Florida State led by 18 points at the half. Even without star freshman Ta’Niya Latson, the lead and life was comfortable for the Seminoles in their ACC Tournament opener.
But the Seminoles’ lead quickly evaporated as Jewel Spear scored all 19 of her points in the second half and Wake pulled away with a 65-54 win on Thursday afternoon at Greensboro, N.C.
The ACC rookie of the year and the league’s leading scorer, Latson did not play with an undisclosed injury. O’Mariah Gordon had eight points in the first half as the Seminoles led 34-16 at the half.
But Spear led Wake’s comeback. FSU had held Spear to just 11 points in each of the regular-season wins over the Demon Deacons, but on Thursday she scored 19 on 6 of 11 shooting.
FSU shot just 5 of 17 (29.4 percent) from the floor in the second half. And Wake ended up owning the boards, taking a 44-34 edge.
Makayla Timpson scored 14 points and pulled down nine rebounds, just missing her 14th double-double of the season. Erin Howard added 12 points and seven rebounds.
Gordon also finished with 12 points.
Snoop Turnage returned from injury and played seven minutes, recording an assist.
FSU (23-9) now awaits an at-large bid into the NCAA Tournament. The Seminoles were projected as a No. 6 seed by ESPN.com bracketologist Charlie Creme.
This story will be updated
