TALLAHASSEE, Fla. — Clinging to a one-point lead at halftime, Florida State Women’s Basketball produced a 40-point second half and defeated a physical Boston College team, 66-58, on Thursday night at the Donald L. Tucker Center.
With the Seminoles (14-11, 8-7 Atlantic Coast Conference) and Eagles (16-10, 7-8 ACC) coming into the game with identical 7-7 ACC records, the victory was key for Florida State. FSU is tied for seventh in the ACC standings with Miami (15-10, 8-7) with three regular-season games left.
The victory over Boston College also marks the first time FSU moves above .500 in ACC play this season. FSU has won four of its past five games, saving its best basketball down the stretch.
“I’m really proud of them,” FSU Head Coach Sue Semrau said. “I felt like the physicality was something that we matched. (Taylor) Soule is a tremendous player; she’s really physical. (Maria) Gakdeng is a handful. She’s long and physical, and it was nice to see us match that.”
The game had the potential to get away from Florida State early, with Boston College’s Maria Gakdeng grabbing seemingly every offensive rebound in the opening quarter. Florida State junior center River Baldwin helped change the complexion of the ballgame, scoring 11 points, grabbing eight rebounds and drawing five fouls.
Baldwin also made it tougher for Gakdeng to be effective, putting in a strong defensive effort. FSU out-scored the Eagles 34-21 with Baldwin on the floor, and were out-scored 32-37 when she was on the bench.
“We knew coming in that they crashed the O-boards really hard,” Baldwin said. “Physicality was the name of the game. We just had to step it up in that department.”
Boston College out-rebounded Florida State 40-33, but FSU closed the gap significantly in the second half. After recording 10 offensive rebounds in the opening quarter where BC led 15-9, FSU limited the Eagles to just nine for the rest of the game.
Senior guard Morgan Jones scored 12 of her 17 points in the second half, coming out hot in the third quarter with her mid-range jumper. FSU out-scored BC 20-15 in the third, continuing its trend of strong third-quarter play against ACC teams as it properly makes halftime adjustments.
Freshman Mariana Valenzuela produced another fine game, chipping in with seven points and three rebounds in 12:56. The native of Mazlatan, Mexico, has provided FSU with another formidable player around the paint.
After Taylor Soule cut the BC deficit to 60-55 on a pair of made free throws with 54 seconds in the fourth quarter, FSU had a big possession to put the game out of reach. Freshman O’Mariah Gordon took the shot clock down and recorded a clutch reverse layup that was high on difficulty, putting FSU ahead 62-55 with 27 seconds left.
An important defensive stop for the Seminoles resulted in BC fouling FSU, and Bianca Jackson iced the game with two more free throws with 18 seconds remaining.
Despite BC’s Cameron Swartz getting 22 points, it came on 24 shots as she went 7-of-24 from the floor.
Florida State continued shooting well, going 48 percent (24-of-50) from the floor. FSU shot 50 percent (14-of-28) in the second half. BC was held to just 30.9 percent (21-of-68) from the floor.
