CHARLOTTE, N.C. – The Charlotte women’s basketball team played tough to the end and two 49ers earned double-doubles but in the end, Florida State proved to be too strong in a 70-54 victory Sunday afternoon in Halton Arena in Charlotte, N.C.
Senior Jennifer Hailey led the Niners with her sixth-straight double-double to open the campaign, tallying team highs of 16 points and 10 rebounds. It marked the 26th double-double of her career and she extended her streak to 18 games with at least one blocked shot.
Junior Ny Hammonds, who entered the week with a nation’s leading 8.3 assists per game, finished with a career-best 10 helpers. She also chipped in 10 points, including Charlotte’s lone 3-pointer, and seven steals to finish three shy of a triple-double in not stepping off the floor.
Senior Jai Forney was the third Niner in double figures, pouring in 12 points. Freshman Alexis Alexander contributed a career-high eight points and career-best tying four rebounds in 19 minutes, the most minutes she has seen thus far in her collegiate career.
Alexa Deluzio paced the Seminoles with 22 points on 8-of-12 shooting, including 3-of-5 3-pointers and all three free throw attempts. Natasha Howard and Chasity Clayton each added 15 points for Florida State (7-0).
Yashira Delgado, the smallest player on the floor listed at 5-foot-2, grabbed a FSU-best eight rebounds.
Clayton gave the Seminoles an early 7-4 lead before an 8-0 49ers run, spiked by six Forney points, brought Charlotte (4-2) back on top, 12-7, with 12:12 remaining in the first half. After Deluzio drained a 3-pointer on the next Florida State possession and Delgado raced to the far end after grabbing a defensive board and ensuing layup, the game was tied at 12-12 at the 11:31 mark.
The two teams traded opportunities on either end before consecutive layups from Alexander pushed the Niners ahead, 18-15, with exactly six minutes on the clock. The Noles, however, did not quit and used a Howard layup at 4:39 to cap a 6-0 surge, reclaiming the advantage, 21-18.
The next seven points were dropped in by Charlotte, including a coast-to-coast steal and layup at the other end by Hammonds. She was fouled on the play and converted the free throw for an old-fashioned three-point play following the media timeout to put the 49ers on top, 23-21, at 3:47.
Hailey recorded the next bucket, capping the 7-0 streak, before Clayton halted it with a 3-pointer at 2:39. The Seminoles finished the half by posting the final eight points of the period to take a 29-25 edge into the intermission.
Florida State continued its offensive momentum early in the second half, using another Clayton trey at 14:19 to take the first double-digit lead for either team at 11, 40-29. After Leonor Rodriguez, the reigning ACC Player of the Week, scored a layup at 13:42 to give FSU a 12-point cushion, 42-30, Hailey went to the other end for an old-fashioned three-point play to trim the deficit to nine.
Hailey’s work kick-started an 8-1 Niner run covering over three minutes with freshman Kira Gordon capping it with a layup at exactly 11:00 to pull Charlotte within five, 43-38. In less than two minutes, the Seminoles increased their margin back to double-digits on a Morgan Toles layup to make it 48-38 at 9:14.
Hailey kept the 49ers within eight, 52-44, but a 9-2 Florida State surge in the next three minutes opened the margin to 15, 61-46, with 4:14 to play.
Again, the two teams traded baskets before Howard connected on the back-end of a two-shot opportunity at the foul line to give FSU its largest lead of the afternoon at 17, 67-50, with 2:03 remaining.
Charlotte returns to action for a midweek contest in state, traveling to Wilmington, N.C., to face UNC Wilmington at 5 p.m. Wednesday. The contest can be heard live on Charlotte49ers.com with Josh Feldman on the call.
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