No. 21 FSU women’s basketball bounces back against Pitt

(21) Florida State (21-5, 9-4 ACC) defeated Pitt (10-17, 1-12 ACC) today at the Tallahassee Leon County Civic Center by a 78-46 score.

Game Recap

Florida State started the game in fine fashion scoring the first eight points of the game. The run was sparked by a triple from Nicki Ekhomu. Pitt responded with four quick points. However, FSU responded with a 9-0 run that was capped by another three ball from Ekhomu. After that the two teams mostly traded baskets until the Seminoles ended the quarter with a 7-2 run to take a 28-14 lead into the second quarter.

The second quarter was more of the same as the Noles began the quarter with a 6-2 mini-run. Kiah Gillespie started it for FSU with a jumper and the Seminoles were up 34-16. From there the teams mostly exchanged baskets until Ismini Prapa ended the half with a jumper. However, the Panthers still found themselves down 40-21.

Danielle Garven started the second half scoring for Pitt with a layup. However, the Noles answered with a 9-2 run to take total control of the game at 49-25. From there the Seminoles cruised to the 78-46 victory as the Panthers would never close the margin to under 20 points.

Post Game

Kiah Gillespie led FSU with 18 points and 10 rebounds. Nicki Ekhomu had 15 points while Valencia Myers and Nausia Woolfolk chipped in with 13 and 11 points respectively.

FSU dominated Pitt on the boards to the tune of 44-29. That advantage led to 12 second chance points for the Noles.

This game marked the return of former assistant coach Lance White to Tallahassee. White spent 15 years on Sue Semrau’s staff. He has a challenging rebuilding job ahead of him. It showed today as the Panthers are simply at a talent deficit to most of the ACC.

FSU was better in most facets today but the defense really stood out. The Noles held Pitt to 30.5% shooting (16.7% 3PT). The defense combined with the rebounding advantage made it very difficult for Pitt to find traction in this game.

Pitt is in last place in the ACC so this type of win was expected. However, FSU had lost their previous two games so any type of win was welcome.

Next Game

Florida State will enjoy a week off before heading down to Coral Gables to face (20) Miami (21-5, 9-2 ACC) next Sunday. The game will tip at high noon and will be broadcast on ESPN2.