Florida State University Athletics
Noles Host Virginia Tech in ACC Opener
12/18/2021 2:25:48 PM | Women's Basketball
TALLAHASSEE, Fla. (Seminoles.com) – Florida State Women’s Basketball begins ACC play on Sunday at 2 p.m. in a home matchup vs. Virginia Tech at the Donald L. Tucker Center. The game will air on the ACC Network.
Sunday’s game includes a Holiday Hoops Canned Food Drive that once again benefits the Food For Thought Pantry, with tickets being $3 in exchange for donations. Fans at the Tucker Center can also enter to win a Samsung VR Set at the marketing table, and there will be an exit giveaway while supplies last that includes candy canes and Christmas Little Debbie snack cakes.
Florida State (6-4) and Virginia Tech (8-3) last met on New Year’s Eve in 2020, where the Seminoles came away with a 73-63 road win behind 15 points apiece from Morgan Jones and Sammie Puisis. Puisis drilled five 3-point field goals vs. the Hokies last year. Her 96 career 3-point field goals leave her four shy of being the 16th Seminole with 100 career 3’s.
FSU carries a nine-game win streak over Virginia Tech, a stretch that began with a 70-54 win on Jan. 26, 2014.
Freshman point guard O’Mariah Gordon produced a stellar performance in last game’s 78-68 loss at home to Houston, recording a career-high 16 points on 6-of-12 shooting while drawing five fouls and dishing out five assists in 25 minutes and five seconds. Nicknamed “OMG,” Gordon has a 3-to-1 assist to turnover ratio over her last five games, recording 15 assists to just five turnovers in that span.
Jones is looking for her 10th consecutive game scoring in double figures, enjoying a streak that was extended last game with 16 points vs. Houston. It’s the longest streak by a Seminole since former All-America guard Nicki Ekhomu had 10 straight games with 10+ points from Jan. 23-Feb. 27, 2020.
She leads Florida State in scoring (14.6), field goals made (52), free throws made (42), rebounding (7.1), steals (1.2) and minutes played (261 total minutes).
Florida State has won 12 of its last 15 ACC openers. Last year, the Seminoles defeated Virginia, 69-51, in their first ACC contest of the season in the 2020-21 year.
FSU owns a 30-10 all-time record vs. Virginia Tech. The first matchup took place as Metro Conference opponents on Dec. 17, 1979, in a 67-57 win by the Seminoles in Tallahassee.
Virginia Tech junior center Elizabeth Kitley is one of the top post players in the ACC, averaging 17.3 points, 9.2 rebounds and shooting 58 percent from the floor. She owns five 20-point games so far, including a 34-point outing vs. George Washington.
The Hokies have accelerated greatly under the leadership of head coach Kenny Brooks, now in his sixth year with the team. Virginia Tech defeated Wisconsin, 70-60, in the B1G/ACC Challenge on the road, and are coming off a 49-point win over Radford on Dec. 12 (89-40).