Tallahassee Democrat from Tallahassee, Florida • Page D2

2D TALLAHASSEE DEMOCRAT SPORTS Florida State center Christ Koumadje a nd point guard Xavier Rathan-Mayes ed the Seminoles with six points each. FSU continued the domination in the econd half as it continued the committee approach. Six different players had more than 6 points, but no one had more than 11. Guard C.J. Walker (11), Rathan-Mayes (11), and sophomore Dwayne Bacon (10) all scored in double figures for the Semin oles.

The Seminoles shot 41.5 percent from the field, and had 17 assists to 12 turn- vers. GW was held to 22.6 percent from the field, and had 18 turnovers to just 6 a ssists. I think we were all connected Hamilton said. I thought we played with a lot of effort and energy. a good basket- all team, and we knew we had to play that way in order to come away with a oad SU improves to 7-1on the season ith the victory.

Player of the Game Rathan-Mayes finished the game tied or the team lead with 11points and 6 rebounds and also had a team-high 5 assists. think Xavier is trying to give us what we need for us to be Hamilton said. played very smart and made ood decisions. We all know that capable of shooting the ball the way he shot the ball tonight. I think more than any- hing else is his defensive effort was ayes shot 50 percent from the field i the game and 60 percent from the perimeter.

Stats of the game 36.4 Rathan-Mayes led FSU, which shot 36.4 percent from 3 overall, by mak- i ng three of his five three-point attempts. Newcomer P.J. Savoy knocked down the first two of his career. 10 The number of steals FSU had in the game. Newcomers Trent Forrest, Braian Angola-Rodas and Walker combined for six of them.

Up Next FSU returns home to take on Southern Miss on Tuesday. the start of a three- game home stretch that has Nicholls State on Thursday night and Florida on unday at 4 p.m.. games in eight days is challeng- i Hamilton said. why we played so many guys, and not having Jonathan Isaac was chal- enging for us, and everyone contribute FSU Continued from Page 1D Florida State at George Washington FSU 67, GW 48 GW 19 29 48 FSU 35 32 67 FSU: Bacon 4-110-4 10, Mann 3-7 0-16, Cofer 1-5 0-0 2, Forrest 1-3 0-0 2, Smith 1-5 0-0 2, Rathan-Mayes 4-8 3-5 11, Walker 4-7 1 -3 11, Angola-Rodas 1-2 1-2 3, Koumadje 4-6 0-0 8, Ojo 1-2 0-0 3, Savoy 2-4 2-3 6, Allen 1-4 1-3 3 Toro 0-6 0-2 0, Cavanaugh 2-9 1-3 8, Smith 0-4 0-2 2, Sina 2-9 2-3 9, Hart 1-6 0-2 2, Marfo 6-10 0-0 18, Goss 0-10-0 0, Roland 2 -6 1-4 5, Bolden 1-5 0-3 2, Williams 0-2 0-1 2, Mitola 0-4 0-10 Three point field goals: GW 4-21(Sina 2) FSU 8-22 (Rathan-Mayes 3 Savoy 2) Rebounds: GW 51(Smith 9, Cavanaugh 7, Marfo 7) FSU 42 (Bacon 6 Rathan-Mayes) Turnovers: GW 18 FSU 12 Steals: GW 8 (Cavanaugh 2) FSU 10 (Walker 3, Forrest 2, Rathan-Mayes 2, Mann 2) ing a 90-41dismantling of Western Carolina in front of 3,037 home fans. Semrau layed 12 players against the Catamounts, and each player who saw the floor played at least 10 minutes.

the thing we Semrau aid. have so many weapons. If you take away Shakayla (Thomas), got Leti (Romero). If you take away Leti, got Imani (Wright). just all kinds of opportunities.

been working really hard making sure a balanced The No. 8 Seminoles came into game with the No. 2 scoring offense in the ACC. Four Seminoles are averaging at least 10 points per game, and as of Saturday, no player on the team was anked higher than 14th in the conference in scoring. I mani Wright, who is second on the eam in scoring, hit a shot against WCU.

