Florida State University Athletics
Noles End Season Against Missouri State
3/18/2022 1:34:18 AM | Women's Basketball
BATON ROUGE, La. (Seminoles.com) – No. 11 seed Florida State Women’s Basketball ended its season on Thursday night in the inaugural First Four, falling to 11th-seeded Missouri State, 61-50, at the Pete Maravich Assembly Center in Baton Rouge, La.
The Seminoles (17-14) finish a year in which they made their ninth consecutive NCAA Tournament appearance. FSU has appeared in every NCAA postseason since 2013.
The Lady Bears (25-7) used a bruising style of play and controlled the paint for much of the contest. They advance to play sixth-seeded Ohio State on Saturday at 2:30 p.m. ET in Baton Rouge.
A pair of freshmen stepped up to lead FSU in the First Four. Freshman point guard O’Mariah Gordon ended her strong season by finishing with a team-best 12 points and adding five assists. Makayla Timpson chipped in with eight points along with six rebounds.
After getting behind to Missouri State by a 14-1 score in the first quarter, the Seminoles went on a 25-4 run and attacked the basket to draw numerous fouls, taking a 26-18 lead with 3:15 left before halftime. FSU went 16-of-20 from the free throw line in the first half, but some of its momentum was stymied when Missouri State hit a late 3-point field goal in the second quarter to tie the game at 29-29 at the intermission.
The second half belonged to Missouri State, as FSU mounted 10 turnovers in that time span and the Lady Bears finished the game out-scoring the Seminoles 16-4 in second-chance points. But FSU stayed within striking distance trailing 52-46 on a layup from Gordon with 4:42 left in the game. Brice Calip countered with a bank shot mid-range jumper to ignite a game-sealing 7-0 run for the Lady Bears.
Missouri State finished with four players scoring in double figures, led by Mya Bhinhar’s 12 points.