The Florida State women’s basketball team closed out its exhibition season on Wednesday night, welcoming West Florida to the Tucker Center. The Seminoles did not play a perfect game by any means, but they were able to come away with a 93-70 victory as they head towards the start of the regular season.

“Obviously, I'm disappointed with our performance today,” FSU coach Brooke Wyckoff said. “We were challenged and all of us need to learn to get better in a lot of ways. I’m proud of us for figuring it out and extending the lead a little bit down the stretch but just really ready to get back to work and figure some of these things out.”

Junior guard Ta’Niya Latson shook off her first-half struggles and ended up scoring 25 points on the night, but it was Timpson who continued to live in the paint, which proved to be too much for West Florida. Timpson recorded a double-double with 28 points and 13 rebounds.

The game started with the Argonauts full court trapping FSU, especially when Latson had the ball in her hands. This led to the ’Noles turning it over six times in the first seven minutes, giving UWF an early 14-7 lead. FSU was sluggish on the defensive end as West Florida was beating Florida State to loose balls that would lead to 3-pointers.

Latson was feeling the pressure in the first quarter and uncharacteristically turned the ball over four times, while only scoring four points. The star guard also got into foul trouble and had to sit for the last four minutes of the second quarter when she picked up her third foul.

UWF relied heavily on the 3-point shot but only went 2 for 7 from deep in the first quarter. The surprising part was how the Argonauts dominated the Seminoles on the boards, grabbing 14 to FSU’s 8.

Heading into the second quarter, the ’Noles were down 21-18.

“They had a really good plan defensively for us," Wyckoff said. “Offensively, they attacked us off the dribble and they hit threes. They made us uncomfortable, they did the hard stuff at the beginning and we gave them a lot of confidence and they played with a lot of confidence for the rest of the game.”

The second quarter started with a sense of urgency for the Seminoles as they ramped up the defensive pressure and found a groove on offense. UWF hung with FSU, trading baskets until the game was tied up at 27 with four minutes to go. The Seminoles missed some wide-open shots down the stretch, but a drive to the basket by junior guard Sydney Bowles finally gave FSU a 34-32 with 1:22 to halftime.

Senior forward Makayla Timpson was quiet in the first half for the ’Noles, but she made her presence known when she grabbed an offensive rebound and converted to extend the lead 36-32 with one minute to go. She had not quite found her rhythm in the game yet, but after the putback Timpson had found her groove. She would convert on another putback with 30 seconds left, giving FSU a 38-34 lead heading into the half.

The second half started the same as the first for FSU, leading 42-40 with seven minutes to play in the third. On West Florida’s next possession, the Seminoles were lazy on defense and left senior guard Delaney Trushel wide open on the left wing and buried a 3-pointer, giving the Argonauts the lead.

Senior guard O’Mariah Gordon finished the game with 19 points, but her steal and bucket with 4 minutes to go in the third gave FSU a 49-43 lead and forced a timeout from UWF.

The Argonauts would not go away quietly and were able to regroup, trailing 56-52 with one minute and 38 seconds left as Makayla Timpson headed to the line for two free throws. Unfortunately, Timpson couldn’t convert at the line, missing both.

Much like the end of the second quarter, Timpson found her groove on the boards down the stretch. Timpson grabbed offensive rebounds on back-to-back possessions and would get fouled both times. But both times at the line she buried both free throws, making up for her two misses from before.

The Seminoles led 60-52 heading into the fourth quarter with momentum on their side.

The fourth quarter started out strong for FSU when junior guard Amaya Bonner scored on a drive and was fouled, giving her an and-1 opportunity. Bonner converted on the free throw and pushed the lead to 63-54 with 9:20 left.

The Seminoles were challenged in the first three quarters but ended up tiring out West Florida to pull away with the victory. But an exhibition game is a chance to work out the kinks before the season starts. Going 3 for 16 from the 3-point arc could be a cause for concern for FSU going forward.

In today’s college basketball, the 3-point shot has become an essential element of an offense. And although the ’Noles have two All-American caliber players with Timpson and Latson, neither is known for their 3-point shooting.

Sophomore Carla Viegas has the capability of making three pointers at a high clip so look for FSU to try and scheme her open more often. Viegas was 0 for 2 from deep on Wednesday. That has to change because Viegas is too talented of a shooter to only have two 3-point attempts.

FSU opens the regular season on Monday at 11 a.m against University of North Florida.