Late push helps FSU sweep UM
TALLAHASSEE — With less than five minutes remaining in the fourth quarter, freshman forward Maria Conde drove the lane and scored a reverse-layup to give Florida State the lead against rival Miami. After trailing the majority of the game, Conde’s layup put FSU up for good.
The No. 12 Seminoles (23-6, 13-3 ACC) used a 26-point fourth quarter to defeat the No. 17 Miami Hurricanes (22-7, 10-6) 70-67 Sunday at Donald L. Tucker Civic Center. The win secured a season sweep of the Hurricanes and makes it the second time in program history FSU has won13 ACC games.
The victory also was Florida State’s first over a ranked opponent since Jan. 24 when it beat then-No. 16 Miami in Coral Gables. The Seminoles have now won nine of the past 10 games against Miami.
Florida State built a sevenpoint lead with less than a minute to go, but Miami pulled within two. Junior Leticia Romero hit five free throws in the final minute to ice the win in front of an announced crowd of 3,945.
“It was a tremendous crowd. I thought it gave us a ton of energy,” FSU coach Sue Semrau said. “Here at the end of the year, you’re tired. This always happens in the NCAA Tournament, ACC Tournament.”
FSU won despite being out-rebounded for the fifth time this season. The Hurricanes were led by Adrienne Motley and Erykah Davenport with seven rebounds apiece. Motley also led Miami with 18 points.
Florida State got off to a sloppy start, missing eight of its 11 shots. The Seminoles routinely lost control of the ball, but several offensive fouls prevented Miami from capitalizing. The Hurricanes led by as many as seven in the first quarter, but two quick buckets by sophomore for- ward Shakayla Thomas cut the deficit to one in the final minute.
The Hurricanes had no answer for Thomas down low. She dominated in the paint and finished with 22 points.
“Shakayla Thomas, just at will,” Semrau said.
Juniors Brittany Brown and Ivey Slaughter both went 0 for 4 in the first half and seniors Adut Bulgak and Emiah Bingley combined for seven points.
“That’s what a rivalry game looks like. Obviously it wasn’t the prettiest game,” Semrau said, “but it was grit.”
Romero also got off to a sluggish start, hitting two of her first seven shots before scoring FSU’s final eight points of the first half to draw the Seminoles within one.
That got her rolling and she shot 75 percent from the field and picked up three of her four assists in the second half. She finished with a career-high 24 points.
“In these kind of games, you as a point guard got to do whatever the team needs from you,” Romero said. “It’s not going to be me always. It’s going to be every person. We have a team where everybody can step up and score.”
Florida State honored Bulgak and Bingley before the game as part of senior night. Bulgak has 18 career doubledoubles, while Bingley transferred from Iowa State after her freshman year.
“Adut doesn’t have great numbers here this afternoon, but she made a difference and set the tone in the way we defended the ball screens in the fourth quarter,” Semrau said.
The Seminoles had already locked up the No. 4 seed in the ACC Tournament coming into play, while the Hurricanes are the No. 5 seed. The tournament starts Friday at the Greensboro Coliseum in North Carolina.
“It was a big win,” Conde said. “It was a huge game and we’re ready for ACC now.”