TALLAHASSEE, Fla. (Seminoles.com) – The critical month of February begins for Florida State Women’s Basketball (10-9, 4-5) as it attempts a ninth consecutive NCAA Tournament appearance. The Seminoles have four AP Top 25 ranked opponents on their remaining schedule, beginning with No. 3 NC State (19-3, 10-1) on Thursday night at 6 p.m. at Reynolds Coliseum on the ACC Network.
Thursday’s meeting between the Seminoles and Wolfpack will be their first since playing in the 2020 ACC Championship Game on March 8, 2020 - a contest won by NC State 71-66. Last year’s game was canceled due to COVID-19 protocols.
Good coaches are also good motivators ����A small dose of that on Sunday was just what we needed �� #NoleFAM pic.twitter.com/x3AoNOnxVI— FSU Women's Hoops (@fsuwbb) January 31, 2022
Overall, NC State leads the series 32-16. FSU last defeated the Wolfpack, 75-70, on Feb. 7, 2019, in Tallahassee when many of its current seniors were freshmen (Valencia Myers, Kourtney Weber, Morgan Jones, Izabela Nicoletti and Amaya Brown).
Seven of the last eight games between FSU and NC State have been decided by single digits.
A win over third-ranked NC State on Thursday would mark four out of five years where FSU has defeated at least one Top 5 opponent in a season. Last year, FSU defeated No. 3 Louisville, 68-59, on Feb. 21, 2021, in Tallahassee.
FSU’s highest-ranked wins overall are against No. 2 Duke (80-74, Feb. 8, 2004 at home) and No. 2 Louisville (50-49, Jan. 21, 2018 on the road). FSU has gotten at least one AP Top 25 win in each of the previous seven seasons (2014-15 year to present).
FSU owns 11 AP Top-5 wins in its program’s history, with 10 of the 11 coming under Head Coach Sue Semrau (1997-present).
Have a week @MorganAmari_ ��#NoleFAM pic.twitter.com/9J4EL2OriZ— FSU Women's Hoops (@fsuwbb) January 31, 2022
Jones put together another strong week in games vs. No. 5 Louisville and Virginia last week. The Jonesboro, Ga., native combined to average 22.0 points, 6.5 rebounds, shooting 54.5 percent (18-of-33) from the floor and average 2.0 blocked shots.
In FSU’s two Top 25 games this season at Georgia Tech and at Louisville, Jones is averaging 20.0 points, 7.5 rebounds, shooting 48.4 percent (15-of-31) from the floor and 90.9 percent (10-of-11) from the free throw line.
In 19 games played, Florida State has used 11 lineup combinations due to injuries and COVID-19 protocols. The Seminoles are 4-0 this season using the starters they had last game vs. Virginia (O’Mariah Gordon, Sammie Puisis, Jones, Erin Howard and Myers). That group also started together vs. Wake Forest (W, 87-46) and in both wins vs. Clemson (79-68 on the road; 75-70 at home).
The Seminoles enter Thursday’s game at 57th in the latest NET rankings. FSU does not own a bad loss this year, showing a 9-0 mark against teams outside the Top 100.
In six road games this year, freshman point guard Gordon is averaging 8.0 points, shooting 52.6 percent (20-of-38) and has 16 assists compared to 10 turnovers.
NC State suffered a 69-66 road loss at No. 20 Notre Dame on Tuesday night, its first loss in ACC play this season. All-America center Elissa Cunane is averaging 13.6 points and 8.0 rebounds per game, while Diamond Johnson adds 11.9 points and is shooting 38.1 percent from 3-point range.
Notre Dame (45.8 percent) and FSU (44.0 percent) are the top two shooting teams in ACC play. The Seminoles host the 20th-ranked Fighting Irish on Sunday at 2 p.m. in a game that was selected by ESPN as a Play4Kay game on the ACC Network.