FSU Women Fall to NC State in ACC Quarterfinals, 69-62

Playing for the second straight night, sixth-seeded Florida State gave a valiant effort Friday night in Greensboro in the ACC Tournament quarterfinals, but No. 3 seed NC State pulled away late, 69-62.

FSU (23-8) led 24-20 after one, but managed just seven points in the second quarter and trailed 35-31 at the break. The Seminoles would tie the game at 37 early in the third quarter before NC State closed the period on a 13-2 run.

Trailing by 10 with less than a minute to go, FSU got back in the game with three straight 3-pointers. Kourtney Weber hit the first before Nicki Ekhomu added consecutive triples. From there, the Wolfpack (26-4) knocked down four straight free throws to ice the contest.

NC State’s Elissa Cunane paced her team with 22 points on 8-for-13 shooting and nine rebounds. D.D. Rogers finished with 16 points and 10 rebounds in the victory. As a team, NC State shot 45 percent from the floor to just 37 percent for the Seminoles, but FSU did make nine 3s to stay in the game.

Ekhomu led FSU with a game-high 23 points, which included three makes from deep to go with a team-high four assists. Nausia Woolfolk added 10 points in the loss. Kiah Gillespie, Florida State’s leading scorer, was held to eight points on 3-for-13 shooting, but did grab a game-high 11 rebounds.

FSU will have to wait until March 18 to find out who it will face in the NCAA Tournament. The Wolfpack will face second-seeded Louisville in the ACC Tournament semifinals on Saturday. The Cardinals defeated Clemson on Friday night, 75-67.

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