No. 22 FSU women’s basketball bounces back at Georgia Tech

(22) Florida State (22-7, 10-6 ACC) defeated Georgia Tech (17-12, 7-9 ACC) 64-55 this afternoon in Atlanta.

Game Recap

Normally I recap the entire game but in this one all you need to know about is the fourth quarter. A Liz Dixon jumper with seven seconds left in the third quarter put the Jackets up 51-47 going into the fourth. Those would be the last points GT scored until Jasmine Carson made a layup with a minute and 27 seconds left in the game. In the first eight minutes and 33 seconds Tech failed to score a single point while missing seven shots and two free throws. Georgia Tech also committed eight turnovers in this stretch. They only committed seven in the first three quarters combined.

FSU took advantage of Tech’s implosion. The Noles went on a 13-0 fourth quarter run to take a 60-51 lead. FSU outscored Tech 17-4 in the fourth quarter and GT’s last two points came with a second left in the game when the Noles had effectively stopped playing defense as the game was over.

Post Game

Florida State featured a balanced offense in this game as five players - Nausia Woolfolk (16), Kiah Gillespie (12), Morgan Jones (12), Valencia Myers (11), and Nicki Ekhomu (10) - scored in double figures. Gillespie also added 13 boards while Ekhomu supplied eight assists.

Tech was missing a couple of starters as Francesca Pan and Kierra Fletcher missed their second straight game for “personal reasons”. Head coach MaChelle Joseph also missed her second straight game as she is on “administrative leave” according to Georgia Tech. However, it sure looks like Tech has suspended Joseph.

FSU doesn’t care about aesthetics but this win wasn’t a masterpiece. The Noles shot 19% from deep (4-21) and only 50% (8-16) from the free throw line. However, they played great free throw defense as Tech was only 33% (4-12) from the line.

Honestly, the best thing the Noles did all game was to step back and not get in the way as GT self destructed. I don’t have the best memory but I don’t remember ever seeing a team fall apart the way Tech did in the fourth quarter. However, FSU will gladly take it as they move on to the postseason.

With the win FSU has clinched the sixth seed in the ACC Tournament as the Noles will finish at 10-6 in the conference. The Seminoles have slightly exceeded expectations as they were picked to finish either seventh or eighth (depending on the poll) in the preseason.

Next Game

Florida State will move on to the ACC Tournament which will start March 6 at the Greensboro Coliseum in Greensboro, NC.