had just six bench points and couldn't keep pace with Florida State's depth.
Florida State: The Seminoles have typically struggled from 3-point range but made 8 of 27 shots from beyond the arc to pull away.
NO NAME GS MIN FGM FGA 3FGM 3FGA FTM FTA PTS OREB DREB REB PF AST TO BLK STL
== ==================== == === === === ==== ==== === === === ==== ==== === == === == === ===
12 Nicki Ekhomu g 33 6 12 2 4 2 2 16 0 2 2 0 8 0 1 1
13 Nausia Woolfolk g 30 8 12 3 5 2 2 21 2 1 3 0 2 1 0 3
15 Kiah Gillespie f 30 5 13 0 4 0 0 10 2 1 3 1 3 1 0 0
24 Morgan Jones g 17 5 7 0 0 1 1 11 1 7 8 3 1 1 2 1
32 Valencia Myers f 23 0 3 0 0 1 2 1 1 5 6 3 1 1 0 0
1 River Baldwin 22 5 10 0 0 0 1 10 2 7 9 1 1 0 3 1
2 Sammie Puisis 20 3 7 3 7 0 0 9 1 0 1 0 0 1 0 0
4 Amaya Brown 7 0 1 0 0 0 0 0 1 0 1 0 0 0 0 0
10 Kourtney Weber 13 1 6 0 3 0 1 2 1 2 3 2 0 1 1 0
34 London Clarkson 5 2 2 0 0 2 2 6 1 0 1 1 0 0 0 2
Team 5 5
=========================================================================
FSU 5 200 35 73 8 23 8 11 86 12 30 42 11 16 6 7 8
Opp 200 25 69 8 27 4 6 62 13 28 41 16 14 13 5 2
| 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | Total | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Virginia Tech | |||||
| Florida State |
Noles Suffer First Loss at the Buzzer.
A tip-in by Syracuse drops No. 8 Florida State in a 90-89 overtime loss.
SYRACUSE, N.Y. - Emily Engstler hit the winning layup at the overtime buzzer and Syracuse upset previously unbeaten No. 8 Florida State 90-89 on Thursday night.
Engstler's basket came off an inbound pass from Teisha Hyman. It answered a score by FSU's Kiah Gallespie that put the Seminoles up 89-88 with sixth-tenths of a second left.
Lewis paced the Orange (7-6, 1-1 Atlantic Coast Conference) with 21 points and Gabrielle Cooper added 14. Engstler and Digna Strautmane each had 12 for the Orange.
Gillispie led the Seminoles (13-1, 2-1) with 27 points and Nausia Woolfolk had 19.
Strautmane sent the game to overtime with a 3-pointer with 3 seconds left. Her shot from the top of the key tied it 81-all. The shot was Strautmane's second 3 in the final minute, after Syracuse had missed 14 straight from long range.
BIG PICTURE
Florida State: FSU's 13 consecutive wins to start the season was a program record. ... The Seminoles were trying to get off to their first 3-0 start in ACC play since the 2008-09 season, which was the first of two consecutive seasons when they won co-ACC regular-season titles.
Syracuse: Florida State was the fourth straight nationally ranked opponent for the Orange. Syracuse faced six ranked opponents before the turn of the calendar on Jan. 1, a program record.
NO NAME GS MIN FGM FGA 3FGM 3FGA FTM FTA PTS OREB DREB REB PF AST TO BLK STL
== ==================== == === === === ==== ==== === === === ==== ==== === == === == === ===
12 Nicki Ekhomu g 42 5 11 2 6 5 5 17 0 3 3 3 7 5 1 1
13 Nausia Woolfolk g 41 8 16 0 3 3 3 19 1 5 6 3 2 2 0 2
15 Kiah Gillespie f 43 10 23 2 4 5 8 27 5 7 12 4 3 2 2 1
24 Morgan Jones g 14 1 1 0 0 2 4 4 0 3 3 0 0 1 0 0
32 Valencia Myers f 18 0 3 0 0 4 10 4 3 5 8 5 0 1 0 1
1 River Baldwin 16 2 4 0 0 1 2 5 0 2 2 1 0 1 1 0
2 Sammie Puisis 29 3 7 3 6 2 2 11 1 2 3 0 1 0 0 0
4 Amaya Brown 2 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0
10 Kourtney Weber 7 0 1 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 3 0 0 0 0
34 London Clarkson 13 0 0 0 0 2 4 2 0 2 2 1 0 0 0 0
Team 3 5 8
=========================================================================
FSU 5 225 29 66 7 19 24 38 89 13 34 47 20 13 12 4 5
Opp 225 32 79 8 33 18 22 90 15 32 47 28 17 11 10 4
| 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | OT | Total | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Florida State | ||||||
| Syracuse |
Gillespie leads No. 8 'Noles past No. 23 'Canes.
Kiah Gillespie's 21 points propel Florida State Women's Hoops to a 73-62 road win at
Miami.
CORAL GABLES, Fla. - Florida State quickly shook off the possible carryover effect from its first loss of the season.
Kiah Gillespie scored 21 points to lead the No. 8 Seminoles to a 73-62 victory over No. 23 Miami on Sunday.
Gillespie shot 8 of 11 from the field as the Seminoles (14-1, 3-1 Atlantic Coast Conference) rebounded from their loss Thursday at Syracuse. The Orange defeated Florida State on a buzzer-beating shot, 90-89.
"The mood was pretty much short-term memory," Gillespie said. "Even after the shot went in, I just told myself I have to let this game go. By drawing on it and being upset about it isn't going to change anything. It was one tough loss.
"I couldn't let that weigh on my conscience. (The shot) was everywhere. Social media cleanliness and just move on to the next game."
Morgan Jones scored a season-high 16 points and Nicki Ekhomu finished with 15 points for Florida State. Nausia Woolfolk was the Seminoles' fourth scorer in double figures with 11 points.
"You get to a point in winter break that it's time to get back into a routine," Florida State coach Sue Semrau said. "Going up to Syracuse, which is geographically at the top of the conference, and Miami, which is geographically at the bottom of the conference, I was pleased we came out with the win."
The Seminoles finished the first half on a 13-1 run. Ekhomu scored eight points during the spurt, and her 3-pointer with 12 seconds remaining gave Florida State a 39-26 lead at halftime.
The Hurricanes (9-5, 1-2) rallied from an 18-point third-quarter deficit and got within 54-47 on Brianna Jackson's layup with 8:42 remaining in the fourth quarter before Florida State responded with seven unanswered points.
Jones scored seven points in the final 2:43 as the Seminoles maintained their double-digit advantage.
"We still have a lot of room for improvement," Semrau said. "We've got some good scorers on our team. You look at Morgan Jones and what she was able to do today."
Miami center and preseason ACC Player of the Year Beatrice Mompremier missed the game because of a foot injury.
"We're on the ropes, we're missing players," Miami coach Katie Meier said. "In general, in terms of playing hard, they came through for me."
Mykea Gray scored 21 points for the Hurricanes.
WINNING TREND
The Seminoles have won 10 of their last 11 regular-season games against Miami. The Hurricanes' only victory during the stretch was a 64-54 home win on Feb. 24, 2019. In addition to the current streak, Florida State is 27-9 against the Hurricanes since 2004-05.
BIG PICTURE
Florida State: The Seminoles' dominance on the boards ended against Miami, which had a 36-33 rebounding edge. The Seminoles had outrebounded their first 14 opponents.
Miami: The Hurricanes are 0-3 in home games against nationally ranked teams. Miami lost 75-53 to No. 7 Oregon State on Nov. 29 and No. 14 Indiana beat the Hurricanes 58-45 on Dec. 4.
NO NAME GS MIN FGM FGA 3FGM 3FGA FTM FTA PTS OREB DREB REB PF AST TO BLK STL
== ==================== == === === === ==== ==== === === === ==== ==== === == === == === ===
12 Nicki Ekhomu g 32 4 6 2 2 5 6 15 0 1 1 2 6 2 0 0
13 Nausia Woolfolk g 35 3 10 1 1 4 6 11 3 5 8 4 5 3 1 3
15 Kiah Gillespie f 31 8 11 4 6 1 1 21 1 4 5 4 0 2 0 0
24 Morgan Jones g 30 5 7 0 0 6 8 16 1 3 4 0 0 3 0 2
32 Valencia Myers f 15 2 3 0 0 1 2 5 0 3 3 2 1 4 1 0
1 River Baldwin 13 0 1 0 0 2 4 2 0 2 2 1 0 1 0 0
2 Sammie Puisis 28 0 2 0 2 0 0 0 0 5 5 0 2 0 0 4
4 Amaya Brown 1 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 1 0 0
10 Kourtney Weber 13 0 3 0 1 1 2 1 0 1 1 0 0 4 0 1
34 London Clarkson 2 1 1 0 0 0 0 2 0 0 0 0 0 1 0 0
Team 2 2 4
=========================================================================
FSU 5 200 23 44 7 12 20 29 73 7 26 33 13 14 21 2 10
Opp 200 24 64 7 20 7 17 62 20 16 36 24 11 21 1 13
| 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | Total | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Florida State | |||||
| Miami |
No. 11 'Noles fall to Georgia Tech.
The Yellow Jackets forced 21 turnovers in the Seminoles' 67-52 home loss on Thursday.
by Steve Stone
TALLAHASSEE, Fla. - The 11th-ranked Florida State Women's Basketball team suffered a 67-52 loss to ACC foe Georgia Tech on Thursday night at the Donald L. Tucker Center. It is FSU's first home loss of the season.
The loss snapped the Seminoles' (14-2, 3-2) five-game winning streak over the Yellow Jackets (12-3, 3-1) in the series. Georgia Tech forced 21 Florida State turnovers and converted them into 20 points in what was the deciding category of the matchup.
"We got our butts kicked," FSU head coach Sue Semrau said. "Georgia Tech is a great defensive team and we didn't match it. A lot of times we've talked about the start and all of those things and unfortunately human nature is sometimes that you have to really get beat and they really beat us. Up at Syracuse I felt like we beat ourselves, but here Georgia Tech beat us. So, if we use this as fuel and a lesson then it will be worth it. If we don't, then it'll be a long season."
Georgia Tech guard Jasmine Carson scored a game-high 21 points on 7-of-18 shooting from the floor. Florida State's Nicki Ekhomu led the Seminoles with 16 points, going 6-of-10 from the floor.
