MOBILE, Ala. - Shante Williams scored 19 points, 15 in the second half, to lead Florida State to a 67-61 victory in the first round of the WNIT on Wednesday.
The Seminoles (15-14) next face the winner of tonight's game between South Florida and Richmond.
"It was a battle, boy," FSU coach Sue Semrau said. "South Alabama did a great job of taking advantage of their quickness. We had a tough time defending them and especially when they stepped out and hit their 3s because we were stepping off to grab the cutoff. We rebounded extremely well, and it paid off in the end."
South Alabama opened the game with one of its six first-half 3-pointers and led by as many as nine. It finished the game, though, 9-of-28.
The Seminoles made three 3-pointers late, two by Ganiyat Adeduntan and one by Holly Johnson. Adeduntan and Ronalda Pierce combined to score 22 of FSU's 37 first-half points as the Seminoles shot 55 percent for the half.
FSU took a 34-32 lead on Ronalda Pierce's layup with 1:37 left in the half and led 37-34 at halftime.
Florida State trailed 45-43 with 12:14 left when Williams scored 15 of its next 19 points to give it its largest lead at 62-55 with 3:09 left.
Sophomore Ganiyat Adeduntan and freshman Ronalda Pierce also scored in double figures for the Seminoles with 13 and 11 points, respectively.
Williams led FSU with eight rebounds.
"Shante is a big-time player," Semrau said. "She took over at key times, and great players do that.
"Overall, I am pleased with the way we shot the ball on the road."
CHARLOTTE 78, CLEMSON 71: Sakellie Daniels had 21 points and 11 rebounds for the visiting 49ers.
Nation
Chris Gobrecht was fired as Southern California's coach. She was 93-108 in seven seasons at the school and never got the Trojans to the NCAA Tournament. USC was 15-13 this season.
