No. 8 Maryland Women Beat No. 19 Florida State 71-64
COLLEGE PARK, Md. (AP) -- Florida State coach Sue Semrau was proud of her team's effort in its loss to Maryland.
The 19th-ranked Seminoles trailed by 16 at the half and rallied within three points before falling short of the No. 8 Terrapins in a 71-64 loss on Sunday that ended Florida State's five-game winning streak.
Chelsea Davis scored 18 points for the Seminoles, Alexia Delusio added 15 and Natasha Howard 11 for Florida State (12-2, 2-1 ACC). The Seminoles hadn't lost since a 78-77 defeat at Nebraska on Dec. 8.
"It was a great ACC road battle for us, and we learned a lot," Semrau said. "The competition in the ACC is tremendous. All of our games (in the ACC) are going to be tough. We're a team that wants to get better. I love our chemistry, and I'm excited for this team moving forward."
Alyssa Thomas had 20 points and 15 rebounds to lead Maryland (11-3, 2-1).
"Alyssa Thomas didn't disappoint today," Semrau said. "Tianna Hawkins takes a lot of pressure off Thomas, too. I thought (Maryland's) guards played well -- stepped up and hit shots. It was a great fight."
Tianna Hawkins added 17 points while Tierney Pfirman had 12 points for the Terrapins (11-3, 2-1 Atlantic Coast Conference). Maryland, which dropped a 60-57 decision at No. 15 North Carolina on Thursday, has not lost two straight this season.
"I thought we showed a lot of character coming bouncing back from our loss to Carolina," Maryland coach Brenda Frese said. "Coming out and making a statement early in the first half, great energy in terms of how we defended and rebounded the basketball and shared the basketball.
Florida State chipped away at the Maryland lead throughout the second half, getting to within three points at 66-63 with just over a minute remaining. But Pfirman responded with a 3-pointer on the Terrapins' next possession to preserve the victory.
"We fell behind early and we had to keep fighting back," Semrau said. "I liked the fact that our girls continued to battle back. They never gave up. We got to within three points late."
Maryland owned a 48-30 advantage in rebounds.
"We knew they were going to make runs and they did. Florida State is a really good team," Frese said. "I am proud of the fight, we didn't quit. We fought for each other. I am really excited in term of our team play, and for Tierney Pfirman and Katie Rutan hitting big shots. It opened it up and gave us some breathing room."
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