No. 22 Florida State women’s basketball‘s six-game winning streak ended at the Donald L. Tucker Center on Sunday, dropping to No. 14 North Carolina State (19-4, 11-1), 97-74, in front of 2,458 fans. NC State’s winning streak extended to eight games and remained a one-loss team in the ACC.
This was FSU’s first home loss on the season after winning 11 straight. It was also the most points the Seminoles allowed all year.
Both teams were battling back and forth in the first few minutes of the first quarter until the Wolfpack made a 19-2 run and outscored the Seminoles in the first half, 51-31.
“That wasn’t us out there,” FSU coach Brooke Wyckoff said. “NC State is a really good basketball team, and they came out focused and ready to go. We couldn’t figure it out.
All five starters for the Wolfpack reached double figures. Aziaha James led with 22 points, five rebounds and three steals. Zoe Brooks added 21 points, seven rebounds and seven assists.
FSU’s big three were the only ones that scored in double figures. Ta’Niya Latson dropped 23 points. O’Mariah Gordon added 20 points. Makayla Timpson, who reached her 1,000th career rebounds, had 14 points and nine rebounds.
Here are the takeaways from Sunday’s loss.
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Poor shooting, turnovers put FSU in a deep hole early
FSU’s offense wasn’t in sync, especially in the first half. In the first quarter, FSU was 5 of 18 and 1 of 7 from 3, and by the end of the half, the Seminoles were behind by 20 points.
At the half, the Seminoles were 13 of 36 in field goals and 2 of 5 from behind the arc.
Turnovers were also an issue. The Seminoles gave away 13 turnovers, and the Wolfpack capitalized and scored all 13 points off of FSU’s turnovers.
“We were playing slow offensively, and then they weren’t really helping,” Wyckoff said. “We couldn’t get a lot of ball movement, and it was tougher to get some shots off.”
Despite playing better in the second half when they shot 45.9 percent from the field, the Seminoles played catch-up ball the whole game and couldn’t develop enough spark to cut NC State’s lead to single digits.
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FSU basketball played with frustration; couldn’t make stops defensively
While things didn’t go FSU’s way, it did for NC State. It was the most points FSU allowed at the Tucker Center all year.
After a 19-2 run, FSU has been trailing double-digits throughout the game, struggling to stop the bleeding of NC State’s offense.
The Wolfpack shot 50 percent from the field. All five NC State starters reached double figures and played over 30 minutes. NC State was also at the free throw line 23 times and made 16.
Wyckoff believed the Wolfpack’s transition and one-on-ones frustrated the Seminoles.
“We allowed some frustrations or some shots we don’t normally take, things that don’t go our way for us offensively, to affect our transition defense,” Wyckoff said.
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FSU basketball outmatched on both ends of the floor
While size hasn’t been an issue for FSU in the past, that wasn’t the case on Sunday. NC State used its size to its advantage and overwhelmed the Seminoles defensively.
Three of NC State’s starters were at least six feet tall. The tallest on the roster was freshman Tilda Trygger, who was 6-foot-6. She recorded a double-double with 16 points, 14 rebounds and three blocks.
“It was more of the penetration of having the help, and then, that’s when they would get their five players the ball,” Wyckoff said. “So we’ll do better. We’ll get better.”
The Wolfpack had 52 points in the paint and 23 second-chance points. NC State also had five blocks and five steals.
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What’s next for FSU basketball
With the loss to NC State, FSU still sits with one Quad 1 victory and is 4-5 against Quad 1 and Quad 2 opponents.
With six more games left, the Seminoles are in the final stretch to contend for a first-round bye in the ACC tournament and be a high seed in the NCAA Tournament.
Wyckoff still feels confident in her players if they play their game, especially how they performed in the second half.
“That wasn’t who we are, and so I know that when we play like who we are on both ends of the floor, we’re a really good basketball team, so that’s what gives me hope,” Wyckoff said.
“We came out, and we spotted a little bit better in the second half and did a little bit better scoring-wise, defending, but we’ll put that one behind us and move forward. We still have a lot of great basketball to play. A lot of big opportunities in front of us.”
Two of the next three games will be at the Tuck, starting on Thursday at 6 p.m., when the Seminoles take on Louisville (17-7, 10-3).
The following Sunday, they travel south for their second meeting against Miami (13-10, 3-9). Then FSU will return home to host Pittsburgh (11-14, 3-9) the following Thursday at 6 p.m.
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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: Takeaways from FSU basketball’s loss to No. 14 North Carolina State