Nausia Woolfolk became the 37th Seminole to record her 1,000th career point, accomplishing the feat on a pair of free throws in the first half. She joins Ekhomu as the active FSU players on the list, as Ekhomu reached the milestone on Nov. 17 against Samford.
"It just means a lot," Woolfolk said on her milestone. "Just knowing my hard work paid off and that my teammates had my back, because without them it wouldn't happen. Just knowing I came here, and I was dedicated, and I stayed in my lane and waited my time; that it paid off."
Woolfolk finished with 13 points and seven rebounds along with three assists. Playing well off the bench for FSU was sophomore Kourtney Weber, who chipped in with 10 points on 4-of-5 shooting.
Florida State's 21 turnovers tied its season high set last game against Miami. While Georgia Tech didn't shoot lights out but respectably at 44.1 percent (26-of-59), it was aided by several Seminole miscues that were turned into easy buckets. Conversely, FSU forced only nine turnovers for just six points.
"It's our second loss of the season so I don't worry about it becoming a trend," Semrau added. "The seniors are seasoned, and they will demand something tomorrow in practice. They know what the ACC's like. We don't have any juniors playing but for our sophomores and freshmen I think this is a wakeup call for them and we'll see how they respond."
The Yellow Jackets closed strong by out-scoring FSU 20-14 in the fourth quarter, shooting 63.6 percent (7-of-11) in the final period when FSU desperately tried to make a comeback. Igniting Georgia Tech was an off-balanced, long 3-pointer by Francesca Pan that beat the buzzer to end the third quarter, giving Georgia Tech a 47-38 lead.
FSU out-rebounded the Jackets 30-26, and has now out-rebounded its opponent in 15 of 16 games this season.
NO NAME GS MIN FGM FGA 3FGM 3FGA FTM FTA PTS OREB DREB REB PF AST TO BLK STL
== ==================== == === === === ==== ==== === === === ==== ==== === == === == === ===
12 Nicki Ekhomu g 40 6 10 1 3 3 4 16 0 3 3 2 3 5 0 1
13 Nausia Woolfolk g 38 3 11 1 4 6 8 13 1 6 7 3 3 3 1 1
15 Kiah Gillespie f 36 4 13 0 5 0 0 8 1 0 1 2 0 4 1 0
24 Morgan Jones g 17 1 1 0 0 0 2 2 0 3 3 2 0 3 1 0
32 Valencia Myers f 27 0 2 0 0 1 2 1 2 4 6 4 1 2 0 0
1 River Baldwin 6 1 2 0 0 0 0 2 0 2 2 3 0 2 0 0
2 Sammie Puisis 7 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 1 1 1 0 1 0 0
10 Kourtney Weber 21 4 5 2 3 0 0 10 1 3 4 1 0 1 0 0
34 London Clarkson 8 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0
Team 2 1 3
=========================================================================
FSU 5 200 19 44 4 15 10 16 52 7 23 30 18 7 21 3 2
Opp 200 26 59 5 16 10 12 67 9 17 26 16 8 9 1 7
| 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | Total | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Georgia Tech | |||||
| Florida State |
Woolfolk, Ekhomu lead No. 11 Florida State past Heels.
Nausia Woolfolk (21 points) and Nicki Ekhomu (20 points) have big games as the Seminoles
take down North Carolina, 78-64.
TALLAHASSEE, Fla. - Nausia Woolfolk scored 21 points, Nicki Ekhomu added 20 and No. 11 Florida State defeated North Carolina 78-64 on Sunday.
"I am really proud of my team," FSU head coach Sue Semrau said. "The staff has worked them really hard these last two days. We were disappointed with our defensive effort with the Georgia Tech game. We worked them really hard with the defensive end, held a pretty good shooting team (North Carolina) to 38 percent, and we still got work to do."
The Seminoles (15-2, 4-2) had a 14-1 run in the second quarter and led 40-33 at the half. The Tar Heels (12-4, 3-2) tied the game midway through the third quarter, but FSU closed with a 14-3 run, seven by Ekhomu, to take a 56-45 lead into the fourth quarter.
Florida State used a 9-0 run to push the lead to 17 early in the fourth quarter, but North Carolina answered with a 10-0 to cut the deficit to 65-58 at the midway point.
"We will certainly celebrate this one because ACC games are tough, tough to win," Semrau added. "It was important to take care of the basketball, the staff told the team that we wanted a 1:1 assist to turnover ratio, and to have 16 assists to 11 turnovers, that changed from what we have had the last couple of games."
The Tar Heels, who handed No. 9 North Carolina State its first loss on Thursday, got as close as six but missed their next six shots. Ekhomu scored seven straight points to push the lead back to 14.
Florida State shot 57% for the game and made 10 of 14 free throws in the fourth quarter.
Taylor Koenen hit a career-high six 3-pointers and scored 22 points for the Tar Heels (12-4, 3-2), who shot just 35% in the second half. Koenen topped 1,000 career points.
NO NAME GS MIN FGM FGA 3FGM 3FGA FTM FTA PTS OREB DREB REB PF AST TO BLK STL
== ==================== == === === === ==== ==== === === === ==== ==== === == === == === ===
12 Nicki Ekhomu g 32 7 10 1 3 5 7 20 0 0 0 4 4 2 0 1
13 Nausia Woolfolk g 35 7 13 1 4 6 8 21 0 5 5 1 4 4 2 2
15 Kiah Gillespie f 37 2 9 1 3 0 0 5 0 10 10 0 3 2 1 1
24 Morgan Jones g 21 3 4 0 0 0 0 6 2 3 5 1 0 0 2 0
32 Valencia Myers f 22 3 4 0 0 0 0 6 0 5 5 4 0 2 0 1
1 River Baldwin 22 2 4 0 0 3 4 7 0 2 2 2 0 0 0 0
2 Sammie Puisis 16 2 3 2 3 0 0 6 1 0 1 0 1 0 0 0
10 Kourtney Weber 15 3 4 1 2 0 1 7 0 1 1 1 0 0 0 0
Team 3 3
=========================================================================
FSU 5 200 29 51 6 15 14 20 78 6 26 32 13 12 10 5 5
Opp 200 26 68 10 25 2 4 64 13 16 29 16 16 11 1 6
| 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | Total | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| North Carolina | |||||
| Florida State |
No. 13 'Noles fall at Ninth-ranked NC State
Kiah Gillespie scores a game-high 22 points in the 68-51 loss at Reynolds Coliseum.
RALEIGH, N.C. - Elissa Cunane scored 20 points and grabbed 10 rebounds, and No. 9 North Carolina State beat No. 13 Florida State 68-51 on Thursday night.
Freshman guard Jakia Brown-Turner made three first-half 3-pointers and scored 11 of her 18 points before halftime as the Wolfpack (16-1, 5-1 ACC) got out to a 36-21 lead. Kayla Jones and Aislinn Konig each scored 10 points for N.C. State.
Kiah Gillespie scored 22 for Florida State (15-3, 4-3), but the Seminoles struggled against N.C. State's well-orchestrated defense and lost for the third time in their last five games. Nausia Woolfolk added 12 points for Florida State.
Cunane was 9 of 15 from the field, and with FSU having no post player to match her in size and skill, she recorded her 10th double-double. Cunane entered the game eighth nationally in double-doubles, seventh in field goal percentage (.634) and 17th in rebounds per game (10.6).
Cunane and Kayla Jones each made a pair of layups during a 15-2 run that gave N.C. State a 22-10 lead in the second minute of the second quarter. The Wolfpack led by double digits the rest of the way.
BIG PICTURE
Florida State: Losing three out of five after starting 13-0 is troublesome for a team that has high aspirations. The Seminoles won their first four games against ranked teams this season and need to find a way to revive an offense that has been unproductive in two of the last three games.
N.C. State: The Wolfpack has rebounded nicely after suffering its first loss of the season on Jan. 9 at North Carolina. Following up a blowout win Sunday at Notre Dame with a defeat of a ranked foe shows that the misstep at North Carolina last week didn't shake the Wolfpack's confidence.
NO NAME GS MIN FGM FGA 3FGM 3FGA FTM FTA PTS OREB DREB REB PF AST TO BLK STL
== ==================== == === === === ==== ==== === === === ==== ==== === == === == === ===
12 Nicki Ekhomu g 35 3 11 0 6 1 2 7 1 2 3 3 5 2 0 0
13 Nausia Woolfolk g 32 5 16 1 7 1 2 12 2 0 2 3 4 1 0 2
15 Kiah Gillespie f 35 9 15 2 5 2 4 22 0 5 5 2 0 0 1 1
24 Morgan Jones g 21 0 2 0 0 0 0 0 3 4 7 1 1 1 0 0
32 Valencia Myers f 19 1 6 0 0 0 0 2 1 4 5 1 1 0 4 1
1 River Baldwin 16 1 2 0 0 1 2 3 0 4 4 1 0 2 0 1
2 Sammie Puisis 10 0 1 0 1 0 0 0 1 0 1 1 0 0 0 1
4 Amaya Brown 6 0 0 0 0 0 2 0 1 1 2 0 0 0 0 0
10 Kourtney Weber 16 2 4 1 3 0 1 5 0 2 2 1 0 2 0 0
34 London Clarkson 10 0 1 0 0 0 0 0 0 2 2 2 0 0 0 0
Team 1 1 1
=========================================================================
FSU 5 200 21 58 4 22 5 13 51 10 24 34 15 11 9 5 6
Opp 200 27 59 7 21 7 10 68 9 29 38 10 17 10 6 4
| 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | Total | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Florida State | |||||
| North Carolina State |
Baldwin, Weber deliver down stretch in 70-65 win.
River Baldwin's game-sealing free throws and Kourtney Weber's big bucket lift the No. 14
Seminoles to a tough road win at Wake Forest.
By Bob Thomas
WINSTON-SALEM, N.C. - Florida State withstood a fierce second-half rally on the road and turned back Wake Forest 70-65 Thursday night at Lawrence Joel Coliseum.
Freshman River Baldwin capped a 12-point performance by draining five of six free throw attempts in the final 90 seconds to hold the Demon Deacons in bay as the 14th-ranked Seminoles improved to 16-3 and 5-3 in ACC play.
Kiah Gillespie and Nicki Ekhomu scored 14 points each to lead the Noles. Kourtney Weber, making her first start since early in the season, scored nine points while Nausia Woolfolk and Valencia Myers added eight each.
