TALLAHASSEE, FLA. (seminoles.com) – Florida State (16-2, 4-1) earned their fourth conference victory on Sunday in a 66-62 win over the Duke Blue Devils (8-9, 0-5) at the Donald L. Tucker Civic Center. The Seminole defense was the story of the day, allowing only three Blue Devils to find their way onto the score sheet.
“I just want to credit Duke for the way they fought back in the second half and really put us into a situation that tested us,” Florida State Head Coach Sue Semrau said. “We didn’t have our best shooting today, but we found a way to really rebound the ball. I’m just really proud of my team for coming together to get that win.”
Redshirt junior forward Kiah Gillespie led the Seminoles across the board with 17 points, nine rebounds and four assists. It was Gillespie’s 17th double figure performance of the season. Junior guard Nicki Ekhomu registered 14 points along with six rebounds on the afternoon. The two combined to score 25 of the Seminoles’ 41 first half points.
The Seminole freshmen continued to show their progression on Sunday afternoon. Freshman forward Valencia Myers followed suit with 13 points and six rebounds of her own, along with Florida State’s only block of the day. It was Myers’s second-consecutive double-digit outing and the tenth of her freshman campaign.
Freshmen guards Morgan Jones and Amaya Brown both contributed greatly to the Seminoles’ first ACC home win. Jones, coming off a career-high 11-point performance at Boston College on Thursday, registered eight points and three rebounds, marking her second-highest point total of the season.
Brown added five points along with two assists, including two clutch free throws with seven seconds remaining in the game to help secure the Seminole victory.
“A lot of players got a lot of big minutes and a lot of key moments, like Amaya [Brown] making those last two free throws,” Myers said. “Huge rebounds, everything, we’re just coming together.”
Junior guard Nausia Woolfolk and sophomore guard Savannah Wilkinson rounded out the scoring for the Seminoles on the afternoon with Woolfolk registering five points and four rebounds and Wilkinson with four points and an assist.
After trailing by one at the end of the first, the Seminoles went on to outscore the Blue Devils 27-13 in the second quarter. Florida State maintained their lead for the remainder of the game, despite the visitors outscoring them 34-25 in the second half.
Following Sunday’s result, three of the Seminoles four conference victories have been decided by four points or less, helping to showcase the resilience of Semrau’s young group.
“It’s a young team, we’re growing and this was a big step forward for us today to get this first home win in the ACC,” Semrau said. “They didn’t back down, not one bit”
Florida State will remain at home at the Donald L. Tucker Civic Center to face the fourth-ranked Louisville Cardinals on Thursday, Jan. 24 at 7 p.m. The game will serve as the Seminoles’ Faculty and Staff Appreciation Game with free admission for all Florida State faculty members.
Thursday’s game will air on a variety of the ACC’s regional sports networks, including FOX Sports Florida.
