TBO.com - TBO is Tampa Bay Online

ASU Bounces Florida State

The Associated Press

Christian Hunnicutt,5, and Jacinta Monroe, 50, react to the Seminoles loss in the NCAA Women's Tournament.

ADVERTISEMENT

The Associated Press

Published: March 24, 2009

DULUTH, Ga. - Fouls and an injury held back Briann January for most of the game, but not when Arizona State needed the senior the most.

January's return from an ankle injury gave the Sun Devils a spark, and Arizona State beat Florida State 63-58 on Monday night to advance to the NCAA region semifinals.

Danielle Orsillo's 3-pointer with 32 seconds remaining gave the Sun Devils a 57-54 lead.

Following Orsillo's 3, Mara Freshour missed a 3-point attempt for third-seeded Florida State with 22 seconds remaining. January, Kate Engelbrecht and Orsillo each added two free throws for the Sun Devils in the final 20 seconds to protect the lead.

Sixth-seeded Arizona State (25-8) will play the winner of today's Texas A&M-Minnesota game Sunday in Trenton, N.J.

Arizona State will be playing to advance to the region final for the second time in three years under Coach Charli Turner Thorne, after reaching its first Elite Eight in 2007.

Freshour led Florida State (26-8) with 15 points. Courtney Ward added 12 points.

"It was a disappointing end to a great year," Florida State coach Sue Semrau said. "It came down to needing a defensive stop that we didn't get. Credit Arizona State for getting some 3s to get back in the game."

Florida State took the lead with a 10-0 run late in the first half and pulled away again with eight straight points to lead 40-31 midway through the second half.

January, the two-time Pac-10 defensive player of the year, played only 8 minutes in the first half while picking up three fouls. The senior guard hit a 3-pointer 5 minutes into the second half but left shortly after colliding with Tanae Davis-Cain with 9:40 remaining.

January, who was limping after falling to the floor, had her right ankle taped and returned with 6:44 remaining and Florida State leading 44-39.

Share this:

Loading Comments...

Email Print

ADVERTISEMENT