Weber's short baseline jumper with 35 seconds remaining gave the Noles a 67-61 lead, all but sealing the contest.
Wake Forest's Ivan Raca led all scorers with 27 points as the Demon Deacons slipped to 11-8 (4-4).
"We needed to play more aggressively and I just felt like the group that started was the most aggressive in practice," FSU coach Sue Semrau said. "We need to get back to that and making sure on the defensive end and rebounding we're doing the things we need to do."
The Noles won the battle of the boards 43-40 and held the Demon Deacons under 40 percent field goal shooting for the game. As an added bonus, the revised lineup gave Semrau ample firepower off the bench, and they delivered. FSU's reserves outscored their counterparts 23-4.
"This is a really good Wake Forest team," Semrau said. "We were tied with them in the ACC standings and we knew it was going to be a ballgame. I was really impressed with the way our energy started us out to get a 16-point lead going into the half.
"Now we just need to learn to put two halves together and play a 40-minute ballgame."
Florida State led by as many 18 points in the first half and took a 35-19 lead into the locker room. Ekhomu led the way with 14 points after knocking down her first four 3-point attempts, a single-game career high.
FSU's defense set the tone. The Demon Deacons missed 20 of 28 shot attempts and their 28.6 field goal percentage in the first half was the lowest of the season by an ACC opponent. Wake's 19 points were also the fewest first half points since UNF managed just 14 back on Dec. 18.
Noteworthy
NO NAME GS MIN FGM FGA 3FGM 3FGA FTM FTA PTS OREB DREB REB PF AST TO BLK STL
== ==================== == === === === ==== ==== === === === ==== ==== === == === == === ===
10 Kourtney Weber g 26 4 8 1 2 0 0 9 2 3 5 0 2 4 0 0
12 Nicki Ekhomu g 35 5 13 4 7 0 0 14 1 3 4 2 2 1 0 2
13 Nausia Woolfolk g 36 4 14 0 3 0 0 8 0 5 5 3 2 3 1 1
15 Kiah Gillespie f 33 5 12 1 3 3 3 14 2 6 8 2 3 0 0 2
24 Morgan Jones g 20 1 3 0 0 0 0 2 1 1 2 3 2 0 0 1
1 River Baldwin 16 3 5 0 0 6 8 12 2 3 5 2 0 2 2 0
2 Sammie Puisis 10 1 4 1 3 0 0 3 0 0 0 0 1 0 0 0
32 Valencia Myers 18 4 8 0 0 0 0 8 5 5 10 4 1 1 1 0
34 London Clarkson 6 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 1 0 1 1 0 0 1 0
Team 2 1 3
=========================================================================
FSU 5 200 27 67 7 18 9 11 70 16 27 43 17 13 11 5 6
Opp 200 25 65 2 12 13 16 65 14 26 40 11 14 9 2 7
| 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | Total | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Florida State | |||||
| Wake Forest |
Senior trio leads Noles to season sweep over Canes.
Nicki Ekhomu (19 points), Kiah Gillespie (18) and Nausia Woolfolk (15) help No. 14 Florida
State defeat Miami for the second time this season, 79-61.
TALLAHASSEE, Fla. - The No. 14 Florida State Women's Basketball team (17-3, 6-3 in ACC) took their sixth consecutive home victory over the rival Hurricanes (11-9, 3-6 in ACC) with a 79-61 win this Sunday afternoon at the Donald L. Tucker Center. The triumph marks the eighth time the program has won at least 17 of its first 20 games.
Led by redshirt senior forward Kiah Gillespie's nine points and three rebounds in the first quarter, Florida State established the pace of the game early with an eight-point lead.
"Yeah, this girl right here, man. It's just hard. Everybody in the ACC just wants to double her and take away her opportunities and so fortunately she's got great teammates who can score but she was four for four in the first half," FSU head coach Sue Semrau said of Gillespie. "We talked at halftime and we got to get her the ball, find ways to do it. They would switch out onto her and it just makes it tough.
"She found a way. She rebounded the ball and I've always loved seeing that. Just proud of our effort. Again, sometimes when you play a team the first time and you win down at their place, you think it's going to be easy and it's never easy when you are playing Miami. Credit to them. It was a big win for us."
The Hurricanes came back to tie the score at 22 in the second, but the Seminole offense responded by closing out the half on an 18-4 run. Senior point guard Nicki Ekhomu scored nine points during the spurt. Her 3-pointer with eight seconds remaining, followed by a made free throw gave Florida State a 40-26 advantage at the break.
The Seminoles held on to a double-digit lead for the entire second half. After a third quarter scoring drought that brought Miami within ten points, Florida State regrouped and came out of a timeout with a 5-0 scoring run. Forcing the Hurricanes into four turnovers in the third quarter alone, Ekhomu ended the period with a bucket at the buzzer to make it 59-42.
Turnovers also were an issue for the Seminoles as they gave the ball up 17 times, with eight of those coming in the final quarter. Miami took advantage and once again cut the lead to ten early in the fourth, but under pressure, the home team held on to outscore the in-state opponent 20-19 and solidify the eighteen-point victory.
Florida State turned ten Hurricane turnovers into 12 points, compared to Miami's 11 points off of the Seminoles' 17.
FSU shot 53.3 percent from the floor and 36.8 percent from beyond the arc, while holding Miami to just 36.9 percent shooting and 24 percent from the three-point line. They outrebounded the Hurricanes 39-to-27.
For the 11th time this season, three Seminoles seniors in Ekhomu (19), Gillespie (18) and Nausia Woolfolk (15) all scored in double figures to combine for 52 of FSU's 79 points. Ekhomu led the team in scoring and added four assists. With ten rebounds, Gillespie earned her eighth double-double of the season. Woolfolk tacked on five rebounds and five assists in the win.
"My teammates were finding me," Gillespie added. "They were seeing I had a mismatch in the paint and I just delivered on the offensive end by making layups. That was a specialty for me this game because I blew like three or four against Wake Forest. I was just trying to put the ball in the basket and take my time being poised on the block."
Off the bench, freshmen center River Baldwin (5) and guard Sammie Puisis (6) combined to add 11 points. Sophomore forward Valencia Myers totaled seven points and pulled down four rebounds.
NO NAME GS MIN FGM FGA 3FGM 3FGA FTM FTA PTS OREB DREB REB PF AST TO BLK STL
== ==================== == === === === ==== ==== === === === ==== ==== === == === == === ===
10 Kourtney Weber g 21 2 4 1 3 2 2 7 1 1 2 2 2 1 0 1
12 Nicki Ekhomu g 36 5 11 2 5 7 8 19 0 1 1 3 4 1 0 1
13 Nausia Woolfolk g 34 5 10 1 3 4 6 15 1 4 5 1 5 2 0 0
15 Kiah Gillespie f 37 8 9 1 2 1 1 18 2 8 10 1 2 8 0 1
24 Morgan Jones g 15 1 1 0 0 0 0 2 0 6 6 2 0 2 1 1
1 River Baldwin 19 1 3 0 0 3 6 5 0 2 2 3 2 0 0 0
2 Sammie Puisis 19 2 6 2 6 0 0 6 0 1 1 2 0 0 0 0
32 Valencia Myers 19 0 1 0 0 7 8 7 0 4 4 2 2 3 1 0
Team 2 6 8
=========================================================================
FSU 5 200 24 45 7 19 24 31 79 6 33 39 16 17 17 2 4
Opp 200 24 65 6 25 7 14 61 9 18 27 27 12 10 5 10
| 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | Total | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Miami | |||||
| Florida State |
Seminoles humbled in home loss to Boston College.
Florida State suffered its fourth loss in ACC play in 65-56 loss to the Eagles on Thursday
evening.
By Sports Information intern Gianna Arantes
TALLAHASSEE, Fla. - The No. 14 Florida State Women's Basketball team (17-4, 6-4) suffered a 65-56 loss to ACC foe Boston College (11-9, 4-5) on Thursday evening at the Donald L. Tucker Center. The team is now 6-4 in conference play this season.
The Seminoles opened the game with eight consecutive missed baskets - early shooting struggles foreshadowing an issue that would persist throughout the evening. The Eagles' staunch defensive presence inside forced Florida State into several miscues, and sent them scrambling for shots from the bonusphere. The three-pointer seemed to be FSU's Achilles' heel in the loss as they shot just 20 percent from beyond the arc (4-of-20).
FSU's struggles were also furthered by not having star guard Nausia Woolfolk, who sat out Thursday's game with an ankle injury.
Florida State struggled to guard the Eagles' senior forward Emma Guy in the post as she led Boston College in scoring with 21 points, adding five rebounds. Senior point guard Nicki Ekhomu led the Seminoles in scoring, going 7-of-20 from the floor with 15 of her 19 coming in the second half.
Florida State kept the game within reach, down by two, 29-27 at the break despite shooting 39.3 percent through the first half.
After trailing by as much as 12 in the third quarter, Ekhomu sparked a rally with three straight baskets to cut the deficit to seven points at 48-41. The Seminoles' comeback effort fell short as the Eagles outscored FSU 20-17 in the final period and ended the game on a 7-2 run.
Leading the team in scoring, Ekhomu (19) also added three rebounds and six assists. Redshirt senior forward Kiah Gillespie followed with 12, pulling down seven rebounds.
Sophomore guard Morgan Jones totaled ten points and six rebounds. Her classmate, forward Valencia Myers, tacked on six points and five rebounds. Off the bench freshman guard Sammie Puisis was 3-for-5 from three-point range, totaling nine points and five rebounds in the loss.
Boston College slightly out-rebounded the Seminoles 34-33, but the difference was in transition as the Eagles earned 15 fast break points compared to Florida State's two. BC was also more efficient in handling the ball, turning 13 Seminole turnovers into 13 points compared to Florida State's eight off of the Eagles' 12. FSU shot just 37.5 percent for the game.
