The Daily Nole

FSU Women Lock Down Louisville, 72-65

Clint Eiland/The Daily Nole

Florida State women’s basketball secured a key victory over No. 9 Louisville on Thursday night, with big games from Shakayla Thomas and Brittany Brown leading the way in a 72-65 win.

A slow first quarter proved to be a bit of a slug-fest, as neither team had much success putting points on the board. Florida State had an unusually hard time getting its footing down low, and it led to the Seminoles being down 14-13 after one. The second quarter is when they roared back with a stifling defensive effort, and took a lead into halftime. It didn’t last long however as Louisville began a streak of its own in the third quarter that carried over about halfway into the fourth. That’s when the FSU defense revived itself and lead to a close victory for the Seminoles.

Below are some observations and notable numbers from the game:

Observations

  • FSU let in some backdoor passes to start the game a bit too often. It gave Louisville six points to start out, and the issue wasn’t fixed until the first timeout on the floor.
  • Louisville was in control under the basket on both sides of the floor. It pestered Chatrice White and made sure that Shakayla Thomas and Brittany Brown didn’t cut inside much (if at all). On the other side, the Cardinals got good passes and one-on-one matchups they liked.
  • Neither offense was too impressive in the first quarter. Louisville barely edged FSU’s 38 percent shooting with its own 41 percent.
  • Chatrice White might have been underrated as a defender. Once she got into a groove, she was impressive in defending the basket. At half, she had three blocks and two steals.
  • Florida State’s defense began to flex its muscles as the second quarter went on. The Seminoles caused some key turnovers and made enough stops to help the offense get organized. To end the quarter, Louisville made only two of its last 12 shots.
  • Getting hot behind the line helped tremendously as well. 3-pointers from Imani Wright and Brittany Brown helped an FSU run that resulted in the Noles outscoring Louisville 19-11 in the second.
  • Asia Durr caused a lot of problems for the FSU defense in the third quarter. While she certainly could contribute points of her own, her offensive impact was more than that. She was finding open teammates and forcing FSU to always keep track of where she was.
  • Both teams traded the lead throughout a tight third quarter. There wasn’t anything in particular that was working–both teams were simply making tough shots. Not surprisingly, FSU caused two turnovers towards the end that helped them take a 2-point lead in the fourth.
  • It seemed that whenever it looked like FSU would pull away, Louisville hit another 3-pointer to keep it close. The Cardinals shot 47 percent from behind the arc Thursday, and it was clearly a factor that was keeping them in the game.
  • This is not a slight towards Louisville’s defense at all, but FSU was missing easy baskets that it makes 90 percent of the time. At certain points the Seminoles missed uncontested layups and easy put-backs.
  • Once again, Shakayla Thomas proved that she is the most complete player on the team. With the game close in the fourth quarter, she drew a foul on a shot and made both free throws to put the team up 64-63. But she wasn’t done yet; she drew a foul on the other end that gave FSU the ball. Imani Wright hit a trey on that possession.
  • On a night where Brittany Brown broke the record for most career steals, she racked up six of them.
  • Florida State’s defense deserved the MVP for Thursday night. Louisville did not make a single basket in the final 3:54 of the game, and 19 turnovers throughout the contest were killer.

Notable Numbers

Brittany Brown (FSU): 12 points (3-for-11), 11 rebounds, 7 assists, 6 steals

Shakayla Thomas (FSU): 24 points (9-for-14), 8 rebounds

Asia Durr (LOU): 21 points (7-for-14), 4 assists, 3 rebounds, 3 steals

Mariya Moore (LOU): 15 points (4-for-11), 5 rebounds, 5 assists

Quotes

Sue Semrau on early struggles inside: “In the first half, I thought it was very physical inside, we even talked about what do we do as far as getting the ball deeper into the post. Credit the kids that set the screens…the guards that made the passes…”

Brittany Brown on versatility: “Any given night it can be anybody…I’m just doing whatever they need me to do for us to pull out a win.”

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