The Daily Nole

FSU Women’s Elite Eight Rally Falls Short

Mike Olivella/FSU athletics

On Sunday, it was the South Carolina men notching a trip to the Final Four. On Monday, it was the South Carolina women.

Despite a valiant effort and a late run from third-seeded Florida State, the No. 1 seed Gamecocks held off the Seminoles in the NCAA Tournament regional final, 71-64. It was the second time in three years that FSU’s bid for a first Final Four appearance fell one game short at the hand of the Gamecocks.

Both team’s leading scorers — A’ja Wilson for South Carolina and Shakayla Thomas for FSU — fought foul trouble for most of the first half. The theme of starting slow in the NCAA Tournament continued for the Seminoles (28-7) as they trailed 21-14 after a quarter and 40-29 at halftime.

The Gamecocks (31-4) led by as many as 16 in the third quarter, but Florida State would no go quietly. The Seminoles trailed 55-45 after three and opened the final quarter on a 17-10 run. FSU trailed 65-62 with less than three minutes to play and had the basketball, but a Thomas jumper fell off the front of the rim.

South Carolina got just its second offensive rebound of the night on the ensuing possession, which led to a runner by Kaela Davis to put the Gamecocks back up, 67-62. On the next South Carolina possession, it looked as if FSU’s Leticia Romero had come up with a steal and layup at the other end, but a foul was called. The Gamecocks from there, were able to do enough to hold on.

Davis finished with a game-high 23 points on 10-for-15 shooting to pace South Carolina. Tyasha Harris and Wilson each had 16 points. Allisha Gray added 11 in the win.

Romero paced the Seminoles with 16 points, but on just 6-for-23 shooting, although she did come on strong in the second half. Chatrice White was 7-for-9 to finish with 15 points off the bench while Imani Wright added 11.

South Carolina will advance to the Final Four to take on Stanford. The victor will face the winner of Mississippi State and defending national champion Connecticut.

Mike Ferguson is the editor of The Daily Nole. Follow Mike on Twitter @MikeWFerguson

One Comment

  1. Pingback: *All Sing* “Takin’ Care of Business!” | Women's Hoops Blog

You must be logged in to post a comment Login

Leave a Reply