It didn’t come easy for Florida State women’s basketball on Friday, but the fifth-seeded Seminoles advanced past the first round of the NCAA Tournament for a seventh straight year and for the 14th time in 15 years. FSU slipped past 12th-seeded Bucknell in Charlotte, 70-67.
The Bison (28-6) started strong, racing to a 15-6 lead. FSU was able to cut the deficit to one after a quarter and lead 32-30 at the break.
The Seminoles (24-8) led 54-50 after three quarters, but Bucknell scored the first eight points to open the fourth. After knotting the game at 60, FSU’s Nicki Ekhomu and Kiah Gillespie hit consecutive 3-pointers to give the Seminoles some breathing room and they would never trail again.
Ekhomu did leave the door open for Bucknell by splitting a pair of free throws with less than 15 seconds to play. Both Kaitlyn Slagus and Kyi English had good looks from distance for the Bison, but neither could hit and time expired.
Kiah Gillespie paced the Seminoles with 17 points and 11 rebounds in the win. Ekhomu, Nausia Woolfolk and Valencia Myers all finished with 15 points for FSU.
Bucknell shot better from the field, from the foul line and from beyond the arc than FSU, but the Seminoles dominated the glass. Florida State held a 44-23 rebounding edge and had 20 offensive rebounds to just five for the Bison.
Kate Walker finished with 18 points to lead Bucknell. Slagus and Ellie Mack added 13 and 12 points, respectively, in the loss for the Patriot League champions.
Up next for FSU will be a match-up with fourth-seeded South Carolina to decide who advances to the Sweet 16 in the Greensboro Regional. The Gamecocks defeated Belmont, 74-52, on Friday. South Carolina beat FSU in the 2015 Elite Eight and the 2017 Sweet 16.
Mike Ferguson is the editor of The Daily Nole. Follow Mike on Twitter @MikeWFerguson
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