No. 24 FSU women’s basketball blows out Wake Forest

(24) Florida State (19-3, 7-2 ACC) defeated Wake Forest (10-12, 1-8 ACC) today at the Tallahassee Leon County Civic Center by an 85-61 score.

Game Recap

FSU got off to a fine start in this game racing out to a 10-4 lead helped by triples from Nicki Ekhomu and Nausia Woolfolk. The Noles ended the quarter with a 24-12 lead after a quick 6-0 run from three straight layups.

The second quarter began with the teams trading baskets. Midway through the quarter the Seminoles made a move scoring seven straight to take a 37-19 lead. Wake responded with five straight points of their own but FSU went on a 7-2 run to end the half and take a 44-25 lead into the locker room.

The Noles cruised in the second half. Wake never got closer than 15 points the rest of the way enroute to the 85-61 final score.

Post Game

Kiah Gillespie led Florida State with 22 points. Nicki Ekhomu had 17 while Nausia Woolfolk and Morgan Jones chipped in with 14 and 12 respectively.

The Noles struggled from deep again today shooting 4-14 from three - really 4-13 because one of those misses was a half court heave to beat the buzzer by Woolfolk. However, FSU had an exceptional percentage from the field overall (54.7%). This was due to the fact that the Seminoles forced 18 WF turnovers and many were live ball turnovers (FSU had 10 steals) that led to easy fast break points. Florida State had 27 points off turnovers and 14 fast break points in the game. The Noles were great in transition today and that led to the good shooting percentage.

Florida State also controlled the boards in this game winning the rebounding battle 34-22. FSU limited the Deacons to only four offensive rebounds for the game. That translated to Wake only notching four second chance points.

Florida State looked good in this game. Enthusiasm must be tempered by the fact that the opponent was Wake Forest but the Seminoles did many good things this afternoon. They had active hands that led to the turnovers. They controlled the boards and they got good contributions from all eight available players.

This game was just what the doctor ordered as FSU heads into the toughest stretch of the season. Florida State’s next three games are against two top ten teams and a team that beat them by double digits in Tallahassee earlier this season. If FSU can continue to play the way they did today they will have a chance to finish in the top four of the conference and earn a double bye in the ACC Tournament.

Next Game

Florida State will host (7) N.C. State (21-1, 8-1 ACC) on Thursday at 7pm in Tallahassee. The game will be broadcast on the ACCNetwork Extra. The Wolfpack suffered their first loss of the season today falling at home to North Carolina 64-51.