Seminoles rumble to Sweet 16
TALLAHASSEE — Shakayla Thomas scored 20 points and third-seeded Florida State advanced to the Sweet 16 for the third consecutive season with a 77-55 victory over No. 6 seed Missouri on Sunday.
Thomas, who also had 11 rebounds, was one of four Seminoles in double figures. Brittany Brown added 16 points while Imani Wright and Leticia Romero each scored 14.
Florida State (27-6) will face either second-seeded Oregon State or No. 7 seed Creighton in a regional semifinal game in Stockton, Calif., on Saturday.
Missouri (22-11) led 17-12 22 seconds into the second quarter on a Jordan Chavis 3-pointer before Florida State took the lead for good with a 17-2 run as Romero scored six points.
The Seminoles led 32-27 at halftime but put the game out of reach by scoring the first eight points of the third quarter.
Florida State, which is making its fifth appearance in the Sweet 16, is 3-0 in NCAA second-round games that have taken place at the Donald L. Tucker Center. The previous two times — 2010 and ’15 — they would end up making it to the Elite Eight.
When she signed on to become a Hurricane, Jessica Thomas believed in Miami’s potential.
She saw the success Hurricanes women’s basketball coach Katie Meier had had with the likes of Riquna Williams and Shenise Johnson. She trusted in the recruits Meier was trying to bring to Coral Gables. And she felt Miami was a program on the rise.
Four years later, the moment Meier, Thomas and the rest of Miami’s seniors have worked for is here.
The No. 4 seed Hurricanes will take the floor tonight for their final home game of the season — a round-of-32 NCAA Tournament game against No. 12 seed Quinnipiac.
A win will send the Hurricanes to the Sweet 16 for the second time in program history.
“I knew what we were capable of doing and I feel like this was destined for us,” Thomas said. “We didn’t come here to be some team in the back of the conference. We knew if we always came out swinging and always gave our hardest that we could accomplish a lot. I believed we’d play for the Sweet 16 on our floor. We know what we’ve put into this program. … It’s my senior year now. The possibility is here.”