Thursday, April 26, 2012

Bravard signs with Silver Stars

Perkins graduate Cierra Bravard was signed by the WNBA's San Antonio Silver Stars on Wednesday.

The 6-foot-4 forward completed her Florida State career as the only player in school history to rank among the top 10 on the career record lists for scoring, rebounding, blocks and games played.

A 2011 WBCA Honorable Mention All-America selection, Bravard led the Seminoles with 14.0 points and 6.5 rebounds per game while shooting 54.0 percent from the floor during her senior season. It marked her third-consecutive season leading the team in scoring average and shooting percentage.

A two-time All-ACC honoree, Bravard played in all 131 games during her collegiate career, averaging 11.4 points and 5.8 rebounds per game with a 54.0 shooting percentage.

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Wednesday, October 19, 2011

Bravard named Preseason All-ACC

Perkins graduate Cierra Bravard was selected to the Preseason All-ACC Team as she gets ready for her senior season at Florida State.

Bravard led the Seminoles in scoring (15 ppg), rebounding (7.8 rpg), field goal percentage (54.5 percent) and blocks (27) in 2010-11 en route to All-ACC First Team honors and honorable mention All-America accolades from the WBCA. Bravard also led the ACC in free throws made with 156.

The ACC honor adds to a growing list of preseason awards for Bravard, who was named a preseason First Team All-American by the Sporting News as well as a member of the Wade Award and Wooden Award Watch Lists.

The Seminoles finished third in the ACC in 2010-11, compiling an 11-3 ACC mark. FSU tied for first in the conference in 2009 and 2010 and the squad’s 35 conference wins over the past three years are tied for the most in the ACC with Duke over that span.

FSU advanced to its seventh straight NCAA Tournament in 2010-11, capturing a three-seed for the second consecutive season, and finished with a 24-8 record. In addition to Bravard, FSU returns starters Alexa Deluzio and Natasha Howard.
swalker@MorningJournal.com

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Tuesday, March 1, 2011

Bravard named All-ACC First Team


Perkins graduate Cierra Bravard was named to the 2010-11 All-ACC Women’s Basketball First Team after an outstanding season at Florida State.

Bravard led FSU in several statistical categories, including points per game (14.4) and rebounds per game (7.3), shooting percentage (.545) and free-throw percentage (.839).

Behind Bravard’s play in the post, FSU finished the regular season with a 23-6 overall record and 11-3 conference mark.

She finished seventh in the league in scoring, 11th in rebounding, fifth in field-goal percentage and sixth in free-throw percentage.

"Cierra has always had incredible potential and she has worked so hard to bring that potential out this season," FSU head coach Sue Semrau said. "She stayed on campus this past summer and really focused in on her strength and conditioning and that in turn helped her become a more dominant player in the post for us.

"As a coaching staff, we are so proud of the player that she has become and will continue to turn in to."

Bravard is the fifth player in FSU women’s basketball history to earn-first team honors.

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Sunday, February 20, 2011

Bravard, No. 12 Florida State still on top


Perkins graduate Cierra Bravard and the Florida State Seminoles women’s basketball team are that much closer to another regular-season conference title.

Two games away to be exact.

The No. 12 Florida State women’s basketball defeated No. 17 Maryland, 72-66 on Sunday, led by Bravard’s 14 points. The Seminoles now control their own destiny as far as a regular-season Atlantic Coast Conference championship is concerned, now just needing a win at Miami and at home against Clemson to finish in at least a tie at the top of the league pile.

FSU’s victory also moves its record to 22-5 overall and to 10-2 in league play. The ‘Noles have now won at least 10 ACC contests in a school-record three consecutive seasons.

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Thursday, January 27, 2011

Bravard leads No. 21 Florida State past Boston College


Perkins graduate Cierra Bravard scored 11 of her team-high 21 points in the final 6 1/2 minutes and Alexa Deluzio hit a pair of key 3-pointers, helping the No. 21 Seminoles hold off Boston College 102-93 on Thursday night.

Deluzio finished with 20 points and six assists for Florida State (17-4, 5-1 Atlantic Coast Conference). Courtney Ward had 20 points, 14 in the second half.

When BC’s leading scorer and rebounder, 6-foot-6 Carolyn Swords, fouled out with 8 minutes to play, the Seminoles knew it was time to go inside to the 6-4 Bravard.

"When we got Swords fouled out, I knew Cierra was going to dominate the paint because no one, no one was going to stop her," Deluzio said. "The good thing about our team is we don’t have two set scorers that we have to rely on. Anyone can score. I feel like we’re all clicking."

The Seminoles, who won for the eighth time in nine games, had six players in double figures in a game that was wide open until BC’s post players got in foul trouble.

"I thought it was a very up-tempo game," Boston College coach Sylvia Crawley said. "Florida State usually likes to walk the ball up the floor. We tried a few things to get them to speed up."

But it all changed when BC had no one to defend Bravard.

Swords, who entered averaging 18 points and 8.9 boards per game, was held to four points and three rebounds.

"I think our kids did a good job of delivering it inside," Florida State coach Sue Semrau said. "We had a big, strong kid in there that was hard to defend."

After BC tied the game 81-all with just more than 7 minutes to play, Bravard hit three free throws and Deluzio nailed a 3-pointer from the left corner, pushing the Seminoles ahead by six with 4 1/2 minutes left.

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Friday, January 14, 2011

Bravard scores 12 as Seminoles fall to Duke


Perkins graduate Cierra Bravard scored 12 points for the Seminoles, but No. 21 ranked Florida State lost to third-ranked Duke 87-70 victory on Friday night.

