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12th-ranked Seminoles defeats Missouri, 73-66

Nov 29, 2009 - 10:07 PM TALLAHASSEE, Fla.(AP) -- Florida State junior Christian Hunnicutt admitted she was a little concerned during the pre-game shootaround, when nothing seemed to be falling.

Her scoring touch returned when the Seminoles needed it most.

Hunnicutt scored 10 of the No. 12 Seminoles' 16 points during a late run, leading them to a 73-66 comeback victory over Missouri on Sunday at the Seminole Classic.

Trailing by five in the middle of the second period, Hunnicutt helped put Florida State ahead to stay. She hit a pair of 3-pointers during the spurt, and by the time the Seminoles (6-0) had finished, they led 63-52.

"It felt really great, because in warm-ups, I couldn't throw a rock in the ocean," Hunnicutt said. "It felt really, really good to help my team get that spark and get the momentum going on our side."

The Tigers (3-2) cut the lead to one on Shakara Jones' jumper with 4:07 left. Jones then fouled Cierra Bravard on a layup, and Bravard made the ensuing free throw to help put the game away. The Seminoles finished 18 of 21 from the foul line.

"Free throws have been kind of thorn in our side," Missouri coach Cindy Stein said. "We're very inconsistent there. I think, too, we're trying to play pretty hard on defense and sometimes that takes away from your offense."

Missouri had no problem from 3-point range. The Tigers kept things close by hitting nine of 18 threes, including six from Amanda Hanneman.

Florida State coach Sue Semrau said her team should expect challenges all season like the one they faced against Missouri.

"I thought they did a good job of pushing our team to where it needed to go," Semrau said. "We're going to be the hunted this year. We have a target on our backs and we have to learn to play like that."

Jacinta Monroe led Florida State with 12 points, as she and Hunnicutt were FSU's only double-digit scorers. Yet the Seminoles had seven players scoring at least seven points.

Hanneman led all scorers with 20 points, while Jessra Johnson added 16 with a game high nine rebounds and Raeshara Brown added 13 points. Chastity Clayton and Alexa Deluzio both added nine.