With 8:07 left in the fourth quarter of the matchup between Boston College women’s basketball and Florida State, the Eagles cut the Seminoles’ lead to eight after trailing by as many as 16 earlier in the half.
But, as she had all night, FSU’s Ta’Niya Latson answered. She hit a turnaround jumper which brought her up to 30 points on the night. A Preseason Second Team All-American, Latson finished with 34 points in the matchup.
“She’s a really, really good player. We wanted to try to limit her touches a little bit more, but she’s just fast,” BC head coach Joanna Bernabei-McNamee said.
Throughout the matchup between BC (11–17, 3–12 Atlantic Coast) and Florida State (20–8, 11–5), the Eagles struggled to find easy looks. BC finished the game shooting just 36.1 percent from the field and 27.3 percent from 3-point range.
BC struggled to force turnovers, and Florida State committed only 11 giveaways compared to the Eagles’ 19.
“I think that turnover discrepancy was probably a big factor in the outcome of the game and I think it showed in our shooting percentage as well because we weren’t creating those easier shots that we usually get in transition from getting steals,” Bernabei-McNamee said.
The first quarter was back-and-forth for the most part. A jumper by JoJo Lacey with 2:41 remaining tied the game at 11. The Seminoles went on an 8-1 run to end the quarter, however, and led 19-12 going into the second frame.
Latson dominated the second quarter. She posted 16 points in the frame, making seven of her eight field goal attempts and leading the Seminoles to a 16-point lead with 3:04 remaining in the half.
The Eagles fought back and ended the quarter on a 7-2 run as FSU took a 41-30 lead going into the break.
“I don’t think anybody questions this team’s effort,” Bernabei-McNamee said. “I thought we played really hard throughout the entire game minus maybe three or four transition defensive possessions. I rarely question their work ethic, I think it’s more now we’ve gotta continue to play smart. In the first half, we didn’t make enough shots. I thought we missed a lot of bunnies inside that we need to take more time on to make.”
The third quarter remained relatively close, with FSU leading by 12 at the end of the frame. Teya Sidberry tallied six points in the quarter and ended the game with a team-high 19 points.
The Eagles were able to cut the lead to as little as 8 after a pair of free throws from Sidberry with 8:07 remaining in the game, but ultimately could not get any closer.
FSU responded with a 14-0 run that put the Seminoles up 80–58 and put the game out of reach for the Eagles.
“Right now the big thing is we gotta stick together because if we can continue to play hard and bring a little more consistency to our scoring, we can end the season with some good wins,” Bernabei-McNamee said.