NO NAME GS MIN FGM FGA 3FGM 3FGA FTM FTA PTS OREB DREB REB PF AST TO BLK STL
== ==================== == === === === ==== ==== === === === ==== ==== === == === == === ===
10 Kourtney Weber g 26 0 4 0 2 0 0 0 1 1 2 4 0 1 0 0
12 Nicki Ekhomu g 39 7 20 1 7 4 5 19 0 3 3 1 6 4 1 1
15 Kiah Gillespie f 37 6 18 0 6 0 0 12 2 5 7 3 3 1 0 1
24 Morgan Jones g 27 5 8 0 0 0 0 10 2 4 6 3 0 2 1 1
32 Valencia Myers f 21 3 5 0 0 0 0 6 1 4 5 1 1 5 2 4
1 River Baldwin 10 0 2 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 1 0 0 2 0
2 Sammie Puisis 33 3 6 3 5 0 0 9 3 2 5 2 1 0 0 0
4 Amaya Brown 4 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 1 1 0 0 0 0 0
34 London Clarkson 3 0 1 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 1 1 0 0 0
Team 1 3 4
=========================================================================
FSU 5 200 24 64 4 20 4 5 56 10 23 33 16 12 13 6 7
Opp 200 23 55 7 14 12 15 65 9 25 34 16 17 12 0 6
| 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | Total | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Boston College | |||||
| Florida State |
Ekhomu leads Seminoles to win at Pittsburgh.
Nicki Ekhomu scores a season high 25 points in a 25-point road win for No. 14 Florida State.
By FSU Sports Information intern Nathaniel Jarrett
PITTSBURGH, Pa. - The No. 14 ranked Florida State Seminoles (18-4, 7-4) celebrated a dominant 66-41 road win over the Pittsburgh Panthers (4-17, 1-9) Saturday afternoon at the Petersen Events Center. The 25-point margin of victory marked FSU's largest ACC win of the season.
Senior guard Nicki Ekhomu led the Seminoles in scoring for the second straight game with a season-high 25 points, marking the 12th 20-point game of her career. Coupled with three rebounds and four assists, Ekhomu's 11 made field goals tie a career high.
"I definitely took it upon myself. As far as being a point guard and being a senior and being one of the captains on the team, it definitely starts with me," Ekhomu said. "We had a lot of talks with the coaches, and (Coach Sue) told me I needed to choose. And I chose to be a leader, and I chose to come out and be aggressive."
Ekhomu contributed nine first-quarter points and propelled the Seminoles to an early 12-2 lead. The Florida State defense held Pittsburgh to two points in the first quarter, which marked their lowest scoring total of the season.
Pittsburgh was brought back by freshman guard Dayshanette Harris after trailing by as much as 10 early in the second quarter, to tie the game 20-20 entering the break. Harris led the Panthers with 17 points and seven rebounds.
Florida State displayed balance on offense after the break and bounced back from shooting just 21.2 percent in the first half by taking advantage of the attention Ekhomu received from the Pittsburgh defenders. The Seminoles' supporting cast capitalized on scoring opportunities, shooting 51.4 percent and outscoring the Panthers 46-21 in the second half.
The freshmen trio River Baldwin, Sammie Puisis, and London Clarkson combined to score 21 of the Seminoles' 66 points. Baldwin contributed four points and six rebounds, adding three blocks on the defensive end. Puisis recorded her fourth double-figure game, with three coming against conference opponents. She added 12 points, all coming from beyond the arc. Puisis is Florida State's leader with 37 three-point field goals made. Clarkson tacked on five points, going 5-of-6 from the line for a career high in free throws made and attempted.
"Our balance I thought was really really big," Semrau said after the game. "I thought River Baldwin came in and had a really nice game. I don't know how many blocks she had, but they were huge."
Redshirt senior Kiah Gillespie finished with 10 points and 14 rebounds to secure her 22nd career double-double, her second straight against the Panthers to move her into a tie for fifth on the FSU career list. All of Gillespie's 10 points came in the second half, and her 14 rebounds are her most in ACC play this season.
The Seminoles won the battle of the boards 51-40 and forced 15 turnovers for 15 points. FSU's 51 rebounds are its most in ACC play this season and tied for its second-most this season. Pittsburgh's 24.6 shooting percentage was the worst by an FSU opponent this season. Florida State is 14-0 when holding opponents under 40 percent from the field.
Florida State is now 7-0 all-time against Pittsburgh, with all seven wins coming as conference opponents. The Seminoles are solely third in the ACC standings with a 7-4 conference record.
NO NAME GS MIN FGM FGA 3FGM 3FGA FTM FTA PTS OREB DREB REB PF AST TO BLK STL
== ==================== == === === === ==== ==== === === === ==== ==== === == === == === ===
10 Kourtney Weber g 18 1 4 0 1 0 0 2 2 2 4 0 0 1 1 1
12 Nicki Ekhomu g 35 11 17 0 3 3 6 25 1 3 4 3 5 3 0 1
15 Kiah Gillespie f 37 4 15 2 8 0 0 10 6 8 14 2 2 1 1 0
24 Morgan Jones g 22 0 4 0 0 0 0 0 0 3 3 2 1 0 1 2
32 Valencia Myers f 24 2 6 0 0 1 2 5 2 4 6 3 2 2 1 0
1 River Baldwin 13 2 4 0 0 0 0 4 1 5 6 2 0 2 3 0
2 Sammie Puisis 23 4 10 4 9 0 0 12 1 0 1 0 0 0 0 1
4 Amaya Brown 4 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0
13 Nausia Woolfolk 18 1 7 1 3 0 0 3 2 3 5 2 2 0 0 2
34 London Clarkson 6 0 1 0 0 5 6 5 2 2 4 0 0 0 0 0
Team 3 1 4
=========================================================================
FSU 5 200 25 68 7 24 9 14 66 20 31 51 14 12 9 7 7
Opp 200 14 57 6 17 7 13 41 14 26 40 14 7 15 6 3
| 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | Total | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Florida State | |||||
| Pittsburgh |
'Noles take down No. 5 Cards in their house, 67-59.
Florida State's senior trio of Kiah Gillespie, Nicki Ekhomu and Nausia Woolfolk spear-head a
huge road win for the Seminoles.
By Bob Thomas
LOUISVILLE, Ky. - Start-to-finish defensive determination and a 13-0 fourth quarter run proved decisive as 17th-ranked Florida State took down No. 5 Louisville, 67-59, in front of a KFC Yum! Center crowd of 8,314.
Kiah Gillespie scored 25 points and grabbed 13 rebounds, while Nicki Ekhomu added 18 points and dished out six assists as the Seminoles (19-4, 8-4 ACC) snapped the Cardinals' 13 game winning streak and handed them their first ACC loss of the season.
The Noles held Louisville to a season-low scoring total as the Cardinals shot just 34-percent from the floor and were out-rebounded 44-38. It marked the fifth win in the last seven meetings against Louisville, including a 50-49 road win in 2018 when the Cardinals were ranked No. 2.
Florida State is now 5-1 against Top-25 opponents this season.
"They played with toughness; they played with heart," FSU coach Sue Semrau said. "After a really tough stretch and losing Nausia [Woolfolk] to the ankle and losing to BC, I think they've responded pretty well. That's a really good Louisville team we just beat."
Good indeed. It had been two months and a day since the Cardinals (21-2, 10-1) last tasted defeat, but the Noles were ready from the opening tap.
"We talked about how we deserved to be here," Gillespie said. "We've had a couple of tough losses in the ACC where we didn't put our all into the game. We went out there and played and thought things would go our way because we were Florida State and we were ranked. We learned quickly that we have to come out and have an attitude that we deserve to be here. We have to defend and rebound and talk and be a team altogether.
"We stayed together and didn't splinter, and that's huge for us and huge for our growth, especially from the team we were last year."
That togetherness showed after Louisville's Kylee Shook drained a jumper to start the fourth quarter, tying the game at 42-all. Valencia Myers scored in the post to start the decisive run, followed by consecutive 3-pointers by Ekhomu, Woolfolk and Gillespie.
The barrage came out of nowhere for the Noles, who were just 3-of-17 from beyond the arc up until that point. And they weren't done. Gillespie added a jump hook for a 55-42 lead to cap the run with 6:05 remaining.
The Cardinals answered with a 7-0 run as the Noles endured a scoring drought of more than two minutes, but Semrau's crew closed out the game by draining all 10 of its fourth quarter free throw attempts. FSU finished 13-of-14 from the line.
Woolfolk scored nine of her 11 points in the final quarter, including 6-for-6 shooting from the line.
"So proud of them," Semrau said, when asked about the free throw shooting down the stretch. "They took it on themselves and they put the time in, and they needed to. That's something you can't really practice; that pressure free throw, you've got to do it yourself."
Semrau made a point to let her team know that building on this win moving forward is even bigger still. Gillespie got the message.
"We'll use this game to be happy and celebrate; not really overlook it," said the senior forward, who recorded her 23rd career double-double. "But moving forward, we have to string games along together in February. Celebrate this, but get back in the gym and keep working hard."
There will be plenty of positives to look back on from Thursday night.
Ekhomu scored nine of her 11 first half points in the second quarter, including a 3-pointer to open up the Noles' first 10-point lead and a runner with two seconds remaining for a 26-17 halftime lead.
FSU's defense limited Louisville to a season-low first half total as the Cardinals shot just 24 percent from the floor, including 1-of-8 from 3-point range. The Noles also dominated the glass, out-rebounding their hosts by a 29-16 margin. Gillespie had 10 of those in the first 20 minutes, to go along with nine points.
The teams were deadlocked at 11-all after one quarter, marking the fewest first quarter points of the season for the Cardinals.
NO NAME GS MIN FGM FGA 3FGM 3FGA FTM FTA PTS OREB DREB REB PF AST TO BLK STL
== ==================== == === === === ==== ==== === === === ==== ==== === == === == === ===
12 Nicki Ekhomu g 39 7 17 2 5 2 2 18 0 1 1 3 6 4 1 0
13 Nausia Woolfolk g 28 2 11 1 6 6 6 11 0 4 4 3 1 3 0 1
15 Kiah Gillespie f 38 10 20 3 5 2 2 25 2 11 13 3 1 1 0 1
24 Morgan Jones g 25 1 1 0 0 0 0 2 2 3 5 3 0 1 2 1
32 Valencia Myers f 26 3 4 0 0 2 2 8 3 2 5 4 0 2 1 0
1 River Baldwin 14 0 2 0 0 1 2 1 1 2 3 1 0 1 0 0
2 Sammie Puisis 18 0 5 0 5 0 0 0 2 3 5 1 1 1 0 0
10 Kourtney Weber 12 1 3 0 1 0 0 2 3 1 4 1 0 0 0 0
Team 3 1 4
=========================================================================
FSU 5 200 24 63 6 22 13 14 67 16 28 44 19 9 13 4 3
Opp 200 22 64 3 16 12 16 59 15 23 38 15 10 12 3 9
| 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | Total | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Florida State | |||||
| Louisville |
Women's Hoops Takes Down Virginia.
by Nathaniel Jarrett
TALLAHASSEE, Fla. - The Florida State Women's Basketball team did not disappoint in front of the home crowd on Sunday. The Seminoles continued the momentum following their latest performance against No. 5 Louisville to a contested 63-55 win over ACC opponent Virginia.
