Florida State University Athletics
Women’s Basketball Ranked 16th by The Athletic
9/27/2023 1:08:00 PM | Women's Basketball
TALLAHASSEE, Florida – Florida State Women's Basketball has been gaining hype in various preseason rankings, this time earning a No. 16 spot in the newest Top 25 list released by The Athletic.
The national publication that provides strong coverage to women's basketball notes Florida State's returning core as a cornerstone to its preseason praise. The Seminoles return their top three scorers in sophomore guard Ta'Niya Latson (21.3 points per game), junior forward Makayla Timpson (13.2 points) and graduate guard Sara Bejedi (10.8).
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— FSU Women's Basketball (@fsuwbb) September 26, 2023
Got the girls to help us out with this one#NoleFAM pic.twitter.com/dw5Iu52b3W
Looking deeper, FSU returns four of its top five scorers which also includes junior guard O'Mariah Gordon, who averaged 6.9 points a season ago while battling injury.
FSU's newcomers are also hailed, including graduate guard Alexis Tucker. She is lauded for her scoring prowess at UC Santa Barbara where she had 26 games in double figures last season and averaged 14.3 points per game. First-Team JUCO All-American Sakyia White is a 6-foot-1 forward who is aggressive on the inside, once earning Atlantic Sun Freshman of the Year honors and averaging 18.3 points and 13.3 rebounds last season at Jones College.
The Seminoles are coming off a season where they averaged 79.3 points per game, their highest scoring average since the 2017-18 season. With their strong core returning as well as the addition of more offensive weapons, FSU has the potential to surpass those offensive heights in what was an entertaining 2022-23 season.
The No. 16 ranking by The Athletic follows up its No. 15 selection in the ESPNW Way-Too-Early Poll.
Other ACC schools in the Top 25 from The Athletic include Virginia Tech (eighth), Notre Dame (11th), North Carolina (13th), Louisville (19th) and NC State (23rd).
Non-conference opponents on the FSU schedule in the rankings include No. 3 UCLA, No. 12 Tennessee and potentially No. 18 Stanford if both teams win their opening games of the Ball Dawgs Classic in Las Vegas.
FSU begins its season on Monday, Nov. 6, against Charleston Southern at the Donald L. Tucker Center at 6 p.m. FSU follows with a home game against Tennessee on Thursday, Nov. 9, at 6 p.m.
Florida State fans can purchase their season tickets on Seminoles.com or by calling the FSU Athletics Ticket Office at 1-888-FSU-NOLE.
