NC State Women's basketball scouting report: FSU

NC State women’s basketball travels to Tallahassee, Florida, this week for a matchup against Florida State— the first of two road games in four days. The Wolfpack is 13-3 and the No. 11 team in the nation after blowing out a solid Virginia team by 25 in its latest contest. 

Florida State presents an interesting challenge to NC State. Over eight contests at home this season, the Seminoles are undefeated and, behind an impressive 87.3 points-per-game, stand 15-3 overall.

The game tips off at 6 p.m. EST and will be broadcast on the ACC Network. 

Three FSU players to watch 

Ta’Niya Latson

Florida State received a huge boost this season from freshman guard Ta’Niya Latson. The 5-8 phenom started her career with a 28-point performance, and she has not slowed down since, averaging 24.7 points-per-game and shooting 48 percent from the field. 

Latson is coming off of her worst game of the season so far— a 4 of 17 outing during a 77-71 overtime loss to Boston College. Coming out of high school, the guard was a five-star recruit and the No. 1 shooting guard in the country. She also leads the team in steals with 36 and averages 5.1 rebounds per game. 

Makayla Timpson

Standing at 6-2, sophomore forward Makayla Timpson is a force in the paint for the Seminoles. She has grabbed at least 9 rebounds in 12 of the Seminoles’ 18 games this season, recording 7 double-doubles so far. 

Timpson shows up in big games. During a showdown with a ranked North Carolina squad, the forward scored 20 points to go along with 11 rebounds and a season-high 5 blocked shots in the upset win. Her 40 total blocks lead the Seminoles. 

Erin Howard

Erin Howard played her first season for FSU last year, averaging 5.1 points-per-game, after transferring from Auburn in 2020 and redshirting the following season due to injury. The 6-1 redshirt-senior forward has one of the most interesting statlines on the program’s roster. Out of 154 total field goal attempts this year, 106 have been threes. 

Howard is not converting a particularly high percentage of those looks, shooting 29 percent from deep, but she is someone the Wolfpack will have to account for on the perimeter. She also pulls down 6.1 rebounds per game and has 30 steals on the year, which both rank second on the team. 

Two storylines that could impact the game

Florida State has already upset one top-25 team this year

The Seminoles made waves in the ACC Dec. 29 when they traveled to Chapel Hill and took down the No. 13 Tar Heels. Latson and Simpson were both great in that game, scoring 21 and 20 points respectively. FSU has been an elite scoring team all year, but the program showed it can shut down an opponent’s offense against UNC, holding the conference opponent to 17.4 percent from three-point-range. 

Just two games prior to that win, the Seminoles played No. 9 Connecticut close, falling 85-77 after climbing back from a 15-point first-quarter deficit. Latson was difficult to stop in this game as well, leading Florida State with 24 points. 

This is a golden opportunity for the Wolfpack to continue some positive momentum

NC State has not won consecutive conference games this season and holds a 3-2 ACC record right now. While that is certainly not a bad record, it does not match the standards the Wolfpack and head coach Wes Moore have established during his tenure in Raleigh. 

Back-to-back wins over Virginia and Florida State, two solid programs, would be the perfect way to enter Sunday’s matchup with UNC in Chapel Hill. The past few weeks have been shaky at times for the Wolfpack, but this week could be the start of a surge for NC State. 

One prediction: NC State 78, Florida State 74

The Wolfpack’s only ACC game on the road this season was a close 56-54 win over Syracuse. Other road matchups so far this year included an impressive victory over Iowa and a blowout loss to UConn. 

I’m expecting a performance from the Wolfpack similar to what we saw against UVA— a cohesive defensive unit and a balanced offense. This game will be close throughout and has the potential to be a fantastic guard matchup between Latson and Diamond Johnson. Despite the statistical differences, I give the edge to Johnson and the Wolfpack.