FSU women’s basketball defends home court against Boston College

Florida State (14-11, 8-7 ACC) defeated Boston College (16-10, 7-8 ACC) 66-58 tonight in Tallahassee.

Game Recap

Boston College got off to a fast start. The Eagles scored seven of the first eight points of the game to take the early lead. From there the teams mostly exchanged baskets and BC took a 15-9 lead into the second quarter. The Eagles simply destroyed FSU on the boards in the first quarter. BC won the rebounding battle in the quarter 17-8 and 10 of those 17 were offensive rebounds.

Midway through the second quarter Florida State made a move. The Noles hit BC with a 12-2 run that was capped by an old fashioned three point play from River Baldwin. FSU had taken a 23-21 lead after the run. BC answered with a couple of layups from Clara Ford but Mariana Valenzuela nailed a triple to give the Seminoles a 26-25 lead going into halftime.

Morgan Jones kept the Noles afloat to start the second half scoring FSU’s first six points. Midway through the quarter the Seminoles hit BC with a 7-2 run to earn some separation with a 39-32 lead. After that the teams went back and forth and FSU had a 46-40 lead going into the fourth quarter.

Florida State maintained a six to eight point lead throughout the fourth quarter as neither team could sustain a run. Eventually Boston College was forced to foul and River Baldwin sank a pair of free throws to give FSU the final margin of 66-58.

Post Game

Morgan Jones led the Noles in scoring with 17 points. River Baldwin gave FSU some very nice minutes off the bench with 11 points and eight boards.

Boston College looked like they were going to steal this game early with hustle. The Eagles were killing FSU on the boards early. However, the Noles righted the ship. BC had 10 offensive rebounds in the first quarter but finished with only 19 for the game. FSU was able to figure out a way to defend the defensive glass and that was a big key to the victory.

The other huge reason for the win was that BC had a simply atrocious shooting night. BC shot only 30.9% from the field and they were a putrid 2-21 (9.5%) from deep. The Eagles came in shooting 34% from behind the arc which isn’t great but it is obviously way better than 9.5%.

We have discussed this before but FSU simply needs to win out to feel good about an NCAA Tournament bid. This was a Q2 win so FSU is now 3-3 in Q2 games. The Noles are only 2-7 in Q1 games but they will have a chance to change that as their next two games (North Carolina and Georgia Tech) are both Q1 games and they are both at home. If the Seminoles can win both they will have a great shot at extending their NCAA Tournament streak to 10 straight seasons.

Next Game

Florida State will host #24 North Carolina (20-5, 10-5 ACC) at noon on Sunday. The game will be broadcast on Bally Sports. North Carolina defeated Louisville tonight 66-65.