Florida State University Athletics
21st-Ranked Women’s Hoops Heads to Clemson
2/13/2019 10:41:00 AM | Women's Basketball
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TALLAHASSEE, Fla. (Seminoles.com) – Despite playing on Valentine’s Day, there won’t be much love on Thursday night between 21st-ranked Florida State Women’s Basketball (20-4, 8-3) and rival Clemson (15-9, 6-5) as the two teams play their second matchup of the season.
FSU, which leads Clemson by two games in the ACC standings, is looking to avenge a 12-point loss to the Tigers from their first meeting at the Donald L. Tucker Center on Jan. 13. Tip-off is set for 7 p.m. at Littlejohn Coliseum on the ACC Network Extra.
You’re going to face several decisions that shape your future.
We’re glad this is one that @Kiah15Gillespie made #FSUWBB
Original : @PTFPhoto pic.twitter.com/Aed5svCEn9
— FSU Women’s Hoops (@fsuwbb) February 12, 2019
Since falling to Clemson on Jan. 13, Florida State has gone 6-2 in the ACC with nationally-ranked wins over No. 23 Miami (62-58) and No. 9 NC State (75-70), with both wins coming at home. The respectable stretch of play over the last month has been made possible by owning a +6.6 turnover margin in those eight games, averaging just 11.5 turnovers per game while forcing 18.1.
After splitting games against Top 10 opponents NC State and Notre Dame last week, junior guard Nicki Ekhomu proved how tough she can be to stop. In those two games combined, Ekhomu averaged 23.0 points, went 15-of-16 from the free throw line and had 12 assists to just one turnover in 77 out of a possible 80 minutes played.
FSU has won 18 of its last 19 meetings against Clemson dating back to Jan. 11, 2009. The Seminoles have also won 15 straight road meetings with the Tigers, having not lost at Clemson since Dec. 30, 2001 (L, 74-70).
The Seminoles’ latest RPI is 16th, with four Top 25 wins over Iowa (11), NC State (12), Miami (22) and UNC (25).
In Florida State’s last trip to Clemson (a 69-47 win on Jan. 4, 2018), sophomore Savannah Wilkinson went 4-of-5 from 3-point range and totaled a career-high 14 points.
One of Kiah Gillespie’s underrated specialties is defensive rebounding. Nationally, she ranks 36th with 154 defensive rebounds, as well as third in the ACC and 15th among all juniors in the country.
FSU has progressed on the fast break as ACC play has gone on. Over its first six games, it averaged 8.5 points in transition, but has improved to 10.4 fast-break points over the last five games.
Junior post Kobi Thornton has enjoyed a strong season for the Tigers, averaging 14.5 points, 7.3 rebounds and shooting 49.3 percent from the floor. In the first meeting with the Seminoles this season, Thornton totaled 19 points and 10 rebounds.
.@niknak1257 isn’t scared of a challenge or two.
Check out her numbers from last week vs. NC State and Notre Dame. #FSUWBB pic.twitter.com/7bipCDkAlR
— FSU Women’s Hoops (@fsuwbb) February 11, 2019
However, since defeating FSU, Clemson has gone just 3-4 since. Included in that was a difficult three-game stretch where it battled Top 10 opponents NC State (L, 51-54), Notre Dame (63-101) and Louisville (44-76).
Senior guard Danielle Edwards is Clemson’s second-leading scorer in ACC play, averaging 12.4 points. Talented graduate guard Simone Westbrook leads the Tigers with 12.5 points in conference play.
FSU returns home for a ‘Paint it Pink’ Sunday matchup against Pitt at 2 p.m. at the Donald L. Tucker Center.