Courtesy: Jeremy Esbrandt
Courtesy: Seminoles.com
Noles Fall to Irish in ACC Championship
GREENSBORO, N.C. (Seminoles.com)
– The No. 7/6 Florida State Women’s Basketball team made its first ACC
Tournament Championship appearance on Sunday, but ultimately fell to No. 2/2
Notre Dame 71-58 in the Greensboro Coliseum.
It was a strong first half for the Fighting Irish (31-2) that propelled them
to a second consecutive ACC championship. The Seminoles (29-4) trailed Notre
Dame 38-25 in what was a rare halftime deficit, as inside looks were hard to
come by with UND’s defense packing the paint. FSU was only able to muster 20
points inside while the Irish generated 50 points on the block.
Junior guard Jewell Loyd led Notre Dame and all scorers with 18 points and
finished with seven rebounds. Florida State redshirt senior guard Maegan
Conwright led the Noles with 14 points and dished out six assists, just one shy
of her season best. Sophomore guard Leticia Romero added 13 points while junior
center Adut Bulgak had 10 points and seven boards.
Florida State kept even with Notre Dame in the second half at 33-33, and
proved to be bothersome at times with seven blocked shots. Sophomore forward
Ivey Slaughter once again recorded a career high-tying three blocks while
freshman Shakayla Thomas added two.
For the first time this season, FSU was out-rebounded as Notre Dame won the
edge on the glass 39-27.
Two quick baskets in the paint forced an FSU timeout early in the second
half. The Noles faced a 42-25 deficit, their largest deficit of the season.
Following the timeout, FSU got an immediate 3-point field goal from Conwright
and Romero would follow with a 3-ball from the left wing to leave FSU trailing
48-33 with 15:54 left. FSU finished the game with six made 3-point field goals
in 20 attempts.
FSU trailed at halftime for just the third time this season, heading into the
locker room with a 38-25 deficit. Notre Dame out-rebounded FSU in the first half
21-15 and shot 48.5 percent, led by four players who each had eight points.
UND’s size advantage showed in its 26-4 advantage in the paint, while the Irish
also generated 18 points off 10 FSU turnovers.
Notre Dame would finish the game shooting 51.7 percent (31-of-60) from the
floor while FSU shot 21-of-57 (36.8 percent).
Bulgak led FSU with 10 points in the first half despite finding it difficult
to go inside. It marks her 21st double-figure scoring game of the
year.
A fast start to the game made for some entertaining play on both sides as
Notre Dame took a 16-14 lead into the first media timeout at 13:12. Brittany
Brown led FSU with six points early as she swished her first two 3-point field
goals, including her first to cut FSU’s deficit to 10-5 following an 8-0 Notre
Dame run. From the start of the game the Irish tried to use its size to its
advantage with high-low action for Brianna Turner on the block.
FSU took a 17-16 lead on a 3-pointer from Bulgak at the wing. The Noles had a
period of strong defense where it forced Notre Dame turnovers and held the Irish
to a 2:51 scoring drought. However, The Irish turned things around with an 8-0
run over a quick one-minute period as a result of forcing FSU turnovers and
finding open shooters in transition. The Noles had a stretch where they went
2-for-11 to allow Notre Dame to take a 28-19 lead with 6:55 left in the first
half.
Romero drew her third foul of the game late in the second half when she was
whistled for a charge. FSU’s offense continued to struggle but got a boost from
Bulgak’s second 3-point field goal of the game to cut the deficit to 36-25.
However, a scramble for the rebound underneath the basket popped into the arms
of Madison Cable, whose layup created FSU’s 38-25 halftime deficit.
Shakayla Thomas earned a spot on the ACC All-Tournament First Team while
Leticia Romero was named to the second team. Jewell Loyd earned MVP honors for
the Fighting Irish.
Florida State is expected to be selected as a host to the NCAA First and
Second Rounds scheduled for March 20-23. The NCAA Tournament Selection Show will
air on Monday, March 16, at 7 p.m. on ESPN. Stay tuned for an announcement this
upcoming week on a selection show watch party held with the FSU Women’s
Basketball team at the Donald L. Tucker Center.
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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