2/19/2023 basketball Edit

Ta'Niya Latson scores 31, FSU defeats GT on Senior Day

Ta'Niya Latson scored 31 points in Sunday's win over Ga. Tech. (Mike Olivella)

Bob Ferrante • TheOsceola

Editor

Ta’Niya Latson had her best game in a month, and the Florida State women’s basketball team wrapped up the regular-season schedule at home with a victory.

Latson scored 31 points — shooting 10 of 16 from the floor and 9 of 10 from the free-throw line — as FSU swept the season series from Georgia Tech, 80-66 on Sunday afternoon.

The presumptive ACC rookie of the year, Latson surpassed the 20-point mark for the first time since scoring 31 against NC State on Jan. 12. It was her seventh game with 30+ points.

FSU (22-7, 11-5) finished the regular season 14-1 at home, dropping only a mid-January game against Louisville. With two games left in the regular season — at Wake Forest and at Clemson — the Seminoles are seeking a double-bye in the ACC Tournament for a seventh time in the last nine seasons. While FSU struggled with recent losses on the road against Miami and Virginia Tech, the Seminoles bounced back to defeat Syracuse on Thursday and then put away Georgia Tech.

"To get these two really solid wins where we had to work for it, we had to earn it, we had to battle through some ups and downs during the games," FSU coach Brooke Wyckoff said. "A great way to go into this week on the road. I know our players know what’s at stake. They understand what it’s like to play on the road in the ACC. I’m very thankful for the lessons we learned here and we will be talking as we have all year about how we carry those things over. We have to be even better on the road, and what that looks like in practice and then in the games."

Sara Bejedi also had 14 points and four assists on 5 of 10 shooting, while O'Mariah Gordon added 10 points and three assists. It was Gordon's first double-digit scoring game in ACC play.

The Seminoles struggled from the free-throw line, making just 16 of 27 (59.3 percent).

Georgia Tech was very efficient from inside the arc early, but Florida State used a 13-2 run late in the second quarter to pull away and take a 45-37 halftime lead.

"We changed our ball-screen coverage, which was one thing," Wyckoff said. "Just to be in more protection mode. We were a little bit more aggressive at the beginning with our coverage, which got our defense out and left the paint vulnerable."

The Seminoles held the Yellow Jackets to just 9 of 28 (32.1 percent) shooting from the floor in the second half.

FSU shot 28 of 61 (45.9 percent) from the floor and 8 of 15 (53.3 percent) from beyond the 3-point arc.

The Seminoles honored their four seniors on Sunday before their final regular-season home game. Valencia Myers had four points and six rebounds, Taylor O’Brien had seven points and three rebounds, Erin Howard had seven points and five rebounds and Jazmine Massengill added three points and five assists.

"They're a huge part of our team," Wyckoff said. "I'm looking forward to a lot more weeks with them before this is all said and done."

Up next

FSU will play at Wake Forest on Thursday at 6 p.m. (live stream on ACC Network Extra).