FSU women’s basketball blitzed by Illinois

Florida State (3-4) fell to Illinois (4-1) by an 86-63 score this afternoon in Tallahassee.

FSU vs. Illinois: Game Recap

Florida State got off to a promising start. The Seminoles jumped out to a 14-3 lead after a Sydney Bowles layup. However, the Illini would fight back scoring 13 of the final 16 points of the quarter. FSU still managed to take a slim 24-22 lead into the second quarter.

IU made a move midway through the second quarter. Illinois hit the Seminoles with a massive 12-0 run that was capped by a Maddie Webber layup. The Illini had a 37-31 lead. A triple from Jasmine Shavers ended the run. However, IU scored the final five points of the half to take a 42-34 lead into the break.

The teams mostly traded baskets to start the third quarter. The Illini went on a 9-2 run to stretch the lead to 59-46. IU would take a 61-49 lead into the final stanza.

Illinois started the fourth quarter with an 11-1 run to take an insurmountable 72-50 lead. From there the Illini cruised to the 86-63 victory.

FSU vs. Illinois: Post Game Thoughts

Sole Williams was the only Florida State player in double digits with 18 points.

Florida State is now 0-4 against high major competition.

There are a lot of things that we can say about this three game losing streak. I will try not to retread ground that we have gone over before (ex: no point guard, poor defense) so we will discuss other issues.

In this three game losing streak the Noles have a grand total of 10 fast break points. This team really needs to score in transition because the half-court offense is struggling (no point guard, players aren’t familiar with each other, etc.).

The other thing that FSU really needs to do is shoot well especially from deep. The Noles have the following percentages from three in the last three games – 14.3%, 27.8%, and 27.6%. This won’t get it done.

One other thing. Florida State has allowed the following number of points off turnovers in the last three games – 13, 38 and 22. The 13 points was against Indiana which is the only game in this losing skid that the Noles had a chance to win at the end.

Florida State is talented enough to beat good teams but they can’t have all of the mistakes. There are times where the Noles look good offensively (usually when Pania Davis is in the game) but it doesn’t happen often enough. This team really needs to dominate in transition especially in this early stage when they are still getting used to each other in the half-court. As we discussed above, it has been the opposite in the last three games as the Noles are giving up easy transition buckets instead of scoring them.

I maintain that this is a talented team. However, they really need time to jell. As I mentioned before, they just aren’t likely to get that time because the schedule is tough. Of course, if FSU is able to steal one or two of these games it can flip the season and really generate some momentum going into conference play.

Next Game for FSU

The Seminoles will attempt to stop this slide when they face Missouri State on Friday in Fort Myers, FL. The game will tip at 4pm and will be broadcast on FloCollege.