TALLAHASSEE, Fla. (Seminoles.com) – With the No. 20/19 Florida State Women’s Basketball team being down in numbers, sophomore Leticia Romero and freshman Shakayla Thomas rose to the occasion to lead FSU to a 58-43 conference win over Pitt on Thursday night at the Donald L. Tucker Center.
Romero, making her first career start and her fifth appearance, recorded FSU career highs of 19 points (8-of-12) and eight field goals made. The natural point guard tied her career best with seven rebounds and dished out three assists to just two turnovers in 30 minutes.
The Las Palmas, Spain, native did her best to run the offense on a night where FSU did not have the services of standout center Adut Bulgak, who suffered a concussion last game against Duke on Sunday and continues to be revaluated. The Seminoles (16-2, 3-1) were also forced to bring redshirt junior guard Morgan Jones off the bench because of a hip injury that prevented her from practicing early in the week.
“I anticipated that Pitt would be a really tough opponent,” FSU head coach Sue Semrau said. “They really handled (North) Carolina up at their place and played Louisville extremely close. This was their first road game, and I think that that showed, but I think our defense was a big part of that. We went on an 18-0 run in the first half, and that was largely because of our defense.”
Helping alleviate the undermanned Noles was Thomas’ presence in the paint. The athletic freshman from Sylacauga, Ala., notched her second career double-double with 13 points (6-of-10) and a career-high tying 10 rebounds. Thomas was also a force defensively with a career-high four blocked shots, as FSU blocked an impressive seven shots considering 53.5 percent (38 blocks) of its production was taken away with the injury to Bulgak. FSU’s seven blocks are its most in conference play this year.
The Panthers (11-5, 1-2) came off a resounding 84-59 home win last Thursday against then-No. 8 North Carolina, but made some self-inflicted mistakes with the help of some quick and athletic FSU defense. Very rarely did Pitt’s inside players find free passes to the lane, and its 3-pointer shooters were often contested from the outside. Pitt’s 43 points scored ties its lowest of the season as it lost to Princeton in its first game, 59-43. Princeton is one of the few remaining unbeatens in college basketball.
Senior guard Brianna Kiesel, one of the ACC’s top point guards, was held to six points (3-of-11) after entering the game averaging 22.5 over her last four games. She was part of a Pitt team that turned the ball over 23 times and mustered just six assists, including one assist to 13 turnovers at halftime.
FSU shot 25-of-65 (38.5 percent) from the floor while holding Pitt to 31.5 percent (17-of-54) from the field. The Panthers are the eighth FSU opponent this season to be held below 35 percent shooting.
Sophomore forward Ivey Slaughter was another important figure for FSU, recording eight points and seven rebounds as well as two blocks and two steals in just 16 minutes. She helped FSU win the rebounding battle, 47-42, to continue its streak of out-rebounding every opponent this season.
Florida State took a dominant 32-14 lead at halftime, as Pitt’s 14 points were the lowest scored by an FSU opponent this season. Pitt’s six made field goals was also the lowest by a first-half opponent, and the seventh time the Noles held the opposition to single-digit field goals made in the game’s first 20 minutes.
“Huge,” Semrau said of having a big halftime lead. “Especially with Ivey being in foul trouble. I wondered how we’d come out and thought we maybe relaxed some in some areas, but I got a chance to play a lot of players who deserve an opportunity to be on the floor. So that was fun to see.”
The decisive run was an 18-0 onslaught that gave the Noles a 20-4 advantage midway through the first half and held Pitt scoreless for 8:12. The run began with a layup by Kai James on a nice lob pass from Romero and ended with a pull-up mid-range jumper from Romero at the 8:54 mark. She finished the first half with 10 points, her third double-figure game in five appearances, on 5-of-6 shooting from the floor.
Thomas gave the Noles some strong play in the paint, adding nine points on 4-of-6 shooting with five boards. FSU forced Pitt into 13 turnovers and converted 16 points off the Panther miscues, and held one of the ACC’s top guards in Kiesel scoreless going 0-for-5. FSU shot 15-of-33 from the floor (45.5 percent), drilling its last three field goals of the half on a couple tough jumpers by Thomas and a fast break layup by Morgan Jones.
Florida State prepares for its fifth conference game as it travels to face Virginia Tech on Sunday, Jan. 18, at 2 p.m.
For all information on Florida State Women’s Basketball, be sure to head to our Facebook (Facebook.com/FSUWomensBasketball), Twitter (@FSU_WBasketball) and Instagram (FSU_WomensBasketball) sites.
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