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Seminoles Hoping To Get Over The Hump

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By SCOTT CARTER, The Tampa Tribune

Published: January 15, 2008

Updated: 01/15/2008 12:11 am

TALLAHASSEE - This is not the way Florida State women's basketball coach Sue Semrau envisioned her 11th season unfolding, and first since leading the Noles to the program's inaugural Sweet 16 appearance a year ago.

She expected 6-foot-4 center Britany Miller to play more than six games her junior season.

Semrau didn't anticipate losing leading scorer Tanae Davis-Cain and reserve guard Angel Gray for a nine-game stretch that still has one game remaining.

And Semrau didn't project opening the season without starter Alysha Harvin, who missed the first nine games.

Semrau had such high hopes for the Noles, she talked to them before the season about how special this season could be if they made it all the way to Tampa for the Final Four in April.

"We've talked about it as a team," said Semrau, who has led FSU to a school-record three consecutive NCAA Tournament appearances. "As we were going into the season, and our pieces were more together, we thought, 'Gosh, we've got to make a run at this.' We'll see what we can get done when all the pieces get back."

FSU (11-6, 1-1 ACC) has struggled to recapture the success of last season, when the Noles knocked off Old Dominion and then upset host Stanford in the NCAA Tournament. FSU's postseason run finally ended with a loss to LSU in the Sweet 16, but expectations immediately soared considering FSU only lost one starter (Alicia Gladden) off last year's team.

But reality quickly began to set in when the Noles learned they would have to start the season without Harvin for a "violation of team standards," the same reason cited for the nine-game suspensions of Davis and Gray. All three players were implicated in an academic misconduct case that FSU responded to by suspending student-athletes in several sports for 30 percent of their teams' seasons.

Meanwhile, after playing in FSU's first six games, Miller (12.6 points, 6.1 rebounds last year) was ruled academically ineligible and will not return this season, prompting Semrau to move sophomore forward Jacinta Monroe to center and to rely on freshmen Antionette Howard, Courtney Ward and Christian Hunnicutt more than she planned.

"It's been a very frustrating year," said point guard Shante Williams, the team's only senior. "Our expectations were so high at the beginning, and we've had to fight through so much adversity, that it just seemed like things weren't going to work out for us."

The good news is that Davis-Cain (team-high 13.7 points) and Gray are scheduled to return Sunday at Clemson. More importantly, the return of Davis-Cain could prevent another performance like Friday's 70-38 loss at No. 12-ranked Duke, FSU's worse loss in six years and the fewest points the Noles ever have scored under Semrau. The Noles shot only 23.4 percent (15 of 64).

"She makes our scout team look really good," Semrau said of her best outside shooter. "To be able to put another person on the perimeter who is going to be able to stretch us, I think is gong to be really critical. When Tanae comes back, I think you'll see better production."

The Noles must face Wake Forest on Thursday still using a eight-man rotation that has tested the team's stamina, including Monroe, who is coming off of knee surgery over the summer. Monroe, the Florida Gatorade Player of the Year her final season at Fort Lauderdale's Stranahan High in 2006, is still bothered by her sore right knee.

Still, she is third on the team in scoring (11.6 points) and is averaging a team-high 6.1 rebounds trying to fill the void left by the loss of Miller. For the Noles to have any chance at recapturing some of last season's excitement, Monroe will have to play a huge role.

She is optimistic the Noles can surprise people the way they did last season.

"I feel like we've handled the biggest part of the adversity," Monroe said. "Right now, we're just trying to get over that hump. We really haven't had all our team in any of our games. If we're playing well, and we're playing with ranked teams - without the players we are without - I believe that when we come back with the other two players, we are going to be a force to be reckoned with."

That's exactly what Semrau envisioned.

"I'm glad we know what we're dealing with right now," Semrau said. "You can plan. You wish you had what you thought you had, but when you don't, at least you know it, and you move forward."

Reporter Scott Carter can be reached at (850) 294-3088 or scarter@tampatrib.com.

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