Alexa Deluzio leads No. 10 Florida State over Texas-San Antonio 65-50 in Las Vegas

Deluzio leads No. 10 Florida State over UTSA

LAS VEGAS — Alexa Deluzio helped Florida State weather a rough first half to stay undefeated.

She came off the bench and scored 10 of her 12 points in the first half to lead the 10th-raniked Seminoles to a 65-50 victory over Texas-San Antonio in the first game of the Duel in the Desert tournament on Saturday.

Deluzio came in and made 4 of 5 shots, including a 3-pointer to start a 12-0 run that gave FSU the lead for good.

“Alexa Deluzio continues to come in and be a huge spark for us,” Seminoles coach Sue Semrau said. “Not only did she score well, but she was so quick to the basketball. For her to come in and do that for us is important.”

Florida State (10-0) outrebounded the Roadrunners 56-39. Angel Gray led Florida State with 10 rebounds and six assists while Chastity Clayton had nine.

Kelsey Ansley, playing in her first game for the Roadrunners after transferring from New Mexico last season, led Texas-San Antonio (4-4) with 11 points.

The Roadrunners got within six points when they made it 48-42 midway through the second half, but the Seminoles responded with a 17-8 run to end the game.

“I think that we didn’t back down,” Roadrunners coach Rae Rippetoe-Blair said. “I think the key for us was making free throws. When you miss that many from the free -throw line … and I know we went 0 for 10 from the three-point line in the second half and that just killed us right there.”

The Seminoles, too, had their struggles, shooting just 38 percent in the first half.

“I don’t think we got nervous at all,” Deluzio said. “We just had to come together as a team. Everybody contributes on our team, so we were fine; we were composed.”

Texas-San Antonio missed 12 of 18 free throws in the second half.

The Seminoles will play DePaul or Arkansas on Sunday.