The Florida State women’s basketball team was back on the hardwood for their last game before the team breaks for the holidays. The Seminoles welcomed Jacksonville to the Tucker Center, and all was going smoothly until the start of the second quarter when junior guard Ta’Niya Latson went down with an ankle injury.
Latson would miss the remainder of the game, but FSU would cruise to a 97-74 victory, highlighted by a monster performance from senior forward Makayla Timpson (27 points, 13 rebounds, 4 assists and 8 blocks) and senior guard O’Mariah Gordon (19 points, 5 rebounds, 10 assists, 3 steals and 1 block).
FSU coach Brooke Wyckoff did not have an update regarding Latson’s injury but was proud of her team’s winning effort despite losing the nation’s leading scorer in Latson early in the game.
“We had some amazing individual performances,” said Wyckoff. “O’Mariah double-double, amazing job with assists and points. KK’s 27 points and 13 rebounds, another double-double. We take for granted what she does, but it was a total team effort as well. Even Snoop, who didn’t necessarily score a point, had 11 rebounds.”
The first quarter started out the way the ’Noles wanted, with the Big three of Latson, Timpson and Gordon leading the charge offensively. Latson scored the first points of the game when she performed a quick first-step crossover, driving past the defender and into the lane, only to drop the pass off to Timpson for the easy score. The Big 3 would score the first 14 points for the Seminoles but were only up by six with 3 minutes and 15 seconds left in the first quarter.
Jacksonville was able to get easy baskets and benefited from frequent whistles, which led to more trips to the line. Jacksonville shot 13 free throws to Florida State’s three in the first quarter. Despite the disparity, the Seminoles were up 27-23 at the end of the first quarter.
The second quarter was FSU’s most dominating quarter, scoring 26 points to Jacksonville’s ten. Despite the strong quarter, Latson went down with an injury when she twisted her ankle with nine minutes and 24 seconds left. The Tucker Center was stunned and silent. You could feel the fears of many fans in attendance at the thought of losing Latson. The talented guard was on the floor for a while, holding her lower leg and wincing in pain. Latson was able to get to her feet and walk off the court but had to be helped by a staffer and coach Wyckoff. Latson could not put any weight on the ankle. In the second half she was still dressed, but her ankle was heavily taped for the rest of the game as she looked on from the sidelines.
Despite Latson’s injury, the ’Noles went on a 22-2 run in the last five minutes to give themselves a 53-33 lead. The team did not shoot well from the 3-point line in the first half, perhaps relying on it a bit too much. Going 6 for 22 from beyond the arc isn’t ideal when it comes to winning basketball games, but it does show that this team is deep and can find other ways to score when they aren’t hitting from outside or when their star player goes down with an injury.
“I was really proud of how we responded to a lot of different things that were adverse for us throughout the game,” Wyckoff said. “That’s the sign of a mature team. When things go wrong or things aren’t up to par, how do you respond? And that’s what this team did.”
Timpson picked up her third foul with seven minutes left in the third quarter and was forced to sit. Avery Treadwell got some extended minutes in the third with Timpson on the bench. Redshirt freshman guard Raiane Dias Dos Santos also had extended minutes in the second half, and you can see the potential in Santos. The Seminoles went on a quick 6-0 run with five minutes left in the third quarter which was highlighted by Santos and Treadwell running a pick and roll to perfection as Santos drove the basket for an easy layup thanks to Treadwell’s effective screen. Redshirt sophomore forward Mariana Valenzuela also caught fire in the last minute of the quarter when she buried back-to-back three pointers. Valenzuela finished with 14 points and was 4-6 from beyond the arc.
The score was 78-52 heading into the fourth quarter, and everything was in control for Florida State. The Seminoles would not falter or relinquish their lead. They looked like a deep, determined and driven team in the second half. Getting steals, blocking shots, pushing the pace and scoring points at a breakneck speed is who this team is, with or without Latson.
The fact that this team put up 97 points without its leading scorer in the second half and poor shooting from the 3-point line is impressive. This time off should give Latson enough time to heal but nothing is certain until an update on her injury is provided.
The team will now have a break for the holidays to be with their families. With their non-conference games now complete, FSU now moves into ACC play.
Florida State will be off through the new year, playing its next game Jan. 2 at Virginia Tech.
