Seminoles trounce rival Gators, 98-74, behind big nights from Latson, Gordon, Timpson

Brooke Wyckoff didn’t have many complaints about the performance of her Florida State women’s basketball team Friday night.

How could she?

The Seminoles led rival Florida for more than 36 minutes, they played excellent defense for most of the night, dominated on the glass, shined at the free-throw line and cruised to a 98-74 victory against the Gators before a Tucker Center crowd of 2,894.

Wyckoff did have one qualm, however.

After scoring over 100 points in each of their last two games, the Seminoles had a chance to make it three in a row when O’Mariah Gordon grabbed a defensive rebound with 44 seconds left and brought the ball up the court. One more bucket, or a pair of free throws, would have done the trick.

Much to Wyckoff’s chagrin, the Seminoles turned the ball over and never got off a shot.

“I was upset at that last possession,” she said.

Not THAT upset, of course.

While hitting the century mark again would have been special — the Seminoles hadn’t done that against UF in 45 years (since February 1979) — there was plenty for Florida State to celebrate about this performance.

Star guard Ta’Niya Latson scored 25 points, Gordon added 19 more, and senior forward Makayla Timpson totaled 17 points, 7 rebounds and 4 blocked shots as the Seminoles opened up a 16-point lead at halftime and never looked back.

The win was Florida State’s 11th in its last 13 games against the Gators.

“Proud of this really important win against our rivals,” Wyckoff said. “A really good Florida team. … Offensively, obviously, played really, really well. And then defensively, there were some really good moments that made me really proud of this team.”

UF made things interesting early. Led by freshman guard Liv McGill, who scored 12 of her career-high 28 points in the first quarter, the Gators played Florida State to a 16-16 draw in that period.

But the Seminoles came out of that break looking like a completely different team. They turned up the heat defensively, forcing six turnovers in the second period alone, and they also forced UF to miss 10 of 15 shots from the field.

Latson and Gordon, meanwhile, scored 18 of their 34 points in that quarter to help Florida State win the period by a 31-15 margin.

“Our second quarter was amazing, I thought, defensively,” said Wyckoff, whose coaching staff is implementing an aggressive new defensive system this season. “And that led to our best offensive quarter. There are things that I’m seeing [defensively] that I really, really love. It’s in us. That’s why we’re doing this. But it takes time, and reps. And I’m proud of the buy-in of these players.”

Perhaps the only area where Florida State didn’t perform well Friday was perimeter shooting. The Seminoles connected on just 6 of 30 attempts from 3-point range, and they only shot 37 percent from the field overall.

But a 47-37 edge in rebounding — including a whopping 25 offensive rebounds, which led to a 31-10 advantage in second-chance points — played a pivotal role in the final outcome. As did Florida State’s defense forcing 18 turnovers.

Gordon led that defensive effort with four steals.

The Seminoles also were exceptionally efficient at the free-throw line, connecting on 34 of 40 attempts. Latson hit 13 of 14, Timpson connected on 9 of 10, Gordon hit 5 of 6, and guard Sydney Bowles hit all four of her attempts.

Florida State also got important contributions from several other players.

Grad transfer forward Malea Williams led the Seminoles on the glass, recording 11 rebounds, including seven on the offensive end. Reserve forward Avery Treadwell also scored eight points and grabbed four rebounds in just eight minutes off the bench. And sophomore guard Carla Viegas connected on 3 of 6 shots from 3-point range.

“We have unselfish players that are willing to do whatever they can in their role,” Wyckoff said. “Avery, Sydney Bowles coming off the bench — she could easily be a starter on our team or any team. People that are willing to do whatever is needed to get wins. And always cheering for their teammates. That’s rare, and we’ve got to continue to cultivate that and hold onto that. It’s a really great quality.”

Next up for Florida State is three games in the Virgin Islands for the Paradise Jam. The Seminoles will open play there Thursday against Texas Tech before taking on Missouri State and Gonzaga.

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