Clemson, S.C. – No. 21 Florida State (20-5, 8-4) fell on the road to the Clemson Tigers (16-9, 7-5) 73-68 on Thursday at the Littlejohn Coliseum. The game marked the end of a 14-game win streak by the Seminoles in games decided by five points or less.
Junior guard Nicki Ekhmou led Florida State with 27 points, registering her third-consecutive 20-point outing and besting her highest point total in conference play for the fourth straight game.
Fellow junior guard Nausia Woolfolk followed with 18 points, her fourth consecutive game scoring in double figures, while also tying for the Seminole lead with seven rebounds.
The last of the Seminoles’ three juniors, Kiah Gillespie, finished with ten points while sharing the lead in rebounds with Woolfolk with seven. Freshman guard Morgan Jones added ten points and finished one rebound shy of her career-high with six. Redshirt freshman guard Sayawni Lassiter rounded out the scoring with three points and led the Seminoles with three steals.
<div class="TweetAuthor js-inViewportScribingTarget" data-scribe="component:author"><div class="TweetAuthor-nameScreenNameContainer"><span class="TweetAuthor-decoratedName"><span class="TweetAuthor-decoratedName"><span class="TweetAuthor-name Identity-name customisable-highlight" title="FSU Women's Hoops" data-scribe="element:name">FSU Women's Hoops
<span class="u-hiddenVisually">✔</span></span></span>@fsuwbb</span>
That was a tough one. Our streak of 14 straight games won with a five-point margin or less has been snapped.
We fall to 20-5 overall and 8-4 in the ACC.
Catch us on Sunday in our 'Paint it Pink' game vs. Pitt at 2pm. #FSUWBB
The two sides battled throughout the course of the first half with each team forcing 14 turnovers. Neither team was able to garner a lead over six points, but the Seminoles held a 32-30 advantage at the half, with 18 points coming off turnovers.
Clemson answered in the third due in part to a stretch of seven consecutive field goals made to end the quarter, outscoring Florida State 25-14 to earn a 55-46 lead heading into the fourth.
The Seminoles battled back throughout the fourth quarter, cutting the lead to two with a minute left in the game. The Tigers were able to hold on however to secure their second win over Florida State this year.
While forcing the Tigers into 23 turnovers, the Seminoles committed 21 of their own. Florida State held the advantage in turning that defense into offense however, scoring 27 points of their turnovers compared to just 13 from Clemson.
The Seminoles shot 38.3% (23-of-60) from the field on the night and 36.8% (7-of-19) from beyond the arc. Clemson however finished shooting 55.3% (26-of-47) on the night, the second highest field goal percentage registered against Florida State this season.
Florida State returns home to the Donald L. Tucker Civic Center for its Paint it Pink game on Sunday, Feb. 17 against the Pittsburgh Panthers at 2 p.m., in which the first 250 fans will receive pink pompoms. The game will be streamed live on ACC Network Extra.