The game featured two of the more talented players in the conference in Virginia senior Jocelyn Willoughby and Florida State redshirt senior Kiah Gillespie. However, it was Gillespie that shined throughout the first half. Gillespie outperformed her counterparts, scoring 11 of her 22 points in the first quarter, and adding eight rebounds and two assists for the Seminoles.
"It was huge for us. Sometimes this team has the tendency to start slow, and like Coach Sue said, play to the level of our competition," Gillespie said. "We did that a few times tonight, but I think we put out a great win. They're a team that has really great players and they put together a 40-minute game, but I think we did a great job of executing this [game], and also getting back-to-back wins."
Sophomore Kourtney Weber ended a short scoring drought for the Seminoles, providing a critical offensive rebound and put-back score halfway through the second quarter. The Seminoles responded to an early 7-0 run from Virginia, ending the half on a 9-2 run and securing a 33-25 advantage.
The second half would feature a much more balanced offensive outing, with three Seminoles (senior Nicki Ekhomu, Gillespie, and sophomore Morgan Jones) reaching double figures. Ekhomu finished with 11 points and added five assists, while Jones recorded a double-double, as she scored 11 points and grabbed 11 rebounds. The trio would combine for 44 of 63 points for the Seminoles.
The scoring onslaught was also a result of improved offensive execution in the half-court, that allowed Florida State to highlight its mismatch inside. Valencia Myers added six points and three rebounds, as the Seminoles' front-court recorded 30 points and controlled the offensive boards with 14 rebounds.
Florida State's defense limited Virginia to shooting just 36.8 percent from the floor, including 3-of-13 from 3-point range. Florida State is now 16-0 when holding opponents under 40 percent from the field. The Seminoles dominated the glass, out-rebounding their visitors by a 41-30 margin. The Seminoles' suffocating defensive presence forced Virginia into 12 turnovers, this pressure was catalyzed by five blocks and three steals in the second half.
"A lot of times it becomes hard to maintain your focus and it was not as pretty as we wanted it to be, but we held them defensively [under 40%], we out-rebounded them [by over 10], and those are things that are really important to our program, especially in this time of year," Semrau added.
The win over Virginia marks Florida State's eighth consecutive season with 20 or more wins. Florida State (20-4, 9-4 ACC) has a bye coming up for the Thursday slate of games; and remains in perfect position to continue to contend for the top spot in the ACC Standings. The Seminoles are now one conference win away from securing their sixth straight season with 10 or more ACC victories.
"It is something that we expect now," Florida State coach Sue Semrau said. "This team does not talk about getting to 20 wins, we talk about 25 and above. It's nice having looked back, but with the caliber of players that are here now, they expect it; that's why they come to Florida State."
NO NAME GS MIN FGM FGA 3FGM 3FGA FTM FTA PTS OREB DREB REB PF AST TO BLK STL
== ==================== == === === === ==== ==== === === === ==== ==== === == === == === ===
12 Nicki Ekhomu g 36 5 12 1 6 0 4 11 0 3 3 1 5 2 0 1
13 Nausia Woolfolk g 35 2 11 1 7 1 2 6 1 4 5 3 1 5 0 0
15 Kiah Gillespie f 37 9 18 1 6 3 4 22 2 6 8 1 2 2 1 0
24 Morgan Jones g 26 5 7 0 0 1 4 11 2 9 11 2 1 2 1 0
32 Valencia Myers f 22 2 4 0 0 2 2 6 1 2 3 3 0 2 4 1
1 River Baldwin 9 0 1 0 0 2 2 2 2 0 2 2 0 0 0 0
4 Amaya Brown 4 0 1 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 1 0 0 0
10 Kourtney Weber 29 2 5 1 2 0 0 5 4 1 5 1 1 1 0 1
34 London Clarkson 2 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 1 0 1 2 0 0 0 0
Team 1 2 3
=========================================================================
FSU 5 200 25 59 4 21 9 18 63 14 27 41 15 11 14 6 3
Opp 200 21 57 3 13 10 14 55 9 21 30 20 8 12 0 7
| 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | Total | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Virginia | |||||
| Florida State |
No. 14 Noles drop close contest at Duke.
Florida State fall on the road to the Blue Devils, 66-64.
By Bob Thomas, Florida State Associate SID
DURHAM, N.C. - Florida State's three-game winning streak came to an end Sunday at the hands of Haley Gorecki-led Duke, 66-64 on the road at Cameron Indoor Stadium.
Gorecki capped her game-high 21-point performance, fittingly, by draining two free throws with three seconds remaining. Nicki Ekhomu's desperation 3-pointer was off the mark as the 14th-ranked Seminoles (20-5, 9-5) lost their hold on sole possession of third place in the ACC.
"It's a great basketball game," head coach Sue Semrau said. "We didn't rebound the ball very well and I thought that was the biggest thing that hurt us."
The Noles rallied from a nine-point, fourth quarter deficit with an 11-0 run, fueled by Ekhomu. Her 3-pointer with 2:37 remaining gave the Noles their final lead at 60-58. The senior guard's team-high 19-point performance included a pair free throws and a layup, twice tying the game in the final 1:22.
Gorecki, whose 16 free throw attempts were a season high by an opposing player, calmly drained her final two to finish off a 14-of-16 day from the line. Duke was 17-of-20 from the line, outscoring the Noles (7-of-9) by 10 points in an otherwise evenly played contest.
By extending its winning streak to an ACC-best four games, the Blue Devils (15-10, 9-5) moved into at least a share of third place in the conference standings.
In addition to Ekhomu's 10 fourth-quarter points, Sammie Puisis added a pair of huge 3-pointers to aid the big rally.
Nausia Woolfolk recorded her fourth career double-double and third of the season, finishing with 14 points and 11 rebounds, while freshman River Baldwin added 10 points off the bench. Senior Kiah Gillespie, who had averaged 20 points and 11 rebounds over the past three games, finished with seven points and two boards.
Leaonna Odom scored 18 points and Jade Williams added 10 for the Blue Devils, who ended a streak of 13 consecutive losses to a nationally ranked opponent.
NO NAME GS MIN FGM FGA 3FGM 3FGA FTM FTA PTS OREB DREB REB PF AST TO BLK STL
== ==================== == === === === ==== ==== === === === ==== ==== === == === == === ===
12 Nicki Ekhomu g 37 7 17 2 5 3 4 19 0 1 1 1 8 2 0 2
13 Nausia Woolfolk g 38 6 13 2 5 0 1 14 5 6 11 2 2 1 0 0
15 Kiah Gillespie f 31 2 10 1 5 2 2 7 1 1 2 4 0 4 0 1
24 Morgan Jones g 16 1 4 0 0 2 2 4 2 0 2 2 0 0 1 1
32 Valencia Myers f 23 1 2 0 0 0 0 2 0 1 1 2 0 2 0 0
1 River Baldwin 20 5 6 0 0 0 0 10 1 3 4 0 1 1 0 2
2 Sammie Puisis 20 2 5 2 5 0 0 6 0 0 0 1 0 1 0 1
10 Kourtney Weber 15 1 3 0 0 0 0 2 0 0 0 1 0 0 1 0
Team 5 2 7
=========================================================================
FSU 5 200 25 60 7 20 7 9 64 14 14 28 13 11 11 2 7
Opp 200 23 50 3 16 17 20 66 14 21 35 10 11 14 3 5
| 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | Total | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Florida State | |||||
| Duke |
Ekhomu leads women's hoops past Wake Forest.
With four players scoring in double-figures, No. 17 Florida State defeated Wake Forest, 78-67, for
their 10th conference win of the season.
By Gianna Arantes, Florida State Sports Information intern
TALLAHASSEE, Fla. - In their second meeting of the season on Samaritan's Feet Night, No. 17 Florida State (21-10-5) took down ACC foe Wake Forest (13-14, 6-10) on Thursday evening, 78-67, at the Donald L. Tucker Center to secure the program's sixth consecutive year of double-digit conference wins.
Head Coach Sue Semrau and her staff coached the game barefoot to raise awareness for the Samaritan's Feet organization and its mission to provide shoes as the foundation of a spiritual and healthy life. FSU is now 8-2 in games dedicated to the cause.
With 2,771 fans in attendance, Semrau will round up to donate $3,000 towards Samaritan's Feet.
"It really means a lot. This is the tenth year in a row that I have been able to bring awareness to an amazing cause. Manny (Ohonme) is here today with his son, and just what he means to me, and just watching his organization and understanding his story," said Semrau. "There is nothing greater than to be able to take your eyes off basketball and put them on something that is so critical to people's well-being. I will add the band in there, and I told them three grand was coming his way."
In a back-and-forth first half, the Seminoles struggled against a tough Wake Forest defense, shooting just 20 percent in the opening quarter. The team rallied from a seven-point, second quarter deficit, fueled by back-to-back clutch three pointers from freshman guard Sammie Puisis to trail 30-29, at the break.
Florida State battled past the Demon Deacon defense to outscore their opponent 49-37 in the second half. Senior point guard Nicki Ekhomu led the comeback with 10 points and a 5-of-5 shooting performance in the third quarter, with 18 points scored after the break. FSU took the final lead with a bucket from sophomore guard Morgan Jones out of a timeout and capitalized on a 7-0 run to make it 46-41 with 15 minutes to play.
"I really like the team that I saw throughout the second half," Semrau added. "I felt that we turned up our defensive intensity and that changed things. We were able to get some transition scores, and that is something that we have been working on the past couple games."
FSU began the final quarter with a 52-46 advantage, and the Seminoles outlasted their opponent to secure a final 11-point triumph. They held Wake Forest to just 41 percent shooting for the game.
Four Seminole starters in Ekhomu (23), senior forward Kiah Gillespie (15), Jones (14) and senior guard Nausia Woolfolk (13) combined to score 65 of FSU's 78 points.
