FSU Women Open NCAA Tourney with Thrashing of UALR

Florida State’s women’s basketball streak of getting past the first round was extended with little resistance early Saturday as the third-seeded Seminoles cruised past Arkansas-Little Rock to open the NCAA Tournament in Tallahassee, 91-49.

It was domination from the start as FSU shot 58 percent from the field while holding Arkansas-Little Rock to 36 percent. The Seminoles won the battle on the glass, 42-20 and forced 16 turnovers.

It looked as though the Trojans (23-10) started strong and actually led 8-4 early on. FSU (26-6) responded with a 15-2 run and never looked back. The Seminoles led 53-30 at halftime before holding Arkansas-Little Rock to seven points in third quarter and leading by as many as 47 points in the final frame.

Shakayla Thomas finished with 26 points on 11-for-15 shooting to lead the way for FSU. Nicole Ekhomo and Chatrice White each finished with 13 points. White pulled down a game-high 10 rebounds. A.J. Alix added 12 points on 5 of 7 shooting and dished out a team-high five assists.

Arkansas-Little Rock was led by Tori Lasker, who scored 13 points. Keyana Keys added 11 points as the Trojans’ season came to an end. Forward Ronjanae DeGray finished with 10 points.

FSU improved to 14-0 in the first round since the women’s tournament expanded to 64 teams. Florida State will move on to face the winner of the contest between sixth-seeded South Florida and No. 11 seed Buffalo. On the line for FSU will be a fourth straight appearance in the Sweet 16.

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