TALLAHASSEE, Fla. (Seminoles.com) — Steady play by Florida State Women’s Basketball down the stretch of a close one with Clemson allowed it to get past the Tigers on Sunday afternoon, as the Seminoles earned the 75-70 win at the Donald L. Tucker Center to finish a busy three-game week.
Clemson (7-12, 1-7) hung tough for most of the game, getting a layup and the foul from guard Delicia Washington to cut the Florida State (9-8, 3-4) lead to just 66-63 with 1:45 remaining. FSU freshman point guard O’Mariah Gordon then came up with the biggest basket of the game, getting a tough out-stretched runner to fall off the glass and extend the Seminole lead to 68-63 with 1:23 remaining.
From there, senior guard Morgan Jones closed out the game with seven made free throws down the stretch.
“I give a lot of credit to Clemson for always fighting,” FSU Head Coach Sue Semrau said. “I think Amanda Butler has done a fantastic job with her team. I think we did a lot of work with our toughness and our grit in the last few days. Three games in a week is very tough. I’m really proud of the effort and that we sustained a run and were able to get the win.”
The Seminoles got back to their winning ways on the glass, out-rebounding Clemson 27-24. FSU’s bench out-scored the Tigers 35-18, and FSU recorded 15 assists to 12 turnovers on the afternoon.
The win gives FSU a regular-season sweep over Clemson, having defeated the Tigers 79-68 earlier in the week on Tuesday on the road.
Four double-figure scorers highlighted FSU’s offensive display, as Jones had 15, freshman forward Makayla Timpson added 12, junior center River Baldwin had 11 and Gordon chipped in with 10.
“Coach Sue has always challenged us,” Baldwin said. “That’s our big points of emphasis: Defense and rebounding. We had a little slip-up when we lost to Miami, so I think we took the time to buy into that in practice and it carried over to the game. When we start with that, our energy is crazy and it really gets the momentum going.”
Baldwin led the Seminoles with eight rebounds and continued her strong career against Clemson, where she has produced some other solid performances. The Andalusia, Ala., native made several hustle plays and came up with timely rebounds, including an offensive board off a missed free throw with 45 seconds and FSU holding a 69-63 lead.
Florida State shot 25-of-26 from the free throw line, while Clemson went 11-of-11. Since the 2009-10 season, it was just the third time two teams combined to miss zero or one free throw on 37 or more attempts according to Her Hoop Stats.
Florida State shot 45.1 percent for the game, while Clemson shot 46.3 percent which included a third quarter where it out-scored FSU, 27-17. The Seminoles held a 35-24 lead at the break before the Tigers came out hot in the third.
Delicia Washington led all scorers with 24 points. Clemson’s Amari Robinson, who had 27 points vs. FSU on Tuesday, was held to just seven points on 2-of-8 shooting.
FSU prepares for a road game at No. 3 Louisville on Thursday, Jan. 27, at 8 p.m. on the ACC Network.
