Florida State women’s basketball’s (16-4, 6-2) Ta’Niya Latson left 4,313 fans speechless at the Carmichael Arena on Sunday afternoon. Her game-winning layup upset No. 13 North Carolina (18-4, 6-3), 86-84.
With 3.5 seconds left, Latson caught an inbound pass, pumped fake two defenders, and made the final score as the clock expired.
“Ta’Niya does what she does best. We were able to get the ball in the hands of our best player, and she went and did what amazing players do,” FSU coach Brooke Wyckoff said.
“I’m just so proud of her poise. It’s not easy. That game was a battle of toughness. It was physical. Carolina is obviously a really, really good basketball team. I’m just so proud of how we battled from beginning to end.”
Latson, who leads the country in scoring, finished the day with 25 points, seven assists and four rebounds in 33 minutes.
This was FSU’s first game-winning victory in the last five seasons. As Latson explained after the game, it was the defining moment of her basketball career.
“I’ve been wanting this moment. I’ve been wanting to embrace it, and Coach (Wyckoff) all week has been saying, ’embrace the heart,'” Latson said.
“We got punched a couple of times, but we didn’t fall down. So I’m just proud of this team and for having my back at that moment too, like my team had encouraged me the whole way through, and I knew I had the support, so I just went out there with confidence.”
It was a back-and-forth ACC matchup from start to finish. There were 20 lead changes. Even when FSU had an eight-point lead at the beginning of the game after a 6-0 run, it wasn’t long-lasting as UNC led in the first half, 44-43.
FSU didn’t have its best shooting performance, but it still shot 40.3 percent from the field and 45 percent from 3. The Tar Heels shot 46. 4 percent from the field and a 33.3 three-point percentage.
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Sydney Bowles steps up for FSU basketball
Latson was not the only player who came in clutch for the Seminoles.
Before Latson’s game-winner, her pass to Sydney Bowles from downtown gave the Seminoles a two-point lead after trailing 82-81 with less than seven seconds left to play.
In her fourth start in an FSU uniform, Bowles had a career game of 18 points, including six three-pointers that matched her career-best.
“Yeah, it was huge. It was a huge moment. They were packing the paint on me, and that play was drawn for me, too, but I had to trust my teammates. Sydney has been hot the whole game,” Latson said about Bowles.
“She had like six threes, and she had a huge one. So I’m super proud of her, and we’re all proud of her. She’s been waiting for that moment in her career, too. So I’m just happy to see her knocking down shots.”
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Makayla Timpson was fouled out. FSU basketball had to adjust
The adversity came when FSU got into foul trouble, including senior Makayla Timpson.
Timpson fouled out in the fourth quarter, leaving the Seminoles to adjust their frontcourt without their rim protector, who ended with 15 points, eight rebounds, and three blocks.
Wyckoff had to rely on Malea Williams and Mariana Valenzuela to defend the paint in Timpson’s absence.
The Seminoles’ defense remained efficient but struggled to stop UNC’s big Maria Gakdeng down the stretch. Gakdeng was UNC’s top scorer with 21 points.
“She is just a tough, tough player. That’s a future pro right there, and that they had to go against in Gakdeng, but what I really was proud of was not only how they battled, but how the rest of our team just continued to believe,” Wyckoff said.
“They stuck with it and just kept battling, coming up with the ball when we needed it and just mentally tough through a disappointing foul or a score down low.”
FSU scored 40 points in the paint, and 19 of them were second-chance points. Offensively, even without Timpson, the Seminoles outrebounded the Tar Heels 14-9.
On the defensive end, FSU shut down Alyssa Ustby, holding her to one field goal in the fourth quarter.
Ustby finished the night with 14 points. Three more Tar Heels reached double figures, including Reniya Kelly, who tied the game at 84 with four seconds left. She ended up with 16 points.
Both teams played aggressively inside the paint and shot well from the foul line. FSU made 15 of its 16 free throws, while UNC was 14 of 17.
What’s next for FSU basketball
FSU earned its first Quad 1 victory on the road against a Top 25 opponent. For seeding purposes, a win against UNC was needed in its resume.
FSU basketball will end January by traveling to the Northeast to take on Boston College (12-9, 3-5) on Thursday at 6 p.m. at the Conte Forum.
Then, FSU will return home to host Wake Forest (7-12, 0-8) the following Sunday at 6 p.m. at the Donald L. Tucker Arena.
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Peter Holland Jr. covers Florida State athletics for Tallahassee Democrat. Contact him via email at PHolland@Gannett.com or on X @_Da_pistol.
This article originally appeared on Tallahassee Democrat: FSU basketball upsets No.13 UNC, 86-84 on Sunday at Carmichael Arena
