FSU clinched the third Sweet 16 appearance in program history with an impressive 65-47 win over 20th-ranked Florida Gulf Coast at the Donald L. Tucker Center on Monday.
The first half was a wild ride for the Seminoles, who started out extremely hot from the field. They led by as many as 12 at one point, but the Eagles came back thanks to a number of makes from deep.
The ‘Noles dominated in the paint with an 18-10 first half advantage and shot 54 percent from the field. Shakayla Thomas was very impressive in the first half with 10 points and four rebounds, but unfortunately picked up her third foul before the half was over.
The referees were quick to blow the whistle, calling 15 fouls and letting very little occur below the rim. Overall, the Seminoles looked much better than the Eagles, but FGCU’s 3-point shooting kept it closer than it seemed. FSU led 36-28 as the teams headed into the locker rooms.
FSU seemed to have gotten a rousing halftime speech because it came out to start the second half with the look of a team on a mission. The Eagles went ice cold at the beginning, missing their first 11 shots. FGCU’s worst fear occurred as it couldn’t seem to buy a basket from deep.
In fact, the Eagles shot just 25 percent in the second half. Leticia Romero (11 points, 7 rebounds, 6 assists) and Adut Bulgak (9 point and 13 rebounds) each hit their strides at the right time to help the ‘Noles jump out to a huge lead in a quick manner. The Seminoles never looked back, outscoring the Eagles 29-19 in the second half and cruising to an 18-point win.
One noteworthy stat is that the Seminoles and Eagles shot the same percentage from the 3-point line: 28 percent. The difference is that FGCU took 25 shots while FSU took 18 — an abnormally high amount for the team. The ‘Noles seemed to regress a bit in the turnover department, giving it up 17 times while only forcing 10 for the Eagles.
As expected, the home team dominated the boards by a margin of 46-23, due in large part to Bulgak getting back to her old ways of controlling the paint. Overall, it was a fantastic performance by the Seminoles.
FSU will face either Arizona State or Arkansas in Little Rock in the round of 16.
