Gophers women's offense stalls in loss to Seminoles

DAYTONA BEACH, FLA. — Junior guard Alexa Deluzio scored 17 points in leading No. 14 Florida State to a 68-56 victory over the Gophers in the Women's Basketball Invitational Tipoff on Saturday.

Deluzio sparked a 15-2 run in the final minutes with back-to-back three-pointers at the 6:17 and 5:32 marks.

Chasity Clayton added 16 points and Cierra Bravard had 11. Natasha Howard pulled down 12 rebounds, helping the Seminoles claim a 47-39 advantage on the boards.

Kiara Buford scored 13 points for the Gophers. Center Katie Loberg had 11 and guard Rachel Banham 10.

Clayton, a junior forward, almost singlehandedly gave the Seminoles the lead at the end of the first half. With FSU down 26-20, Clayton hit two three-pointers, a jumper and a layup in the final five minutes before the halftime buzzer, as FSU took a 33-32 lead.

But the Gophers opened the second half on a 12-4 run, which included three layups from Loberg, and led 44-37 with 15:20 remaining.

"I thought that we worked and fought extremely hard," Gophers coach Pam Borton said. "Playing a team ranked in the top 15 was a good measuring stick for us this time of year. We have big goals, so, although we have a lot of work to do, I thought our team put up a great fight."

Banham's three-pointer with 6:39 to play pulled the Gophers within 51-50 before FSU went on a 10-2 run, limiting the Gophers to two points in the next 5:34.

"The defensive end is where it happened," FSU coach Sue Semrau said. "Defense and rebounding. To be able to buckle down on the second day [of the tournament], playing another BCS school and hold a team [nearly] scoreless for six minutes and only to six points -- four free throws and one jumper -- in the last seven minutes is a huge compliment to our growth, and you want that."