Red Stick, the. Ta’niya Latson scored 28 points and the sixth state of Florida of the state defeated George Mason on Saturday night in the first round of the NCAA Women’s Tournament.
“Ta’niya took us not only with his score, but also the way he had not been denied,” said Florida state coach Brooke Wyckoff. “He hit the floor a lot of times just fighting to get the ball and make sure we had possession. He recovered and I am very proud of how he took us.”
Mikayla Timpson had 18 points and 11 rebounds for the seminols (24-8), who advanced to play the number 3 of LSU in the second round on Monday night.
Latson, the nation’s top scorer, stayed out of several games in February with an unleashed injury. But she looked in form after a two -week break from the expulsion of the seminols from the Tournament of the Atlantic Coast Conference on March 7.
“I felt good during practice, I recovered my rhythm of the injury,” Latson said. “That was something I wanted to insist, being good in practice so that it can translate into the game.”
Paula Suárez scored 25 points in his career in his last university party and Kennedy Harris added 12 points for George Mason (27-6), who was making his appearance in the madness of the first March after winning the Atlantic 10 tournament.
“We are here for a reason. We know we can overcome them,” said Suarez. “Simply, I don’t know if it’s like perhaps physicality or athletics and simply began to make many shots, and we weren’t playing our best offensive.”
The state of Florida led by up to 20 points in the middle of the second quarter, but George Mason achieved seven in the third period when the second 3 of Suarez did 49-42.
Wyckoff called Timeout at that time, and the seminols responded with a 10-0 race during which O’Mariah Gordon scored five points on a rapid rupture tray and corner 3.
“We needed to increase defensive intensity,” Wyckoff said. “When we do that, our defense leads to our offensive. That is what clashes.”
Jada Brown’s rapid withdrew George Mason at 10 points at the end of the third quarter, but the seminols again moved away with a 12-0 race to open the last quarter.
The fourth 3 of the Sydney Bowles game began the decisive spurt. Gordon added a couple of trays and Timpson scored twice inside, once he received a foul for a 3 -point play.
Gordon ended with 18 points and Bowles had 15 in 5 of 5 shots from Deep.
“We knew we were going to have, over time, just impose our will with our rhythm, defensive intensity and use our opponent,” Wyckoff said. “This team knew what they had to do to finish this game and they did very well.”
George Mason: stay at a surprising distance through three quarters for a solid debut in the NCAA tournament for the Patriots before fading in the final period.
“The result of this game does not define who they are,” said coach Vanessa Blair-Lewis. “They have put a legacy in Mason … that can never be removed.”
Florida state: The seminols are regular customers of the tournament and seemed when they dominated in the section. The state of Florida is part of March Madness per 12th consecutive time and has appeared in 19 of the last 20 NCAA tournaments.
It was the first victory in the NCAA tournament for Wyckoff, now in its third complete season after taking care of an interim base during the 2020-21 season.
“It feels great,” Wyckoff said. “But I only give credit to this team … with the work they do throughout the season.”
Latin eclipsed its average of 24.9 points upon entering. Against George Mason, he made eight of 16 shots and was 11 of 14 in foul shots.
“She is exactly who said she was: the top scorer The Nation,” said Blair-Lewis. “There were moments during the game in which you like to see really good basketball. She is a great player. Great player for our game. It will be a joy to see in some years.”
Florida State plays in the second round for the first time since 2019. The seminols have not advanced to the Sweet 16 since 2017.
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