CLEMSON, S.C. — Last time out, Florida State's Jacinta Monroe felt like she let her team down even though she was hampered by a sore shoulder. Thursday night, she ignored the lingering pain and played one of the best games of her career.
Monroe scored a career-best 24 and had nine rebounds to lead the No. 11 Seminoles to a 75-58 win over Clemson. The win kept FSU (22-5, 10-1 ACC) a game up on Maryland and Duke for first place with three games left as the Seminoles try to win a league title for the first time since joining the conference 18 years ago.
Monroe's sore shoulder limited her to five points in 23 minutes in a win over North Carolina, and she had scored a combined 23 in her past three games. Thursday, the junior made 9 of 12 shots from the field and 6 of 11 free throws. She also blocked a shot, tying the school record with 209 career blocks.
"My team has done a great job of stepping up for me, because I wasn't really showing up," Monroe said. "But this game I was focused on being there for my team."
When coach Sue Semrau took over in 1997, FSU was coming off an 0-16 season. Since the ACC expanded five seasons ago, the Seminoles have finished no worse than fifth, and they tied a school record Thursday with their 10th ACC win.
ARKANSAS 83, NO. 15 UF 74: Ayana Brereton and Charity Ford scored 19 each as the visiting Razorbacks handed the Gators their third consecutive loss.
Florida (22-5, 8-3 SEC) has lost all three in somewhat lopsided fashion since beating defending national champion Tennessee and climbing to No. 9 in the rankings.
"Arkansas played a great game," Gators coach Amanda Butler said. "They were very confident, very aggressive and really took it to us. Our response to their energy was very disappointing. I thought we had letdowns in every area."
The Gators used a 7-0 run to make it 51-50 midway through the second half, but the Razorbacks (16-11, 5-7) pulled away.
Top 25
NO. 18 VANDY 73, NO. 3 AUBURN 70: Merideth Marsh hit two free throws with 11 seconds left, and the host Commodores (21-6, 10-2) tied the Tigers (25-2, 10-2) atop the SEC with two games left in the regular season.
NO. 7 DUKE 62, VA. TECH 46: Abby Waner scored 15 as the Blue Devils (22-3, 9-2 ACC) improved to 13-0 at home this season. Duke blew it open with a 16-0 run beginning midway through the first half, scoring 14 off steals.
NO. 9 MARYLAND 87, GA. TECH 79: Marissa Coleman scored 23 and Lynetta Kizer had a career-high 22 points and 10 rebounds as the visiting Terrapins (22-4, 9-2 ACC) won their sixth straight.
NO. 10 UNC 92, BC 68: Rashanda McCants had 19 points and eight rebounds to help the Tar Heels (23-4, 8-3 ACC) snap a three-game conference road skid.
KENTUCKY 66, NO. 13 TENN. 56: Eleia Roddy and Amani Franklin scored 18 as the host Wildcats handed the Vols (18-8, 7-4 SEC) their first loss at Memorial Coliseum in 23 years. Kentucky, which went in having lost six of seven, beat a ranked team for the first time this season.
NO. 20 OHIO ST. 73, MINN. 62: Samantha Prahalis scored 17 as the visiting Buckeyes (21-5, 12-3) avenged a loss at home to the Gophers and remained tied with Michigan State atop the Big Ten.
NO. 23 UVA 84, MIAMI 75, OT: Lyndra Littles hit a tying heave in regulation and finished with 27 points for the host Cavaliers (20-7, 6-5 ACC), who barely ended a two-game losing streak. The Hurricanes (13-13, 2-9) led most of the way.
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