No. 22 FSU beats No. 4 Louisville 62-60 to reach ACC finals

GREENSBORO, N.C. (AP) — Nausia Woolfolk scored 16 points, Kiah Gillespie had 15 points and 16 rebounds and No. 22 Florida State beat No. 4 Louisville 62-60 on Saturday to advance to the Atlantic Coast Conference Tournament championship game for only the second time in school history.

Nicki Ekhomu added 14 points for the Seminoles, whose only other appearance in the title game came in 2015 when they lost to top-seeded Notre Dame 71-58.

Of Louisville’s four losses this season, two have come at the hands of Florida State (24-7). The Seminoles upended Louisville last month 67-59 behind 25 points and 13 rebounds from Gillespie.

Dana Evans had 16 points to lead Louisville (28-4), while Jazmine Jones added 15 points and 10 rebounds.

The game was tied at 30 at halftime when Gillespie began to exert herself in the paint with relentless effort on the glass while Woolfolk took advantage of her quick first step to get to the basket off the drive, helping the Seminoles build a 48-43 lead.

But the Cardinals wouldn’t quit.

Jones scored on the inside, then had a block at the other of the floor and added a putback on an offensive rebound to give Louisville the lead 50-48 with 4:47 left.

The lead changed hands seven times before Gillespie got undercut while battling for an offensive rebound with 26 seconds to go. She stayed in the game to make both foul shots, giving the Seminoles back the lead.

After a timeout, Louisville set up a play but the side inbound pass was deflected and the Seminoles came up with the loose ball. Nicki Ekhomu made both free throws to push the lead to three.

Evans answered with two free throws with 20 seconds left, cutting the lead to one.

Woolfork added two free throws to push the lead back to three with 17.8 seconds left. Jones answered with a pull-up jumper with 9.8 seconds left to cut the lead back to one.

Ekhomu made one of two free throws — Florida State’s only miss from the line — with seven seconds left, giving the Cardinals one last chance. But Evans’ runner was no good, and Jones couldn’t get the offensive tip to fall, setting off a Florida State celebration.

BIG PICTURE

Florida State: This is a huge confidence builder for the Seminoles and will certainly improve their seeding in the NCAA Tournament.

Louisville: The loss hurts the Cardinals as it could potentially knock them out of a No. 1 seed in the NCAA Tournament.

UP NEXT

Florida State: Will face the winner of Boston College and No. 10 North Carolina State on Sunday in the ACC championship game.

Louisville: Will wait to hear where they are seeded in the NCAA Tournament.