The Florida State women’s basketball team returned to the Tucker Center on Sunday after a heartbreaking loss at Tennessee earlier in the week. The Seminoles had no time to keep their heads down after a hard-fought defeat as they welcomed new conference member SMU.
The Seminole Sound pep band members were rocking their ugliest Christmas sweaters for the game to show their holiday spirit.
FSU looked to give SMU a lump of coal for Christmas but ended up fighting back-and-forth with the Mustangs until a strong third quarter put the game out of reach. The Seminoles were victorious 93-85 and notched their first ACC victory of the season.
“I’m really proud of this team getting their first ACC win,” FSU coach Brooke Wyckoff said. “It’s the ACC, it’s a gauntlet and every team is going to be a challenge. SMU came in here and played great and gave us their best.”
The first quarter started with both teams trading baskets, but Florida State was noticeably cold, making only 9 of 24 attempts. SMU was scrappy during every possession early on. Diving for loose balls, executing their offensive and defensive sets proved to keep SMU ahead of the Seminoles, who were sleepwalking at times. Most of the scoring from FSU came from junior guard Ta’Niya Latson (39 points) and senior guard O’Mariah Gordon (21 points). Both were active at driving the basket for points, which SMU had no way to defend.
SMU started the second quarter with a 6-0 run and would keep fighting until halftime. The Mustangs made the shots they needed down the stretch to put them ahead of the Seminoles 47-41 at halftime.
The third quarter was when the Garnet and Gold settled down and began to play their game. Sophomore shooting guard Carla Viegas put Florida State up by one with 8 minutes left in the third quarter after she buried a 3-pointer. Senior forward Makayla Timpson began to make her presence known in the paint, as she was active on the boards for put-backs and was able to consistently get to the foul line. Latson was also able to get into the lane almost every time she drove the basket and was finishing with ease at the rim. She had 22 points with two minutes left in the third quarter, but the lead wasn’t comfortable enough for the Seminoles to relax.
Sophomore forward and fan favorite Avery Treadwell ignited the crowd with one minute left in the third quarter and changed the momentum for FSU when she blocked three of SMU’s shots in one sequence. She dove for the loose ball out of bounds after her third consecutive block and got up with a huge smile on her face as she was cheered on by the fans in attendance and greeted by her teammates. This was a sign of things to come for the ’Noles as the defensive intensity was ratcheted up after Treadwell’s block party.
The Seminoles were up 71-62 going into the fourth quarter with no signs of their momentum being taken away.
Latson continued to be the driving force on offense, but SMU began to trap her every time she touched the ball. That was unfortunate for the Mustangs when they tried to trap Latson early in the fourth quarter, only to see the talented guard find Sydney Bowles for a wide open 3-pointer to put Florida State up 73-62.
Latson showed off her defensive skills when she blocked a shot that ended up in the hands of junior guard Brianna Turnage who gave a beautiful outlet pass back to Latson for the easy layup. This put the Seminoles up 79-64 with 7:12 left in the game.
Latson was nearing 40 points as the last minutes were ticking off the clock. FSU had the game in-hand, but this was a big moment for Latson as she made her way to the free-throw line for two shots after she was fouled. Latson was at 38 points on the night, but couldn’t convert one of the free throws, which left her one shy of scoring 40 points.
The Seminoles will have the week off while the team finishes their finals before the semester ends on Friday.
“We’ve been playing so many games and these ladies have been battling physically and mentally through that,” Coach Brooke Wyckoff said. “Now is a great time for them to focus on their academics, finish strong in the semester, but get some rest. So we’ll take the week like that, just kind of resting, staying fresh and then being ready to play in a week.”
The Lady ’Noles welcome Drexel for a 2 p.m. tip-off at the Tucker Center on Dec. 15.
