After a half of action, the Florida State women's basketball team seemed poised for a resume-boosting win and a season sweep of a rivalry series.

The Seminoles led rival Miami by 11 points on the road through 20 minutes and were controlling the game in all phases.

The crash back down to Earth, however, was harsh for the Seminoles and the Hurricanes took advantage. UM (16-8, 9-4 in ACC) came roaring back to beat the No. 19 Seminoles (20-6, 9-4) 86-82 at the Watsco Center in Coral Gables.

After the Seminoles were 8 of 14 from three in the first half, they went ice cold in the second half, making just 2 of 10 threes.

Even more problematic for the Seminoles was their 10 of 20 performance from the free-throw line. That's surprising for an FSU team which began the day shooting an ACC-best 76.7% from the charity stripe. That Sara Bejedi, who entered Thursday as a 78.2% free-throw shooter this season, was 4 of 10 from the line is equally surprising.

Meanwhile, the Hurricanes were 21 of 26 from the free-throw line. This included 10 of 11 from Miami's Haley Cavinder, who set a new career high with 33 points in the Miami victory.

FSU forward Makayla Timpson led the way for the Seminoles with 19 points and nine rebounds, coming up one short of another double-double. Bejedi added 13 points while Ta'Niya Latson and Jazmine Massengill each scored 12 in the loss.

It's a tough loss for the Seminoles, who led by as many as 13 points. In a crowded top of the ACC standings, it denies FSU a shot of moving a half-game behind Duke.

It also costs FSU a chance to boost its resume before the top-16 NCAA Tournament seeds at this moment in time were announced late Thursday night. The Seminoles were not among those teams, meaning they would be on the road for the NCAA Tournament, but four other ACC teams were in Duke, Notre Dame, North Carolina and Virginia Tech.

Struggling on the glass

FSU, which is 15-0 this season when outrebounding its opponent, didn't come especially close to accomplishing that Thursday against the Hurricanes.

Miami held a significant 47 to 28 rebounding advantage over FSU, nearly doubling up the Seminoles. FSU particularly struggled on the defensive glass, securing 22 defensive boards while allowing Miami to grab 18 offensive rebounds.

The Hurricanes turned those rebounds into 18 second-chance points. In a game where FSU shot 48.4% from the floor to Miami's 40.9%, that was the great equalizer.

So was the fact that Miami got hotter from outside the arc as the game progressed, hitting 6 of 9 second-half threes (66.7%) and finishing 50% from outside the arc for the game to FSU's 40%.

Up Next

Although the loss is a setback, FSU has an even bigger chance to boost its resume this weekend. The Seminoles play at No. 11 Virginia Tech (19-4, 9-4) Sunday at 2 p.m.