Forward Shakayla Thomas led all corers with 18 points on a day where SU shot 51.5 percent from the field. The Catamounts fell behind big early FSU buried WCU by halftime by building a 52-12 lead. WCU shot 26 percent from the field and 24 of the 41 oints were scored by two players (Emily Hatfield and Lauren Laplant). Semrau said balanced attack eeps opponents from zeroing in on one player. think really starting to understand what each other does Sem- au said.

What we do well as a team. The biggest gift a coach can have is when a team uys into being a great defensive team. talk about weapons and all of that is so important. But if you play hard a nd you play defense then it Still, star forward Shakayla Thomas i a player opposing defenses have to keep in check every game. Thomas has scored at least 10 points in seven of the nine games this season.

also shooting 52.3 percent from the field. used to have up days and down Thomas said. just like a teady rate. Being consistent is the main hing I focused Star of the game Shakayla Thomas scored a game- high 18 points against the Catamounts to with 6 rebounds and a blocked shot. She scored at least four points in every quarter.

onorable mentions go to Ivey Slaughter and Leticia Romero. Slaughter was on pace for a career day, but FSU ad the game in hand and Slaughter struggled with fouls late. She finished with 14 points on 7-of-11shooting from the field. omero has been playing at her typical All-American level since returning rom a hamstring injury. She hit seven of her 11shots on Sunday and was the No.

2 scorer with 16 points. Stats of the game 24: Florida State had 24 offensive re- ounds against the Catamounts. The Seminoles at one point had more offensive rebounds than the Catamounts had points. FSU finished with more total re- ounds (51) than WCU had points (41). The Seminoles scored 26 second-chance points off those offensive rebounds.

54: The Seminoles had 54 points in the paint. 12 of those points were fast-break points. WCU simply had no answers for size. 26 percent: WCU had plenty of scoring droughts in this one the Catamounts went nearly five minutes before scoring their first basket of the game. WCU finished the game shooting 26 percent from he field.

corner Semrau on what the team needs to work on: think we just have to continue see what it is that helps us win. he little things. bought into that. a team that trains that way ow. the important piece of a championship team, that you have the will to train to do the little things, not just he Up next FSU (8-1) has a Thursday date with No.

23 Florida in the Tucker Civic Center. The Gators beat the Seminoles 82-72 in Gainesville last season. Seminoles Continued from Page 1D HALI Florida State forward Shakayla Thomas shoots over two Western Carolina players at the FSU women's basketball game against Sunday at the Donald L. Tucker Civic Center. The Heart of Dallas Bowl will be a ematch between two teams that layed in October and one of them is heading into the game with a 5-7 record.

Unusual? Yes. But scenarios like this simply come with the territory now. With 80 bowl spots to fill, some postseason games ended up with odd matchups this year. North Texas will play in the Heart of Dallas Bowl after oing 5-7, and the game will be a re- atch against an Army teams it met six weeks ago. Mississippi State is also going to a bowl at 5-7.

The Bulldogs ace Miami (Ohio) in the St. Petersburg Bowl. fortunate to have the North Texas coach Seth Littrell said. the end of the day, we even feel like we could get in this way, but we did, and so going to take Hawaii is also heading to a bowl with a losing record. The Rainbow Warriors (6-7) will play in the Hawaii Bowl against Middle Tennessee.

The reason some teams were given a reprieve is because there enough eligible teams to fill all the spots. That shortage also allows Army (6-5) and South Alabama (6-6) to go to bowls even though both have multiple ins over FCS schools. Teams are only upposed to count one FCS win for owl eligibility purposes, but since there were openings, the Black Knights and Jaguars are in. South Alabama faces Air Force in the Arizona Bowl. The Jaguars were upposed to play LSU in November, ut that game was canceled when the igers needed to play a rescheduled game against Florida.

