ST. THOMAS, U.S. Virgin Islands (AP) — Shakayla Thomas picked the right time to come up with her first double-double of the season.
Thomas had 19 points and 11 rebounds, and No. 10 Florida State pulled away in the fourth quarter to beat Michigan 76-62 on Saturday in the final day of the Paradise Jam tournament.
Imani Wright added 19 points, Ivey Slaughter had 15 and Leticia Romero 10 for the Seminoles (6-1), who won their third straight game.
“We just had to come together as a team, and keep the momentum,” Thomas said after her fourth career double-double. “It was all about our momentum. We had it on the court, and all about staying positive. Even when we got down, we just got back on defense and started working.”
Katelynn Flaherty scored 18 points, Kysre Gondrezick added 17 and Hallie Thome 13 for the Wolverines (6-1), who fell behind in the second quarter but stayed close until the Seminoles opened the fourth quarter with a 16-8 run.
“They’re a really tough team to guard,” Florida State coach Sue Semrau said. “But we did a great job of fighting through the fatigue. We did a much better job of rebounding the ball. Shakayla rebounded the heck out of the ball.”
Thomas’ layup with 2:54 left capped the run, putting Florida State up 69-56.
“We just went on a scoring drought,” Michigan coach Kim Barnes Arico said. “I don’t know if we got worn down a little bit or what. We started to press a little bit and started to force things instead of sharing the ball. We were in a great spot, we just didn’t come out the way we needed to.”
BIG PICTURE
Michigan: Snaps the Wolverines’ six-game winning streak, the second straight year they’ve opened the season 6-0, and drops their record against No. 10 teams to 0-11.
Florida State: Keeps the Seminoles unbeaten since losing to No. 2 Connecticut as they played the first of two straight games against Big Ten opponents.
UP NEXT
Michigan: At Georgia Tech in the Big 10-ACC Challenge on Thursday.
Florida State: At Minnesota in the Big 10-ACC Challenge on Wednesday.
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