In her fourth 20-point affair of the season, Ekhomu went 10-of-14 from the floor and added four rebounds and six assists in the win.
"I was just trying to be a leader and do what I can for my team. I felt like we needed points and stops, and I tried to get the points, and tried to find whoever was open and take what the defense was giving us," Ekhomu added. "Like Coach Sue [Semrau] said this game was about defense. That is what we had to do, we had to find ways to get stops on defense"
Gillespie (5), Jones (5) and Woolfolk (2) all contributed on the glass, combining for 12 of FSU's 29 rebounds.
Off the bench, freshman center River Baldwin added five points with two rebounds. Puisis was 2-of-4 from the bonusphere with six points and four boards in the triumph.
The Seminoles capitalized off of turnovers, with 19 takeaway points compared to Wake Forest's 12.
Wake Forest was the beneficiary of a majority of foul calls on the night and earned almost a third of their points (20) from the line. Florida State made 8-of-11 free throws.
NO NAME GS MIN FGM FGA 3FGM 3FGA FTM FTA PTS OREB DREB REB PF AST TO BLK STL
== ==================== == === === === ==== ==== === === === ==== ==== === == === == === ===
12 Nicki Ekhomu g 38 10 14 2 5 1 2 23 0 3 3 2 6 3 0 0
13 Nausia Woolfolk g 36 5 13 0 4 3 3 13 1 1 2 4 3 3 0 0
15 Kiah Gillespie f 34 7 12 0 2 1 2 15 0 5 5 2 1 1 1 0
24 Morgan Jones g 25 7 11 0 0 0 0 14 1 4 5 2 3 0 4 0
32 Valencia Myers f 9 0 1 0 0 0 0 0 1 1 2 4 0 3 1 1
1 River Baldwin 12 2 2 0 0 1 2 5 0 2 2 3 0 0 0 1
2 Sammie Puisis 31 2 4 2 4 0 0 6 1 3 4 0 1 1 0 0
10 Kourtney Weber 14 0 1 0 0 2 2 2 0 2 2 3 2 1 0 0
34 London Clarkson 1 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0
Team 3 1 4
=========================================================================
FSU 5 200 33 58 4 15 8 11 78 7 22 29 20 16 12 6 2
Opp 200 21 51 5 11 20 27 67 10 19 29 16 11 13 0 6
| 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | Total | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Wake Forest | |||||
| Florida State |
No. 17 Noles come up short at Georgia Tech.
Florida State Women's Basketball plays another close game on the road but falls to the Yellow Jackets,
65-62.
By Gianna Arantes, Florida State Sports Information intern
ATLANTA, Ga. - Georgia Tech upset No. 17 Florida State, 65-62, in the Seminoles' regular-season road finale on Sunday afternoon at the McCamish Pavillion.
The loss snapped Florida State's (21-6, 10-6) five-game winning streak over the Yellow Jackets (18-10, 9-8) on the road. Georgia Tech was able to make nearly twice as many trips to the foul line, converting 15-of-23 compared to FSU's 7-of-12.
Despite the loss, Florida State remains the No. 4 seed in the ACC Tournament. Florida State is tied for the fourth with Virginia Tech (10-6) and Boston College (10-6). However, with all three teams owning a 1-1-1 record against each other, the highest-ranked win in the standings belongs to FSU (defeated ACC leader Louisville).
Georgia Tech senior guard Francesca Pan scored a 22 points on 22 shots, going 8-of-22 from the floor. Senior point guard Nicki Ekhomu had another relentless effort, scoring 21 points on 9-of-17 shooting. The senior leader had an off-balanced 3-point attempt to try and tie the game with two seconds left but it missed to give the Yellow Jackets the win.
After trailing by as much as seven in the opening quarter, freshman guard Sammie Puisis sunk a three pointer to ignite a 6-0 run that tied the game up, 17-17.
Ekhomu made the afternoon's opening bucket and the buzzer-beating three-pointer that gave Florida State a 34-30 lead at the half. The Noles shot 50 percent for the first half, and held the Yellow Jackets to a 43.3 percent mark. It was FSU's first game it lost this season when leading at halftime.
The Yellow Jackets regained a 49-47 lead with less than a minute left in the third. FSU began the final quarter down five, and Ekhomu made a jumper with exactly a minute left to play to cut the Seminole deficit to just one point. Georgia Tech out-scored FSU 22-13 in the decisive third quarter.
Sophomore guard Kourtney Weber contributed greatly off the bench, scoring 12 points. Weber provided an enormous first-half spark for the Seminoles.
Senior guard Nausia Woolfolk added seven points.
Senior forward Kiah Gillespie pulled down 10 rebounds and tacked on nine points. Freshman center River Baldwin added four points.
NO NAME GS MIN FGM FGA 3FGM 3FGA FTM FTA PTS OREB DREB REB PF AST TO BLK STL
== ==================== == === === === ==== ==== === === === ==== ==== === == === == === ===
1 River Baldwin c 14 2 4 0 0 0 0 4 0 1 1 1 0 0 1 0
12 Nicki Ekhomu g 39 9 17 2 5 1 2 21 0 2 2 4 3 4 1 0
13 Nausia Woolfolk g 30 3 8 1 4 0 0 7 1 1 2 5 1 4 0 0
15 Kiah Gillespie f 38 3 8 1 2 2 3 9 2 8 10 3 1 0 1 0
24 Morgan Jones g 10 0 3 0 0 0 0 0 0 2 2 1 0 0 0 0
2 Sammie Puisis 23 1 3 1 2 1 2 4 0 1 1 0 0 1 0 3
10 Kourtney Weber 28 4 8 2 5 2 3 12 0 3 3 3 4 1 0 1
32 Valencia Myers 18 2 2 0 0 1 2 5 1 3 4 5 0 2 1 2
Team 2 1 3 1
=========================================================================
FSU 5 200 24 53 7 18 7 12 62 6 22 28 22 9 13 4 6
Opp 200 22 52 6 17 15 23 65 12 25 37 15 12 13 1 8
| 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | Total | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Florida State | |||||
| Georgia Tech |
Women's hoops wins big on 'Paint it Pink' Night.
With all five starters scoring in double figures, 19th ranked Florida State Women's Basketball
topped Clemson, 81-54, on Thursday night at the Donald L. Tucker Center.
By Gianna Arantes, Florida State Sports Information intern
TALLAHASSEE, Fla. - No. 19 Florida State Women's Basketball (22-6, 11-6) took down Clemson (7-21, 3-14), 81-54, in dominating fashion on 'Paint it Pink' night at the Donald L. Tucker Center to secure a season sweep of the ACC-rival Tigers.
Proceeds from the game will directly benefit the Tallahassee Memorial Cancer Center, with the 'Paint it Pink' campaign having generated over $60,000 towards cause.
The Seminoles never trailed. Ending the opening quarter on an 11-0 run, FSU began the second period with a 25-7 advantage - marking an ACC high for first-quarter points and tying its season high. Fueled by senior guard Nausia Woolfolk's 12 first-half points, the Noles owned a 42-23 lead by the intermission and held the Tigers to just 35.7 percent shooting for the first half.
"Yeah I'm just so proud of them," FSU head coach Sue Semrau said. "You know I felt like a weight was lifted off a little bit and they had the confidence back that they've had and maybe just lost because coaches are always nit-picking them.
"I really think that when I realized that maybe I was being too much of a perfectionist and maybe even taking away a bit of confidence. I felt like it was important that they really understand what they are good at and celebrate that. Gosh, you saw. They just responded with who they are. Period. It wasn't anything different, it was just who they are and I'm just so proud of them."
Clemson came out of the break with comeback aspirations and used a 7-0 run to make it 48-34. FSU responded by outscoring the Tigers 21-17 in the third quarter, holding on to a double-digit lead that was established after just 7:35 minutes of play. Pouring gasoline on to a well-lit fire, sophomore guard Kourtney Weber made a buzzer-beating three-pointer that gave the team a 63-40 edge to start the final quarter.
Florida State showed no mercy and closed out the game on a 9-0 run to seal the final 27-point victory. For the game, the Seminoles shot 45.5 percent, made six three-pointers and went 13-of-18 from the free-throw line. Clemson shot 36 percent from the field. FSU is 17-0 when holding opponents under 40 percent shooting.
With all five starters scoring in double-figures, the Seminole veterans piloted the Tiger trouncing, combining to score 70 of FSU's 81 points.
Woolfolk made two shots from the bonusphere for the 99th and 100th of her career to become just the 15th player in Seminole history with 100 made three-point shots. The senior guard led FSU in scoring with 17 points, recorded seven assists and pulled down four rebounds.
Senior forward Kiah Gillespie, an ACC Player of the Year candidate, had the 11th double-double of her season with a team-high 11 rebounds, scoring 16 points.
Senior point guard Nicki Ekhomu led the Noles with a career-high-tying four steals, capping her night off with 11 points and three boards. She also tied her career high in blocks with two.
Sophomore forward Valencia Myers contributed 14 points on 6-of-7 shooting with five rebounds. Her classmate, guard Morgan Jones, went 4-of-7 from the floor and added 12 points, six rebounds, and a team-leading three blocks in the win.
Off the bench, Weber pulled down four rebounds to go along with six points on 2-of-4 shooting from beyond the arc. Freshman center River Baldwin was a perfect 2-of-2 from the line with four boards, and freshman guard Sammie Puisis added five rebounds.
On the defensive end, FSU propelled the Tigers into several miscues and forced 20 turnovers for 17 points. The team out-rebounded Clemson by a sizable 51-34 margin, grabbing 28 second-chance points compared to the opponent's five. Florida State totaled a season-high 13 steals.
Semrau was very thankful to play for such an important cause such as breast cancer awareness.
"I understand that over $60,000 has been raised for that and for breast cancer research," Semrau added. "We've got to find a cure. I look at Nicki Ekhomu's mom, who battled and is a survivor. I look at Gabby Bevillard's mom who battled and didn't survive. Then we've got someone in our immediate family, with our basketball program, who's fighting cancer. Can we just get a cure? Get rid of the chemo. Get rid of the radiation. Get rid of the things that are so hard on people's bodies. We just want that to happen so badly."
