Big night for several 'Noles as FSU women's basketball, softball teams roll to wins

The Florida State women’s basketball and softball teams both delivered wins on Thursday night, and they did it with the help of some very impressive individual performances.

Following are releases from Florida State Sports Information:

Latson scores 34, leads women’s hoops to win

Sophomore guard Ta’Niya Latson continued her torrid stretch of play on Thursday night, pouring in 34 points as Florida State Women’s Basketball clinched its 20th win of the season in an 84-71 victory over Boston College at the Tucker Center.

The Miami native recorded her seventh 30-point game of the season, including her sixth in ACC play, which leads the league. She went 14-of-25 from the floor, taking over in the second quarter when she had 16 points on 7-of-8 shooting in the frame.

“I’m really happy with this win. Any win in the ACC is big,” Florida State coach Brooke Wyckoff said. “I’m proud of a lot of things we did tonight to get this one done. We took care of the ball really well against a team that forces a lot of turnovers. Ta’Niya had a great individual performance, and I’m really proud of her production, and the way that she was locked in for this one.”

The Seminoles (20-8, 11-5) remain in fifth place in the ACC and a half-game ahead of No. 19 Notre Dame (20-6, 10-5), which did not play on Thursday night. FSU has an enormous road game coming up at 20^th-ranked Louisville on Thursday night at 8 p.m. as the Cardinals (22-6, 11-4) own the No. 4 spot in the league as of now. The Seminoles have their second bye of the season, not playing this weekend.

FSU rode the wave of Latson’s hot play from the second quarter through the end of the game, as she often found the space she needed against a tough Boston College defense. Latson had a variety of contested layup and pull-up jumpers on Thursday, dribbling and weaving through defenders and finishing consistently in traffic.

Junior forward Makayla Timpson had her stretch of five consecutive double-doubles come to an end on Thursday, recording 16 points, eight rebounds and three blocks. Reserve post player Avery Treadwell provided valuable minutes off the bench with seven points, five rebounds and a blocked shot in nearly 12 minutes of action.

Junior guard O’Mariah Gordon added 15 points on 6-of-10 shooting. Sophomore Snoop Turnage had a career-high six assists.

The Seminoles tied their season high with 54 points in the paint, out-scoring the Eagles (11-17, 3-12) 54-34 inside. FSU also generated 21 points off turnovers and turned the ball over just 11 times against a defensive unit that is one of the best in the league at forcing opponent miscues.

Despite going 1-of-14 from beyond the arc, FSU shot 46.6 percent (34-of-73) for the game and held B.C. to 36.1 percent (26-of-72) from the floor. Teya Sidberry led the Eagles with 19 points.

The Eagles got back into the game late against FSU, trailing just 66-58 with eight minutes remaining. But a game-sealing 14-0 run put things away as the Seminoles created an 80-58 advantage with 3:27 left that was too much for B.C. to overcome.

Ross helps power FSU Softball to sweep

Amaya Ross carried the No. 11 Florida State softball team (7-3) to a doubleheader sweep vs FIU (6-7) going 5-for-6 with a combined five hits, including a home run, two triples and three RBI on the opening night of the Dugout Club Classic at JoAnne Graf Field. The Seminoles defeated the Golden Panthers 7-3 in game one and 8-1 in game two.

GAME ONE:

Makenna Reid got her first start of the season for the Noles in the circle and came out firing allowing just one hit in the first two innings while striking out three.

To lead off the bottom of the second frame Jaysoni Beachum doubled, stealing third on the ensuing pitch. Ross then ripped here second home run of the season over the left field wall to bring in the first two runs of the game. 

FIU answered with two runs of their own in the top of the third, but Florida State regained the lead in the bottom of the fourth as Ross slashed a triple and scored off a throwing error to give the Noles a one-run advantage. With two outs Michaela Edenfield reached on an error and Hallie Wacaser singled to put runners in scoring position for Jahni Kerr. Kerr continued her hot start to the season with a double to clear the bases to make the score 6-2. Isa Torres drove home Kerr to give the Noles a comfortable 7-3 lead. 

FIU added one more run in the top of the seventh, but Mimi Gooden was able to close the door to secure the win for the Noles. Ross three hits in game one was a new career high for her.

GAME TWO

Ashtyn Danley got the nod in game two and shut down FIU right off the bat allowing just two hits in five innings, the longest outing of her career.

Ross got things started once again for the Noles in the bottom of the second inning with a single, reaching second on an error. Michaela Edenfield was in a battle in her first at-bat of the game and sent a moonshot over the left field wall and over Spirit Way for her third home run of the season to give the Noles a 2-0 lead. 

Ross got things started again in the bottom of the fourth with a single then immediately stole second. Devyn Flaherty moved her over to third on a single to put runners on the corners. Flaherty stole second, but the throw sailed into the outfield allowing both Ross and Flaherty to score.  Hallie Wacaser then joined the party with a solo shot for her second home run in the past four games to give the Noles a commanding 5-0 lead. 

FIU scored an unearned run in the top of the fifth, but the Seminole bats stayed hot in the bottom half of the inning as they added three more runs on the board. Jaysoni Beachum led off with a single, and Ross picked up her second triple of the night to bring a run across. Flaherty laid down a sacrifice bunt to score Ross from third to make it 7-1. Edenfield then hit her second home run of the game over the center field wall. It was Edenfield’s fourth home run of the season and her third multi-home run game of her career. 

Angelee Bueno picked up her first career hit in the bottom of the sixth inning followed by a single from Krystina Hartley to put runners on first and second for Kalei Harding. Harding delivered with her first hit of the day to end the game early to give the Noles a 9-1 win. 

Florida State will be back in action Friday at 3 p.m. and 5:30 p.m. for a doubleheader against Charleston Southern on ACCNX.

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