Clemson held its own down the stretch to record an impressive, 73-68, win over the No. 21 Florida State Thursday at Littlejohn Coliseum in Clemson.
The Tigers (16-9, 7-5 ACC) were braced by several critical shots in the final minutes to come away with the victory and secure their first season-sweep of the Seminoles since 2002.
“We got better today and that’s what we always talk about in the locker room,” said head coach Amanda Butler. “We had a great deal of fight and composure down the stretch and performed well at the free-throw line, which is really important for us.”
Clemson shot 55 percent on the night and limited Florida State to 38 percent shooting by way of solid performances on both ends of the floor. For the third straight game, the Tigers shot above 50 percent (55.6 percent) from the arc, a streak that has not occurred since November of 2010.
Four different players reached double figures for the Tigers, including leading scorer Kobi Thornton, who had 19 points on 8-of-11 shooting. Point guard Danielle Edwards went 3-for-3 from deep as part of a 17-point outing.
Over the last three games, Edwards has knocked down 12-of-15 shots from beyond the arc.
Clemson took a 6-0 lead right from the start to set the tone for a competitive contest.
The Seminoles (20-5, 8-4 ACC) boasted a 32-30 advantage at halftime, but the Tigers came out firing in the second half. Clemson outscored Florida State 25-14 in the third quarter, shooting 71 percent from the floor to take a 55-46 lead into the final frame.
The ‘Noles hung around and pulled within three points on several occasions, but the Tigers came up clutch in crunch time. With 31 seconds left, center Tylar Bennett sank a jumper off a no-look pass from Aliyah Collier to lock down the Tigers’ third victory over a ranked opponent this season.
The Tigers now have three wins over ranked opponents under their belt. Clemson has not beaten three Top 25 teams since the 2000-01 season (four ranked wins).
Clemson moves to 7-5 in ACC action, matching the most conference wins for the Tigers since the 2003-04 season. Clemson’s 16 overall wins this year are also the most wins for the program since that same season (2003-04).
Clemson will have a short turnaround before its next matchup as the Tigers traveling north to battle the Boston College Eagles (14-11, 3-9) on Saturday, Feb. 16.
The conference clash will tip off at 1 p.m. at Conte Forum and the game will air on ACC Network Extra.
–Clemson Athletic Communications