TALLAHASSEE, Fla. (Seminoles.com) – Through three quarters, Nicki Ekhomu kept Florida State Women’s Basketball in the game. With a lift from her teammates in the fourth, the Seminoles (10-1) were able to pull away from Creighton (4-5) on Sunday afternoon in a 71-52 win at the Donald L. Tucker Center.
Ekhomu and the Seminoles used a game-ending 18-2 run to put Sunday’s contest on ice, turning a slim 53-50 lead with eight minutes left into a 19-point rout. Ekhomu showed some extra aggression all afternoon, recording her third 20+ point game of the season with 24 points, eight rebounds, three assists and three steals.
The Bolingbrook, Ill., native also went 8-of-8 from the line. She was the one player Creighton could not stay in front of.
“Honestly, I’m just playing and trying to do as much for the team, and if I see an opening to the basket and I need to be more aggressive, I will,” Ekhomu said. “But if I see the defense attacking, then I got to find an open teammate and make sure I do the best I can every game.”
Ekhomu knows when she needs to take over, scoring 31 points in the season opener vs. Troy and adding 27 clutch points in a win over Mercer on Dec. 5. But collectively, it was also FSU’s defense that allowed just three Creighton 3-point field goal makes when the Bluejays entered the game averaging 10.9 long-range field goals.
“That was a great win for our basketball team, FSU head coach Sue Semrau said. “It’s really hard during finals to have great practices and this team was locked in. And they were rewarded for it. We had a game plan and we stuck to it and to hold Creighton to three 3-pointers was unreal. I am extremely proud of our defensive effort.”
FSU out-scored Creighton 18-6 in the final quarter, and used a big 6-0 run by junior Nausia Woolfolk to extend the lead midway through the period. Redshirt junior forward Kiah Gillespie had her fourth double-double of the season with 13 points and 11 rebounds while adding two blocks. Woolfolk had 12 points, including a flurry down the stretch.
The Seminoles went 16-of-18 from the free throw line, and out-rebounded the Bluejays 36-24. Freshman center Valencia Myers helped FSU underneath with 11 points and five rebounds, while sophomore Savannah Wilkinson added four points and six boards.
Creighton’s Jaylyn Agnew led the Bluejays with 19 points (7-of-14) and eight rebounds in the loss.
FSU returns for its final game before the holiday break, traveling to Milwaukee for an 8 p.m. EST tip on Thursday, Dec. 20.
