Blue Devils weather 'Noles rally in Tallahassee

Gail Goestenkors must have walked out of Florida State's Tallahassee Civic Center breathing a huge sigh of relief.

The Blue Devils' coach almost watched her team blow a double-digit halftime lead and lose to the ACC's cellar dweller. But the ninth-ranked Blue Devils (17-2, 6-1 in the ACC) held on 59-54, barely escaping from the Seminoles (8-9, 1-6).

In a matchup between the ACC's top team and its worst, Duke seemed a certain winner, and with a 10-point halftime lead, it was seemingly guaranteed that Duke would successfully begin a new winning streak.

But Florida State, which has lost four of its ACC games by a total of 13 points, proved up to the task.

"It was closer than we wanted, not necessarily closer than we expected," Goestenkors said. "Florida State plays really well at home, and we knew they'd be confident. I'm relieved we're coming out of here with the win, but disappointed we didn't put them away in the second half."

With the score knotted at 54 and under a minute left to play, Duke's Peppi Browne drove into the lane, drained a five-foot bucket and drew a foul. The senior forward drained the free throw to give Duke a three-point lead.

Florida State couldn't convert on its final possession and Rochelle Parent made two free throws with less than three seconds remaining to make the final difference.

"Peppi's play was huge," Goestenkors said. "It was a broken play, and she drove to the basket and converted.

Just as Seminole shooters began heating up, Duke went ice cold. While Florida State erased the deficit and took a five-point lead, the Blue Devils rushed possessions, resulting in turnovers or ill-advised shots. In the first eight minutes of the half, Duke committed a whopping six turnovers.

"I think we [panicked] for a little bit," Goestenkors said. "That team will make runs-any team will make runs-and we need to keep our composure and not panic."

With her team down five, Goestenkors called a timeout. The break must have had a soothing affect on the Blue Devils, who promptly responded with a 10-0 run, bookended by two three-pointers from freshman Sheana Mosch.

Mosch's second three gave the Blue Devils a 49-44 lead, which was trimmed to 49-48 following two inside buckets by the Seminoles. But with just over five minutes left, Mosch hit another key shot, this time a short jumper that gave Duke a three-point lead.

"She's playing really well," Goestenkors said. "We feel real comfortable with her in there. She's just really confident and comfortable taking those big shots."

Mosch's buckets helped fill the void left by Georgia Schweitzer, who struggled for the second game in a row. Schweitzer, the conference's third-leading scorer, managed just eight points on 4-of-11 shooting. In her last two games, the junior guard is just 8-of-25 from the field.

"All great shooters go through this," Goestenkors said. "She's had great defenses against her and they're really focusing on her. She'll adjust to it. Fortunately, we have other players who can help score."

Down 53-48 late in the game, Florida State launched one last run at an upset. Twice down the stretch, FSU got on the free-throw line but missed two of its four shots. Still, with 1:25 left to play, Latavia Coleman grabbed a beautiful lob pass and made an easy layup to tie the game at 54.

But for Coleman and the Seminoles, it would not be enough. Florida State's potent trio of Coleman, Wyckoff and Traylor were held to 28 points on 11-of-34 shooting, and 21 Seminole turnovers proved too costly in the end.

"Our defense down the stretch was tough," Goestenkors said. "When we weren't hitting our shots, that's what pulled us through."