College of Charleston
Florida State
CofC Women?s Basketball Falls to #21 Florida State, 70-57
11/20/2008 5:00:00 AM | Women's Basketball
Cierra Bravard scored 25 points, while Jacinta Monroe added 15 rebounds to lead the #21 Florida State Seminoles to the 70-57 victory over the College of Charleston women's basketball team in front of 1,953 fans at Tucker Civic Center in Tallahassee, Fla.
The Cougars drop their first of the season to go to 1-1, while the Seminoles remain undefeated with a 3-0 mark.
College of Charleston shooting started cold in the first half with Florida State building a 15-4 lead with 9:01 before intermission. Charleston, led by five points from Nikki Williams (North, S.C.), used a 13-4 run over the next five minutes to cut the margin to four at 21-17 with just under five remaining in the half. The Seminoles fired back and ended the half with a 12-4 run, eclipsed by a last-second three-pointer by Tanae Davis-Cain, to go into the locker room leading 32-21.
Charleston shot just 21.9 percent from the field in the half, compared to 45.2 for the Seminoles.
The Cougars made it interesting, opening the second half with a 17-5 run over the first five and a half minutes to take their first lead of the game, a 38-37 margin over the Seminoles with 14:25 to go. Brooke Kotcella (Anderson, S.C.), Tonia Gerty (Port Orange, Fla.) and Ericka Williams (Blackville, S.C.) all had three-pointers in the stretch to lead the Cougars.
Although the Seminoles re-took the lead at 14:01 off a lay-up by Cayla Moore, the Cougars remained close over the next seven minutes and even took a brief lead again at 7:18, 49-48. That would be the last time Charleston led as Florida State used clutch free throws, connecting on 12-of-13 down the stretch, to go on a 22-8 run and escape with the 70-57 win.
The Cougars finished the game, shooting 31.7 percent, including 41.9 in the second half. The Seminoles shot 40.0 for the game. Florida State held the slight edge in rebounds, 42-40, and turnovers, 15-19. FSU went 21-for-28 from the charity stripe, compared to 10-of-11 for CofC. The perimeter game was dominated by Charleston as the team connected on seven-of-19, to just a one-for-seven effort for Florida State.
Kotcella, Sarah Moye (Alpharetta, Ga.) and Gerty all led the Cougars in scoring with eight each. Ericka Williams followed with six on the night. Nikki Williams was just one short of her career-high with 11 rebounds in the game to lead the team.
Bravard led all scorers with 25 for Florida State. Monroe had a double-double with her 15 points and 15 rebounds.
The Cougars travel to Kennesaw, Ga. Nov. 22 to take on Kennesaw State in a 6:00 p.m. showdown.
