The Daily Nole

FSU Women’s Hoops Exceeds Expectations Though 20 Games

FSU athletics

In the offseason, it was the Florida State men’s hoops who got all the preseason love. Through 20 games for both programs, it’s the FSU women who have had the best season on the hardwood so far.

As the men were reaching the Elite Eight for the first time in 25 years last season, the women’s season ended on a sour note. The senior-laden Seminoles suffered a 21-point home loss to upstart Buffalo in the second round of the NCAA Tournament after reaching the Sweet 16 in the three seasons prior and the Elite Eight the year before.

Coming into the 2018-19 season, not much was expected of the Florida State women. The Seminoles were unranked in the preseason polls for the first time since the 2014-15 season. FSU was picked to finish seventh in the ACC by the conference’s media members and eighth by the ACC’s coaches.

The Seminoles were forced to replace their top three and four of their top five scorers. That included Shakayla Thomas, the former conference player of the year. All in all, FSU entered the season losing 74 percent of its points, 71 percent of its rebounds and 69 percent of its assists from the 2017-18 season.

Through 20 games, FSU stands at 17-3, undefeated on the road and ranked in both polls. Head coach Sue Semrau has led Florida State to the promising start with a roster that doesn’t have a senior and has just three juniors.

Maryland transfer Kiah Gillespie has been the best player for the Seminoles early on, averaging 17.1 points per game and 9.1 rebounds. While shooting a team-high 47 percent, Gillespie is currently the only player in the ACC to rank in the top five in the conference in both scoring and rebounding.

After serving as reserves last season, guards Nicki Ekhomu and Nausia Woolfolk have made significant strides this season. Ekhomu is averaging 14.3 points and 3.7 assists and has proven to be clutch late in games. Woolfolk is averaging 12.4 points and tied for the team-lead in steals with Ekhomu. Woolfolk is coming off a career-high 27 points, including 23 in the second half, in a thrilling win over Virginia Tech on Sunday.

While Gillespie has been the top player for FSU among newcomers, Ohio native Valencia Myers has been FSU’s top freshman. Myers is averaging more than nine points, 6.6 rebounds and shooting 46 percent from the field. She also ranks sixth in the ACC in blocked shots per game at 1.5 per contest.

At 5-2 in conference, the Seminoles are currently in a 3-way tie for fifth with Clemson and Syracuse. The upcoming stretch however, is daunting as FSU hosts a Miami team that is ranked in the USA Today Coaches Poll on Thursday night. After a home contest with Wake Forest over the weekend, FSU will host undefeated NC State before visiting defending national champion Notre Dame and a much-improved Clemson team that defeated the Seminoles in Tallahassee earlier this month.

Currently projected as a No. 6 seed by ESPN’s Charlie Creme, FSU will find out what it is made of over a brutal final stretch of the regular season with five of its final nine games against teams currently ranked in either the AP or the Coaches Poll. To this point however, there’s no doubt that the Seminoles have overachieved.

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