TALLAHASSEE, Fla. (Seminoles.com) – 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.
“We shouldn’t have to (miss Nausia Woolfolk),” Semrau said after the game. “We have All-Americans all over the place, we have All-Americans skill wise, but we did not have an All-American heart tonight. If we don’t have that then this team will not get as far as we would like.”
“Before the game, Nausia (Woolfolk) told me that I have to continue to step up and to do the little things, and help cover for her absence,” Morgan Jones added. “She had a talk with a lot of the team, and we have to do a better job of getting those things done.”
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.
The Seminoles look to bounce back from the loss on Saturday, February 1, at 5 p.m. as they travel to face Pittsburgh (4-16, 1-8) at the Petersen Events Center. The game will be televised on ACC Network Extra.