NO NAME GS MIN FGM FGA 3FGM 3FGA FTM FTA PTS OREB DREB REB PF AST TO BLK STL
== ==================== == === === === ==== ==== === === === ==== ==== === == === == === ===
12 Nicki Ekhomu g 29 5 13 1 5 0 0 11 0 3 3 1 1 3 2 4
13 Nausia Woolfolk g 27 7 15 2 6 1 2 17 2 2 4 2 7 4 0 2
15 Kiah Gillespie f 29 6 14 0 3 4 4 16 4 7 11 1 4 0 0 1
24 Morgan Jones g 19 4 7 0 0 4 6 12 2 4 6 2 1 3 3 2
32 Valencia Myers f 19 6 7 0 0 2 4 14 4 1 5 1 0 3 2 1
1 River Baldwin 16 0 2 0 0 2 2 2 2 2 4 5 0 1 0 0
2 Sammie Puisis 24 1 6 1 4 0 0 3 2 3 5 1 1 2 0 1
4 Amaya Brown 4 0 1 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 1 1 0 0 0
10 Kourtney Weber 20 2 5 2 4 0 0 6 1 3 4 2 0 2 0 2
34 London Clarkson 13 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 1 1 1 2 0 0 0
Team 5 3 8
=========================================================================
FSU 5 200 31 70 6 22 13 18 81 22 29 51 17 17 18 7 13
Opp 200 22 61 4 15 6 14 54 13 21 34 16 10 20 2 7
| 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | Total | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Clemson | |||||
| Florida State |
No. 19 Noles drop heart-breaker to Notre Dame.
Despite the 70-67 loss on senior day, Florida State clinches a No. 4 seed in next week's ACC
Tournament.
By Nathaniel Jarrett, Florida State Sports Information Assistant
TALLAHASSEE, Fla. - No. 19 Florida State Women's Basketball dropped its 'Senior Day' game on Sunday afternoon, falling to Notre Dame, 70-67, in front of 4,360 fans at the Donald L. Tucker Center.
Although the loss will sting for the Seminoles (22-7, 11-7), Florida State did clinch its fifth double bye in the ACC Tournament over the last six years. FSU is locked into the No. 4 seed and will face the winner of the No. 5 (Virginia Tech) vs. No. 12 (UNC)/13 (Wake Forest) game on Friday in the ACC Tournament quarterfinals. The game will air on several of the league's regional sports networks.
"We've got to throw it away," FSU head coach Sue Semrau said of Sunday's loss. "We've got plenty of basketball ahead of us right now. We know where we sit with our seed and we have the opportunity to get the double bye and now we have to get ourselves ready. We've really got nothing to lose."
Prior to the start of the game, Florida State women's basketball honored their graduating senior class of Nicki Ekhomu, Nausia Woolfolk, and Kiah Gillespie for their leadership, commitment, and contributions to the program.
Florida State then concluded senior day in heartbreaking fashion, with an 11-point lead by the Seminoles in the second half being erased as Notre Dame shot 57.1 percent (16-of-28) in the game's final 20 minutes.
The offensive production was stagnant throughout the first quarter, as the conference opponents both shot under 40 percent. The only early offense can be credited to seniors Woolfolk and Gillespie, who scored all of Florida State's first quarter points.
The Seminoles used a 10-0 run midway through the second quarter to secure the 35-30 lead at halftime. The scoring outbreak was highlighted by two of Woolfolk's four threes on the afternoon. The duo of Woolfolk and Gillespie combined for 29 of Florida State's 35 first half points. Gillespie sent the crowd into a frenzy when she hit a half-court buzzer beater to create the five-point cushion.
Woolfolk finished with 20 points, adding six rebounds and three assists.
Gillespie was once again dominant for the Seminoles. The All-ACC team candidate scored 22 points and pulled down seven rebounds. It marked the second time FSU had two players score 20+ points in a game this season, with Woolfolk (21) and Ekhomu (20) doing it in a win over UNC.
Ekhomu contributed six assists and five rebounds to couple with her six points on the afternoon. The senior guard drew a shooting foul beyond the 3-point arc with FSU trailing 69-66 with 1.5 seconds left. However, she missed the first attempt, made the second and then tried to force an offensive rebound off a miss on the third attempt but the Seminoles were called for a lane violation.
The second half would prove be a back-and-forth affair, highlighting the nature of most of the conference games. The Florida State lead rose to as much as 11 in the third quarter, but the Irish responded with a 10-2 run to conclude the third quarter that cut the Florida State advantage to two points going into the final quarter. Notre Dame's Sam Brunelle led all scorers with 25 points and hit a clutch 3-point field goal to close the third.
Sophomore guard Morgan Jones provided a spark for the Seminoles in the fourth quarter, scoring all of her eight points in the final frame. However, it would not be enough as FSU could not solve Notre Dame's ability to get to the basket.
"We gave up plain lane drives," Semrau added. "I had talked about that ad nauseam and you can't give that up, especially layups. That was tough. It felt like we were both able to score and we've got to find a way to get stops."
The Irish regained the lead with two minutes remaining in the fourth. The lead would hold true as the Irish rode its hot shooting the second half.
Notre Dame out-scored Florida State 40-32 in the second half. Brunelle led the Irish, scoring 25 points while adding four assists and four rebounds. The Seminoles won the close battle on the glass, but the Irish would outperform their hosts in assists, points in the paint, and points off turnovers.
Despite the loss, Gillespie summed up her FSU experience after playing her final regular-season home game.
"It's meant everything to me," Gillespie said. "Not many people get a second chance and I was fortunate enough to be able to do that with a great coach and a great coaching staff and great players. Everything I've done on the basketball court is nothing compared to the person it's made me while I've been here.
"I think that's the best part about Florida State. I'm more prepared to go out into the real world; I'm excited for it because I've taken the time to learn from Coach Sue and understand everything she's taught me. Basketball aside, Florida State has been my life and I'm blessed to be a Seminole."
NO NAME GS MIN FGM FGA 3FGM 3FGA FTM FTA PTS OREB DREB REB PF AST TO BLK STL
== ==================== == === === === ==== ==== === === === ==== ==== === == === == === ===
12 Nicki Ekhomu g 36 1 11 1 5 3 4 6 2 3 5 2 6 4 0 0
13 Nausia Woolfolk g 38 7 17 4 8 2 2 20 4 2 6 1 3 1 0 1
15 Kiah Gillespie f 35 8 18 1 5 5 8 22 3 4 7 3 1 2 2 1
24 Morgan Jones g 27 4 5 0 0 0 0 8 1 4 5 2 0 0 0 1
32 Valencia Myers f 21 2 3 0 0 2 4 6 2 5 7 0 0 1 0 0
1 River Baldwin 6 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 1 1 0 0 0 0 0
2 Sammie Puisis 24 1 6 0 3 0 0 2 0 1 1 2 2 1 0 0
10 Kourtney Weber 13 1 2 1 1 0 0 3 0 2 2 2 0 1 1 0
Team 1 2 3
=========================================================================
FSU 5 200 24 62 7 22 12 18 67 13 24 37 12 12 10 3 3
Opp 200 28 59 8 16 6 8 70 7 25 32 13 19 10 3 2
| 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | Total | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Notre Dame | |||||
| Florida State |
Florida State dominates in ACC quarterfinal win.
With four players scoring in double figures, the fourth-seeded Seminoles knocked out Wake Forest
with a 76-47 win in Greensboro.
By Gianna Arantes, Florida State Sports Information Assistant
GREENSBORO, N.C. - Fourth-seeded Florida State Women's Basketball took down 13th-seeded Wake Forest, 76-47, in the quarterfinals of the ACC Women's Tournament on Friday.
The win in Greensboro is the Seminoles' (23-7) third over the Demon Deacons (16-16) this season. It also marks the second time in the last three years and the sixth time overall that FSU has clinched a spot in the ACC Tournament Semifinals.
"Just proud of the way our team came out," FSU head coach Sue Semrau said. "I thought the tempo really favored us. I thought our guards did a good job of pushing tempo. Wake Forest made a heck of a run and they're a really good basketball team."
Florida State was a consistent force throughout the entire contest, beginning the afternoon on a 7-0 run and closing out the game with an 8-0 run. The Seminoles shot 52 percent from the field for the game, while holding Wake Forest to just 35 percent shooting. FSU drained a season-best 58.8 percent (10-of-17) of its 3-point field goals.
FSU established a double-digit lead after just 7:13 minutes of play that would not be challenged for the remainder of the game, entering the second half with a 42-25 lead. They outscored Wake Forest 34-22 after the break to kick off their tournament run in explosive fashion.
The triumph was highlighted by four Seminoles in sophomore guard Kourtney Weber (15), senior guard Nausia Woolfolk (15), senior guard Nicki Ekhomu (12) and senior forward Kiah Gillespie (10) scoring in double figures, and freshman guard Sammie Puisis (8) and sophomore guard Morgan Jones (6) following close behind in the offensive burst. Freshman River Baldwin also chipped in with six.
"Honestly, I wanted to go out there and do what the team needed me to do," Weber said. "Today was in more scoring and driving and tomorrow it could be rebounding. I want to go out and play comfortable and not force anything."
Woolfolk was named the Player of the Game, with three steals to go along with her 15 points on 7-of-15 shooting. Ekhomu was 4-for-8 from the floor with three rebounds and six assists. Gillespie also shot 4-for-8, adding two boards. All three seniors were able to get more rest in the second half during the rout.
The Seminole freshmen made solid contributions in their first-ever ACC Tournament game. Puisis recorded one rebound and three assists to go along with her eight points, while Baldwin tacked on six on 3-for-4 shooting with seven boards and three assists. Freshman forward London Clarkson added three rebounds.
Weber sunk a season-high three three-pointers. The sophomore tied Woolfolk's 15-point mark for the team leader in scoring on 6-of-8 shooting while contributing four assists and a rebound.
The Seminoles' commanding presence inside was the difference-maker in the matchup. FSU out-rebounded the Demon Deacons 32-22 and outscored them 36-26 in the paint. Jones (team-high seven) and Myers (6) led the team on the glass.
Wake Forest made nearly three times as many trips to the foul line, converting 12-of-14 compared to FSU's 4-of-5.
