Seminoles smash records, blast rival Miami Hurricanes, 88-66

A dominant victory over arch rival Miami is usually reason enough for the Florida State women’s basketball team to celebrate.

On Sunday afternoon at the Tucker Center, the Seminoles had a few more.

After bouncing back from a slow start, FSU dominated the final three quarters against the Hurricanes and rolled to an 88-66 victory.

Along the way, senior forward Makayla Timpson set a school record by recording her 42nd career double-double. And as a team, Florida State combined to connect on a school-record 18 3-pointers.

“This one means just a little bit more every time,” said FSU head coach Brooke Wyckoff, whose team improved to 15-4 overall and 5-2 in the ACC. “Just really, really happy with what we did today.”

While Timpson was honored for her career’s worth of work, junior guard Ta’Niya Latson was once again the star of this afternoon. With her team trailing by four points after the first quarter, Latson scored 12 of her game-high 30 points in the second.

For the game, she connected on all five of her 3-point attempts.

“I knew my team needed me in that moment … so I had to step up for my team,” Latson said. “Just be myself and get back to being confident, especially from the 3-ball, because I can shoot it now.”

The nation’s leading scorer, Latson, finished with a pretty remarkable stat line, even by her lofty standards: She was 10-for-13 from the field, 5-for-5 from beyond the arc and 5-for-6 from the free-throw line; she also registered three rebounds, two steals, two assists and one blocked shot.

As gaudy as Latson’s offensive statistics were, Wyckoff sounded even more impressed by her intensity on the defensive end.

“I loved watching Ta’Niya play,” the Florida State head coach said. “I always love watching her play, but the things that she was doing on the defensive end … going into what she does so well on the offensive end.”

Miami (11-7, 1-6) appeared poised to throw a scare into Florida State early. Led by senior guard Haley Cavinder, who scored 13 of her 15 points in the first half, the Hurricanes claimed a 22-18 advantage after the first quarter.

But the Seminoles completely dominated the second quarter, scoring 24 points and holding UM to 10, and they cruised from there.

Not surprisingly, it was the Latson-Timpson show for most of that pivotal second quarter. Timpson grabbed seven rebounds and scored six points in that period alone — to go with Latson’s 12.

The senior forward finished the game with 10 points and 13 rebounds, and she received a loud ovation from the Tucker Center crowd when it was announced she had broken Natasha Howard’s Florida State record with 42 career double-doubles.

After the game, a congratulatory message from Howard played on the big replay screen above the court.

“She told me to go break it,” Timpson said of Howard, a former FSU great and WNBA star. “So I did what she asked (laughing). But just to be able to do it — and getting guidance from her — has been very important. I’m just grateful for it.”

Said Wyckoff: “That is not easy to do. Especially in the style of play that we have, a lot of times it’s just KK (Timpson) around the rim. So she’s down there battling multiple people every single possession on both ends of the floor. That takes a lot. It takes heart to be an amazing rebounder. And then also, she is very, very efficient as a scorer.

“She doesn’t always get the most shots on the team, but she’s efficient with it. She scores. She does what she needs to do. And it’s all to help our team win.”

Florida State will return to action Sunday at North Carolina.

SIGN UP: Join Warchant’s FSU Community for $1 today

***Talk about this story with passionate FSU Basketball fans on the Seminole Hoops***