Georgia ousts Florida State in women's NCAA Tournament

IOWA CITY, Iowa — Diamond Battles scored 21 points and Audrey Warren added 11 points as Georgia defeated Florida State 66-54 in the first round of the women’s NCAA Tournament on Friday.

The 10th-seeded Lady Bulldogs (22-11) advanced to Sunday’s second round to face either No. 2 seed Iowa or 15th-seeded Southeastern Louisiana.

Jordan Isaacs had 10 points and Javyn Nicholson had 13 rebounds for Georgia.

Georgia led 43-40 with 2:03 left in the third quarter before going on a 14-0 run that extended three minutes into the fourth quarter. Florida State would get no closer than 10 points the rest of the game.

Florida State (23-10), a No. 7 seed, had just eight available players for the tournament. The university announced on Thursday morning that freshman guard Ta’Niya Latson and sophomore guard O’Mariah Gordon were out for the rest of the season because of injuries.

Latson was an honorable-mention Associated Press All-American along with being the ACC’s Rookie of the Year and a first-team all-conference selection. She averaged 21.3 points and 4.5 rebounds this season. Gordon, who played in 30 games and started twice this season, averaged 6.9 points and two rebounds.

Erin Howard had 19 points and nine rebounds to lead Florida State. Taylor O'Brien had 15 points.

The Seminoles shot just 26.9% from the field, including 22.9% in the second half.

BIG PICTURE

Florida State: The Seminoles built a first-half lead, but couldn't sustain it as they missed shots in the second half. Not having Latson's scoring proved to be costly, as Florida State had trouble getting to the basket against Georgia's defense.

Georgia: The Lady Bulldogs had their own shooting woes to open the game — they shot just 28.6% in the first quarter — but found an offensive rhythm and took advantage of the Seminoles' struggles. Georgia went nine deep in the game, taking advantage of Florida State's lack of depth.