NO NAME GS MIN FGM FGA 3FGM 3FGA FTM FTA PTS OREB DREB REB PF AST TO BLK STL
== ==================== == === === === ==== ==== === === === ==== ==== === == === == === ===
12 Nicki Ekhomu g 25 4 8 2 2 2 3 12 0 3 3 3 6 3 0 2
13 Nausia Woolfolk g 28 7 15 1 3 0 0 15 1 1 2 1 0 0 0 3
15 Kiah Gillespie f 18 4 8 2 2 0 0 10 1 1 2 2 0 2 0 0
24 Morgan Jones g 26 3 4 0 0 0 0 6 3 4 7 0 3 0 2 1
32 Valencia Myers f 14 1 5 0 0 0 0 2 2 4 6 1 2 1 1 0
1 River Baldwin 13 3 4 0 0 0 0 6 1 2 3 4 0 2 0 0
2 Sammie Puisis 26 3 8 2 6 0 0 8 0 1 1 1 3 0 0 1
4 Amaya Brown 13 0 0 0 0 2 2 2 0 0 0 2 0 0 0 0
10 Kourtney Weber 25 6 8 3 4 0 0 15 1 0 1 1 4 0 1 0
34 London Clarkson 12 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 3 3 1 0 1 0 0
Team 3 1 4
=========================================================================
FSU 5 200 31 60 10 17 4 5 76 12 20 32 16 18 9 4 7
Opp 200 17 48 1 10 12 14 47 10 12 22 13 3 14 5 2
| 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | Total | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Florida State | |||||
| Wake Forest |
Noles clinch spot in ACC title game.
Fourth-seeded Florida State takes down top-seeded Louisville, 62-60, in an ACC semifinal thriller at the
Greensboro Coliseum.
GREENSBORO, N.C. - In thrilling fashion, the fourth-seeded Florida State Women's Basketball team held strong to take down top-seeded Louisville, 62-60, on Saturday in the ACC Tournament Semifinal at the Greensboro Coliseum.
"Proud of the way our team battled," FSU head coach Sue Semrau said. "Louisville is an excellent team. After going up there and pulling out a win I knew they would come out with a lot of fire. They did, but we matched it. I'm proud of my seniors. They are something else. They were not going to be denied today. You saw Nausia go down. I thought she might be out. You saw Kiah go down. We're still looking into her.
"But they battled, and I'm guessing, yeah, that we won the rebounding battle and that was huge. I'm just really, really proud of them. Ready for tomorrow."
The Seminoles (24-7) held a 62-60 lead after senior point guard Nicki Ekhomu went 1-of-2 from the free throw line with seven seconds remaining. Following a Louisville timeout, the Cardinals (28-4) received the ball in the front court. ACC Player of the Year Dana Evans was defended well driving to the basket by Morgan Jones and missed a floater in the lane, and a subsequent put-back attempt by the Cardinals also missed, allowing FSU to celebrate at mid-court as time expired.
FSU heads to its second ACC Championship title game and its first since 2015. The win by the Seminoles will snap a seven-year drought of the No. 1 seed winning the ACC Tournament.
The Seminoles have now defeated two Top-5 Cardinals teams this year, upending them 67-59 on the road on Feb. 6 and taking them down on Saturday (fourth-ranked). FSU's last four wins over AP Top 5 opponents have come against Louisville, all since 2015.
Redshirt senior forward Kiah Gillespie had a gutsy effort, securing her 25th career double-double with 15 points and 16 rebounds on 7-of-13 shooting. Gillespie went down with 26 seconds left with FSU trailing 56-55 after she was undercut on a shot attempt and was forced to leave the game.
Sophomore Kourtney Weber followed with the heroics. She substituted for Gillespie and made both pressure free throws to give FSU the one-point lead. Louisville then tried to in-bound the ball in the front court following a timeout, but Weber tipped the in-bound pass as it was corralled by Ekhomu, who hit two more free throws to make it 59-56.
"If you saw her play yesterday you know she's coming into her own," Semrau added of Weber. "She looked at me with wide eyes like it's me! I trust her so much at the free throw line and in the game. I'm proud of her, back-to-back really good games."
Ekhomu finished with 14 points and five assists and also drew seven fouls. Senior guard Nausia Woolfolk, who left the game briefly but returned following injury, finished with a team-high 16 points, four rebounds and four assists. She hit two big free throws with 17 seconds left to give FSU a 61-58 lead.
"I think the team as well as myself, we like competition," Woolfolk added. "Louisville is a team that always brings it so at the end of the day the mindset was do anything you can do to help the team win, concentrate on the free throw line, making sure the team's head is in the game and at the free throw line they were 8 for 9 and that was a key win to the game."
Down the stretch, the Seminoles made seven of their eight pressure free throw attempts. They went 8-of-9 from the line overall.
Gillespie tied for the second-fastest Seminole ever to record 1,000 points when she buried a 3-pointer to make it 39-35 with 6:11 remaining in the third quarter. The redshirt senior accomplished the milestone in just 64 career games played.
Jones added four points and six boards. Sammie Puisis hit two crucial 3-pointers, including one with 2:52 remaining that allowed FSU to re-take the lead at 53-52.
Florida State once again flexed its muscle on the glass, out-rebounding Louisville 36-31. Evans finished with 16 points for the Cardinals, followed by 15 points from Jazmine Jones.
NO NAME GS MIN FGM FGA 3FGM 3FGA FTM FTA PTS OREB DREB REB PF AST TO BLK STL
== ==================== == === === === ==== ==== === === === ==== ==== === == === == === ===
12 Nicki Ekhomu g 36 5 16 1 5 3 4 14 0 1 1 1 5 0 0 2
13 Nausia Woolfolk g 34 6 12 2 3 2 2 16 2 2 4 1 4 4 0 1
15 Kiah Gillespie f 35 7 13 1 2 0 0 15 5 11 16 0 0 3 0 0
24 Morgan Jones g 27 2 5 0 0 0 0 4 2 4 6 2 0 2 0 0
32 Valencia Myers f 15 0 3 0 0 0 0 0 0 1 1 4 2 2 0 0
1 River Baldwin 8 1 2 0 0 1 1 3 1 0 1 0 0 0 0 0
2 Sammie Puisis 25 2 4 2 3 0 0 6 1 2 3 0 0 3 0 1
10 Kourtney Weber 19 1 4 0 0 2 2 4 1 1 2 1 0 1 0 2
34 London Clarkson 1 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0
Team 2 2
=========================================================================
FSU 5 200 24 59 6 13 8 9 62 14 22 36 9 11 15 0 6
Opp 200 23 57 7 12 7 9 60 11 20 31 14 10 12 3 6
| 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | Total | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Florida State | |||||
| Louisville |
Noles fall in closely-fought ACC title game.
No. 4 seed Florida State Women's Basketball loses late in a back-and-forth game to No. 2 seed NC
State, 71-66.
By Gianna Arantes, Florida State Sports Information Assistant
GREENSBORO, N.C. - The fourth-seeded Florida State Women's Basketball team did not go down without a fight on Sunday afternoon, falling to No. 2 seed NC State, 71-66, in a battle at the Greensboro Coliseum for the ACC Tournament Championship title.
In a duel with 12 different lead changes, the matchup between two of the conference's most talented programs kept fans on the edge of their seats for its entirety.
"It was a great championship game," said head coach Sue Semrau. "The largest lead was only six points. I thought it was great for ACC Basketball. I'm very proud of my team. We just came up a little short. Congratulations to NC State and their head coach Wes Moore."
Redshirt senior forward Kiah Gillespie gave the Wolfpack problems on both sides of the court for most of the afternoon, finishing with a game-high 25 points and nine rebounds as she nearly willed the Seminoles (24-8) to a comeback. After trailing by as much as six in the final period, the Meriden, Conn. Native fueled a 10-0 Seminole run with two clutch-three pointers and a free throw to jump back in front, 63-58.
The Wolfpack (28-4) responded and used their own 9-0 run to take a 67-63 lead. The last two minutes of the affair were back and forth trips to the foul line. Following two free throws from NC State's Elissa Cunane, the Wolfpack led 71-66 with 13 seconds left.
FSU, however, was unable to convert on its next two offensive possessions as NC State salted the game away. Cunane and her teammate Aislinn Konig tied in leading the Wolfpack offense with 18 points each.
Down the stretch, the Seminoles made four of their six pressure free throw attempts. They went 11-of-14 from the line overall. NC State shot 17-of-24.
Senior point guard Nicki Ekhomu finished with 17 points, five rebounds, five assists, and was a perfect 5-of-5 from the free throw line. Senior guard Nausia Woolfolk scored 17 with four three-pointers and added four boards. The big three of Ekhomu, Woolfolk, and Gillespie combined for 59 of FSU's 66 points.
Freshman guard Sammie Puisis hit two clutch three-pointers - one to tie up the game, 24-24, in the second quarter, and one to bring FSU to just a two-point deficit at 56-58 with five minutes left to play.
Florida State struggled to match the Wolfpack's physicality on the glass, as NC State held a 41-30 rebounding advantage while grabbing 13 second chance points compared to the Noles' nine.
Following the game, Woolfolk (first team), Gillespie (first team) and Ekhomu (second team) were named to the ACC All-Tournament Team.
NO NAME GS MIN FGM FGA 3FGM 3FGA FTM FTA PTS OREB DREB REB PF AST TO BLK STL
== ==================== == === === === ==== ==== === === === ==== ==== === == === == === ===
12 Nicki Ekhomu g 38 5 13 2 8 5 5 17 0 5 5 3 5 1 0 0
13 Nausia Woolfolk g 38 6 15 4 10 1 1 17 3 1 4 3 2 0 0 0
15 Kiah Gillespie f 37 9 18 3 9 4 6 25 3 6 9 1 1 3 1 0
24 Morgan Jones g 18 0 4 0 0 0 0 0 0 1 1 1 0 0 1 0
32 Valencia Myers f 4 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 1 1 3 0 0 0 0
1 River Baldwin 19 0 5 0 0 0 0 0 1 2 3 2 1 1 1 1
2 Sammie Puisis 26 2 6 2 5 0 0 6 1 1 2 1 1 0 0 1
10 Kourtney Weber 20 0 3 0 2 1 2 1 1 1 2 3 0 0 0 0
Team 2 1 3
=========================================================================
FSU 5 200 22 64 11 34 11 14 66 11 19 30 17 10 5 3 2
Opp 200 22 50 10 23 17 24 71 11 30 41 15 12 10 4 2
| 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | Total | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Florida State | |||||
| North Carolina State |