MILWAUKEE, Wis. (Seminoles.com) – The Florida State Women’s Basketball team drilled a school-record 15 3-point field goals en route to an 87-62 victory over a pesky Milwaukee team on Thursday night at the Klotsche Center in Milwaukee, Wis.
The Seminoles (11-1) broke their previous school record of 12 3-pointers on their last shot of the third quarter, when redshirt junior forward Kiah Gillespie’s 3-ball from straightaway gave FSU 13 on the night. It added two more from deep in the fourth quarter.
With the Panthers (5-6) clogging up much of the paint, they dared FSU to beat them from long range. The Seminoles responded with a scintillating 60 percent shooting night from outside, going 15-of-25.
Once again, junior guard Nicki Ekhomu was the catalyst. The all-conference worthy point guard recorded her third 20-point game in her last four games played, finishing with 26 on 8-of-14 shooting along with six assists.
Gillespie added 20 for FSU, which included 17 in a hot-shooting second half. Her performance in the final 20 minutes summed up FSU’s second-half dominance, where it out-scored the Panthers 52-27 and shot 53.3 percent.
Freshman Kourtney Weber had the game of her career, going 5-of-5 from the floor and 4-of-4 from deep for 16 points along with two assists and two blocks. She paced FSU early with a couple of 3-point field goals in the first quarter. Weber’s previous career high was nine points.
The Seminole defense forced 16 turnovers by the smooth-shooting Panthers, getting 18 points off those turnovers. After being out-rebounded 22-9 in the first half, the Seminoles wound up out-rebounding Milwaukee 32-29 overall.
Entering the game, FSU was out-scoring opponents 19.1-13.6 in the fourth quarter. It ended Thursday’s matchup winning the fourth-quarter battle 25-10.
FSU heads home for the holidays on a high note once again, winning six of its last seven games since 2012 when going into the Christmas break.
A see-saw second quarter saw a 9-0 run by the Panthers and a 10-0 run by the Seminoles. The result was a 35-35 score at halftime, as Milwaukee shot 54 percent in the first half while FSU drilled eight 3-point field goals. Ekhomu led the Seminoles with 13 at the intermission, but the Panthers had allowed minimal scoring chances in the paint.
In the first quarter, Milwaukee took a 20-19 advantage. Both teams combined for nine 3-point field goals, and the Panthers went on a 4-for-4 flurry to end the period. Weber and Ekhomu got off to hot starts for the Seminoles, each adding eight in the opening frame.
Following the holiday break, FSU returns home for its final non-conference matchup of the regular season. The Seminoles host Georgia State on Saturday, Dec. 29, at 2 p.m. at the Donald L. Tucker Center.