The Blue Devils (16-0, 2-0 Atlantic Coast Conference) got 15 points each from freshmen Haley Peters and Tricia Liston, while Chelsea Gray added 13.

Courtney Ward led Florida State with a game-high 25 points, while Alexa Deluzio added 17 for Florida State, which closed within three points with 12:28 left only to see Duke quickly regain command.

Duke took the lead at 18-16 on Thomas’ 3-pointer that ignited a 25-8 run, culminating with a 3-pointer from Liston that put the Blue Devils ahead 40-24.

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Wednesday, December 22, 2010

Bravard, FSU fall in historic bout

Perkins’ Cierra Bravard and the No. 20 Florida State women’s basketball team fell to No. 1 Connecticut, 93-62, on Tuesday night, giving the Huskies’ (11-0) college basketball record-setting 89th consecutive victory.

Bravard led Florida State with 19 points, while also pulling down six rebounds.

Down 54-27 at halftime, the Seminoles never gave up were outscored by just four in the second period despite the growing excitement of a home crowd watching its team approach an improbable milestone.

While FSU battled as hard as possible, in the end there was just too much Maya Moore to handle. UConn’s star came out firing and never stopped. She finished the night with a career-high 41 points.

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Wednesday, December 15, 2010

Bravard's double double leads No. 17 Florida State

Perkins graduate Cierra Bravard had 14 points and 10 rebounds and No. 17 Florida State cruised to a 69-51 win over Central Florida on Wednesday night.

Bravard had her fourth double-double of the season and Alexa Deluzio added 11 points for the Seminoles (9-1).

D’Nay Daniels had 17 points and eight rebounds and Aisha Patrick added nine points for UCF (4-5), which had 22 turnovers and six assists.

FSU broke open the game by going on an early 23-4 run. The Golden Knights shot 7 of 31 from the floor in the first half and couldn’t recover.

The Seminoles outrebounded the Golden Knights 49-41.FSU has won 11 straight against UCF. The Seminoles are 15-2 in the series.

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Monday, November 29, 2010

MVP Bravard leads No. 14 Florida State in the Bahamas

Perkins’ Cierra Bravard helped lead the No. 14 Florida State women’s basketball team to a Junkanoo Jam tournament title.

Bravard, who was honored with the MVP of the tournament trophy, scored 21 points against Arizona State and the Seminoles earned a come-from-behind 65-55 victory. For her efforts against the Sun Devils (3-2) and her 24-point, 10-rebound double-double the night before, the junior post player from Sandusky, was named MVP of the tournament.

Assisting Bravard in a win that helped the ’Noles capture the championship in the Freeport Division of the Junkanoo Jam, was freshman forward Natasha Howard. The Toledo native finished the night with 21 points as well.

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Tuesday, March 30, 2010

Bravard and Florida State ready for No. 1 Connecticut tonight



Perkins' Cierra Bravard and her Florida State Seminoles will have to play the game of their lives tonight when they face No. 1-seeded Connecticut, who beat them earlier this season 78-59.

Florida State (29-5) advanced with a 74-71 victory over No. 7 seed Mississippi State on Sunday in the Dayton Regional semifinal, led by Bravard’s 10 points and nine rebounds, along with 21 points from Alysha Harvin and 14 from Courtney Ward.

UConn (36-0) defeated Iowa State in the earlier semifinal. The Huskies have won 75 games in a row and it’s their third-straight win in the NCAA Tournament by at least 30 points.

The Seminoles, who set a school mark with their 29th win, earned their first spot ever in a regional title game.

After 11 ties and 14 lead changes, the Seminoles finally got the lead for good with 1:40 left when Harvin was fouled during a loose-ball scrum and broke a tie at 66 by hitting both foul shots.

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Friday, January 22, 2010

Bravard hits game-winner for Florida State in win over NC State


Perkins' Cierra Bravard hit a layup with 11 seconds left and added a free throw with 5.4 seconds left to give the 16th-seeded Florida State an Atlantic Coast Conference win over North Carolina State last Sunday.

Bravard finished with 13 points and is averaging nearly eight points and five rebounds per game. She has made 15 starts in 19 games played.

Stay tuned for a College Insider on Bravard in the upcoming weeks.

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Wednesday, April 22, 2009

Bravard earns Atlantic Coast Conference honors


Tallahassee, Fla. – Perkins’ Cierra Bravard capped off her freshman season at Florida State, earning Atlantic Coast Conference All-Freshman team honors.

Bravard averaged 9.7 points and nearly five rebounds per game, while playing in all 34 games, including 15 starts. The Seminoles finished 26-8 overall, but lost in the second round of the NCAA tournament to Arizona State, 63-58.

Bravard was named the ACC Rookie Of The Week twice this season.

The first time in January, she helped the Seminoles to three-straight wins, including a victory over No. 3 Texas A&M. In just 17.7 minutes coming off the bench, Bravard averaged 13.6 points and 6.7 rebounds per game during the three-game streak.

Her second Rookie of the Week honor, Bravard recorded her first double-double in ACC play, and second in her career, with 16 points and 10 rebounds – both team-highs – to help the Seminoles to a 77-70 win over No. 7 North Carolina.

Bravard was a four-year letter winner at Sandusky Perkins and left as the school’s all-time leading scorer with 1,966 points. As a senior, she was named the Ohio Player of the Year and was a WBCA All-America selection, among other accolades. She was also an All-Ohio selection in her sophomore and junior season, after getting honorable mention her freshman year.
swalker@MorningJournal.com







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