South Alabama played Presbyterian instead and won, so that switch may have been the diff erence between reaching a bowl and issing the postseason. here were teams in bowls last season too, so this may be the new normal in college football. North Texas and Mississippi State exactly a pologizing Sunday. The witter account boasted that Missis- ippi State is one of only five Southeastern Conference schools to reach a bowl every season this decade. OTHER BOWL GAMES Miss.

State, North Texas eaded to bowls at 5-7 NOAH TRISTER ASSOCIATED PRESS The Big 12 champion Oklahoma Soon- ers will meet the Southeastern Auburn Tigers in the Sugar Bowl on Jan. 2 in New Orleans. The No. 7 Sooners (10-2) finished off a perfect run through conference play on Saturday with a 38-20 victory over Oklahoma State. Oklahoma lost two of three to start the season, but ended the season on a nine-game winning streak.

o. 17 Auburn (8-4) emerged from a umbled pile of candidates to be the sec- nd-highest ranked team in the SEC in the final CFP poll behind top-ranked Alabama. just the second time Oklahoma and Auburn have met on the football ield. The Sooners beat the Tigers 40-22 i the 1972 Sugar Bowl. ome of players have been to the Sugar Bowl before: The Sooners beat Alabama 45-31three years ago in New Orleans.

he Sooners are led by quarterback aker Mayfield, who has thrown for 3 ,669 yards, 38 touchdowns and eight interceptions. Running back Joe Mixon has run for 1,183 yards and eight touchdowns while top receiver Dede West- rook has 1,465 yards receiving and 16 ouchdowns. A uburn is led by a running game that features Kamryn Pettway and Kerryon Johnson. The two have both have good moments this season and combined for early 2,000 yards rushing, but both have also battled injuries this season. Here are some things to watch: SURGING SOONERS: Oklahoma had a ough start to the season, losing games a gainst Houston and Ohio State during eptember.

But the Sooners regrouped quickly thanks to a stellar offense that scored 34 points or more in all nine of its Big 12 games. AGGING TIGERS: Auburn has had an up-and-down season. The Tigers lost two of three early, but then rallied with a six-game winning streak to jump back i nto contention in the Western Div ision. Auburn capitalize on the omentum, losing to Georgia and Alabama during the final three weeks of the regular season. SUGAR BOWL Big 12 champ Oklahoma, Auburn to meet for 2nd time DAVID BRANDT ASSOCIATED PRESS BUTCH Auburn running back Kerryon Johnson carries against Alabama on Nov.

19 in Auburn, Ala. The No. 17 Tigers will face No. 7 Oklahoma in the Sugar Bowl. PASADENA, Calif.

Southern California will face Big Ten champion Penn State in the Rose Bowl on Jan. 2. he 103rd edition of the Granddaddy Them All matches two venerable ootball programs that have emerged rom bad times since their last trip to his postseason showcase eight years ago. USC (9-3) will meet Penn State (11-2) in a rematch of the 2009 Rose Bowl, won 38-24 by the Trojans. Neither team has been back to their traditional top postseason destination since, but both programs recovered from slow starts this fall to become two of the top teams.

Coach James Nittany Lions have won nine straight games, culminating in a 38-31victory over Wiscon- in on Saturday night in the Big Ten hampionship game. Penn State fin- i shed fifth in the final College Football layoff rankings, just ahead of Michi- an. Coach Clay Trojans have won eight games in a row, capped by back-to-back victories over top rivals UCLA and Notre Dame. The Trojans barely missed out on the Pac-12 title game between Washington and Colora- do, who were both beaten convincingly by USC. Penn State will make its fourth appearance in the Rose Bowl, including three against USC.

The Rose Bowl berth is another milestone in the Penn State revival after the scandal sur- ounding former defensive coordinator erry Sandusky, who was indicted on 40 ounts of sex crimes in 2011. SC will make its record 34th appearance in the Rose Bowl, far more than any other team. The downtown campus is 15 miles from the stadium, which became the second home during the dominant years of coach Pete Carroll. ROSE BOWL Southern Cal, Penn State to square off in Pasadena GREG BEACHAM ASSOCIATED PRESS.