Clemson Falls to #16 Florida State on Thursday Night

Jan. 14, 2010

CLEMSON, SC – The Clemson Lady Tigers fell to #16 Florida State, 80-50, Thursday night in Littlejohn Coliseum. Shaniqua Pauldo tied a season high with 21 points to lead the Tigers (9-10, 0-3 ACC), while Jacinta Monroe led the Seminoles (15-3, 2-1 ACC) with 18 points.

Clemson will have the week off before traveling to North Carolina to take on UNC and Wake Forest on Jan. 22 and Jan. 24, respectively.

Florida State was the third consecutive ranked team the Tigers have played, and the fifth overall in 2009-10. Clemson starts the ACC season with four consecutive ranked foes, the next of which is North Carolina. Nine of Clemson’s opponents are currently ranked in the AP Poll.

Pauldo provided much of the Clemson offense, netting 15 points after halftime, while pulling down seven boards, five of which were on the offensive end. She hit on 7-15 from the field and 7-8 fromt he lne, where she has hit 18 of her last 20 attempts.

Senior Lele Hardy added seven points and had 12 rebounds and four steals, but struggled from the field. Senior Morganne Campbell had six points and three steals in a season-high 26 minutes, playing consistent defensively throughout the game.

The Tigers forced 19 turnovers, but Courtney Ward (11 pts, 9 asts, 6 stls) was able to pace the Seminoles through the Tiger defense. Four Noles finished in double-figures, and they hit 19-21 free throws in the second half to help extend a 15 point lead to as many as 33 late in the second half.

Offensively, Clemson struggled from the floor, hitting 20-58 attempts, and going 0-6 from beyond the arc, the first time since the 2004-05 the Tigers went without a three-point make. Clemosn entered the game second in the ACC in blocked shots, but were only able to get to one Florida State attempt.

The Tigers committed 23 turnovers, leading to 34 Florida State points, which ended up givng the Seminoles the distance they needed to pull away down the stretch, as they hit their first 18 free throws of the second half. The Seminoles’ bench outscored the Tigers 32-15, the first time in 15 games the Tiger bench has been outscored.

Hardy’s four steals give her 350 in her career, which is a school record, and ranks 8th in ACC history. Christy Brown also inched closer to Clemson’s all-time top ten in assists, and now sits only three dimes shy of tenth in Tiger history.

The Tigers will take seven days away from competition before returning to the court against North Carolina at 8:30 pm in a televised contest on Jan. 22. The Tigers will then turn around and play Wake Forest on Sunday Jan. 24 at 2:00 pm.