Florida State University Athletics
No. 23 Seminoles Get 20th Win in Dominant Victory over Wake Forest
2/2/2023 10:20:30 PM | Women's Basketball
TALLAHASSEE, Fla. – The No. 23 Seminoles use a dominating second quarter to bury Wake Forest for their 20th win this season, earning a 72-44 win on Thursday night at the Donald L. Tucker Center.
“I’m very proud of this entire team effort,” FSU Head Coach Brooke Wyckoff said. “Every person contributed today scoring-wise, rebounding-wise and most of all on the defensive end where a lot of that doesn’t show up on the stat sheet. They defended collectively, finished playing with rebounds – we didn’t give up an offensive rebound in the second half.”
Another 20 win season #Noles get a strong W over Wake @TruistNews | #OneTribe pic.twitter.com/IoWmBF9U26
— FSU Women's Basketball (@fsuwbb) February 3, 2023
It marks FSU’s first 20-win season since the 2019-20 season and its fastest to that mark since the 2014-15 season. The win also extends Florida State’s win streak to seven straight wins over the Deacons at the Tucker Center.
Ta’Niya Latson had another terrific night scoring 19 points and shooting over 50 percent while also making her presence felt on the defensive side with three steals and two blocks. The Miami native is now just nine points from tying Wanda Burns for sixth in the FSU single season scoring record.
Forward Makayla Timpson had an efficient game with 16 points and 5 rebounds. She leads the team in rebounds, averaging nine boards a game and 225 on the season.
Mariana Valenzuela completed a double-digit rebounding night, the second in her collegiate career and first against a conference opponent. Her 10 rebounds were accompanied by five points and a team-leading four assists as she filled up the stat sheet. The sophomore continues to stay above 55 percent shooting in the past 19 games.
Senior Erin Howard sparked the Seminoles in the first half and her dual threat ability allowed her to finish with 9 points and 7 rebounds. The Wisconsin native now has scored from beyond the arc in 18 straight games and was just shy of her eighth game of the season in double-figures.
Florida State’s offense shared the ball well to start as five Seminoles notched a basket in the opening frame. The defense did some attacking themselves with three blocks and a steal to force a couple turnovers. The bench did their part in the slower frame, contributing eight points to hold a slender 14-13 lead.
The Seminoles found their footing and began to accelerate past the Demon Deacons (13-10, 4-8) in the second frame. The defense suffocated the Wake Forest offense allowing just one field goal on 17 attempts and conceding only four points. Their offense complemented their defense as Erin Howard began the quarter with two tough 3-pointers and a layup to force an early Deacon timeout. The break didn’t slow the offense down and was capped off when Latson hit a 3-point buzzer beater to give the Noles an 18-point lead at the half.
The offense kept humming as Latson stole the ball, pushed down the floor and hit a textbook layup on the fast-break attempt to make it a 20-point game, and then did the exact same thing again but with the and-one. Makayla Timpson did plenty of work inside the paint and hit a pretty jumper toward the end of the frame. The Noles went into the final 10 minutes with a 25 point lead.
The defenses tightened up in the final frame but FSU finished on a 6-0 run to build on their large lead and firmly finish off Wake Forest in a commanding victory. The win means the Noles have defeated all four of the ACC North Carolina teams (Duke, North Carolina, North Carolina St, Wake Forest), the first time they’ve accomplished that since 2019.
Florida State will be able to rest this weekend before traveling down to face their rivals in Miami. The Seminoles defeated the Hurricanes at home earlier this season and will look for the regular-season sweep along with their first victory at the Watsco Center since January of 2020. The rivalry will continue next Thursday at 6PM on ACC RSN.