
February 14, 2009 FSU's Semrau celebrates win No. 200 By Aimee Sachs DEMOCRAT STAFF WRITER While the crowd went wild for FSU head coach Sue Semrau's 200th win, Semrau herself was wondering what all the fuss was about. She even asked her players when they embraced her at half court. "I grabbed them at center court and I said, 'Was this THAT big a deal?' and they all just said, 'No.' I really believe that this team feels that way," Semrau said. "Playing together, playing well is a big deal to them. Not whether or not we win the basketball game." That mentality is exactly what Semrau and the Seminoles believe is special about this year's Florida State team. Coach Sue Semrau "We have this don't-care mentality, I think," said FSU senior guard Mara Freshour. "We don't care if we beat teams that are ranked higher than us and we still don't get respect from whoever it might be. Our main goal is we're still going to take one game at a time, we're still going to prepare the same way that we do. We're just going to keep doing what we do regardless of any of the other business that goes on outside of our team and our family." The approach was the players' idea. "This team didn't want to set specific goals," Semrau said. "This team very diligently said 'We want to take it one game at a time.' And they've done that and improved, and boy, when you have a team that special, you don't want to mess that up." Home sweet Civic Center With the largest crowd ever on hand to see an FSU women's basketball game, Freshour still remembers her earlier seasons when fan support was low. "It's almost like when we came over here it was still an away game," freshour said of the Civic Center. "As bad as that is to say, it's quite honest in that we practice in our really, really nice practice facility which is awesome, but then when we came over here there really wasn't that much of a homey feel. And now, especially this year more than ever, we have been able to depend on these fans." Coaching barefoot Semrau and her coaching staff were noticeably barefoot during the game to raise awareness for Samaritan's Feet, an organization that provides shoes for impoverished children. "I practiced without my shoes and it felt very strange," Semrau said after the game. "Tonight it felt great."
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