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Sunday Seminoles Summary: FSU Basketball, Soccer, Golf, and other sports news

Catching you up on the latest in Florida State Seminoles athletics

Happy New Year to those of you who believe in it and celebrate it.

In case you missed the last ‘TN Triple-S’ coverage of Florida State Seminoles athletics, here is the recap: Sunday Seminoles Summary: FSU Soccer, Basketball, Track, Softball, and other sports news.

All of the men’s and women’s sports have ended with a couple of exceptions. Nevertheless, we will continue to keep you up to date on any Florida State sports information and media press releases we are sent from the FSU SID, or that we source ourselves during this holiday season.

Feel free to include any other FSU related news of any kind that we may have missed in the comment section.

Most of the summaries below are courtesy of FSU SID, Tomahawk Nation, and the Twitters.


While we don’t normally cover football news here on the ‘TN Triple S,’ we want to help ease you into your withdrawal from football that you are about to go through for about the next 7 months or so.

So, we’ve set up a game thread for you to laugh at and comment about the teams and players playing in those less important bowls remaining.

This New Year’s Eve, we’re set to get a double-dose of College Football Playoff action, with back-to-back games of the Michigan Wolverines vs. the TCU Horned Frogs and the Georgia Bulldogs vs. Ohio State Buckeyes set to determine who will compete for the second-to-last playoff title under the four-team format.

With Florida State having ended the season as Cheez-It Bowl champions in the most watched game of the entire bowl season heading into this weekend, it’s time to judge from outside of the club as the final four teams fight it out for a spot in the national championship on January 9th in Los Angeles’ SoFi Stadium....{continued *FOR FREE}


Women’s Basketball

Florida State (13-2, 2-0 ACC) defeated no. 13 North Carolina (9-3, 0-1 ACC) by a 78-71 score tonight in Chapel Hill, NC.

Game Recap

Florida State started strong jumping out to a 10-4 lead after a Makayla Timpson layup. O’Mariah Gordon sank a triple to give the Noles a 15-7 lead midway through the first quarter. However, North Carolina battled back and tied the score at 22 after the first quarter on the strength of a pair of free throws from Deja Kelly....{continued *FOR FREE}

Florida State Seminoles VS. Georgia Tech

Jan 1, 2023 | 2:00 PM

TV: ACCNX RADIO: 96.5 FM/1270 AM

  • Florida State Women’s Basketball looks for back-to-back ACC road wins when it travels to Georgia Tech for a matchup on Sunday, Jan. 1, at 2 p.m.
  • TV: Fans can catch Sunday’s game on ACCNX.
  • Radio: The matchup can be heard locally on 96.5 FM and 1270 AM, and can be accessed anywhere on Seminoles Leanplayer.
  • In-game updates: Fans can follow on the FSU Women’s Basketball Twitter Account (@fsuwbb).

WHAT YOU NEED TO KNOW:

  • Florida State (13-2, 2-0) is looking for consecutive road wins in ACC play for the first time since winning three straight against Wake Forest, Pittsburgh and Louisville in the 2019-20 season.
  • The Seminoles and Yellow Jackets (9-4, 0-2) square off for the 54th time on Sunday afternoon, with FSU holding a 28-25 series lead. FSU is looking for its first win in McCamish Pavilion since defeating the Yellow Jackets, 64-55, on March 3, 2019.
  • Freshman guard Ta’Niya Latson is hunting down the single-season scoring average record at FSU. The Miami, Fla., native leads the ACC averaging 24.7 points per game. The season record at FSU is 21.6 points by then-freshman Sue Galkantas in the 1980-81 year.
  • Since Head Coach Nell Fortner’s arrival in the 2019-20 season, Georgia Tech has been one of the top defenses in the ACC. This year’s Florida State team ranks sixth nationally and first in the ACC averaging 87.2 points on offense. Its lowest point total this season was in a 75-70 win over Georgia State on Nov. 13.
  • The Seminoles are seeking their first 3-0 start to ACC play since the 2008-09 season when they started 5-0 vs. the conference.
  • Head Coach Brooke Wyckoff was part of the 1998 USA Basketball Women’s National Team Trials when Nell Fortner was the USA Select Team head coach, and was part of the 2000 USA Basketball Development Camp when Fortner was the USA Basketball Women’s Senior National Team head coach.
  • Early in ACC play, sophomore forward Makayla Timpson is averaging 22.5 points, 10.0 rebounds, 4.5 blocked shots and is shooting 70.4 percent (19-of-27) from the floor. In her two second halves played vs. Miami and No. 13 UNC, Timpson has averaged 16.0 points, 5.5 rebounds, 4.0 blocked shots and 70 percent (14-of-20) from the floor.
  • Florida State is coming off its fourth straight win at Carmichael Arena when it earned a 78-71 road victory at No. 13 North Carolina.
  • In Florida State’s 78-71 road win at No. 13 UNC, it out-scored the Tar Heels 37-5 in second-chance points and 21-4 in bench points.
  • Sara Bejedi came up big for the Seminoles in last year’s 65-63 overtime win vs. Georgia Tech in Tallahassee, scoring 10 points with three assists and two steals in a very physical game.
  • In FSU’s two ACC games, it is 41-of-49 (83.7 percent) from the free throw line. FSU is averaging 24.5 trips to the line so far vs. conference opponents.
  • The Seminoles have nine games this season with more assists than turnovers, including Thursday’s win at UNC (15/13). In five of their last six games, FSU has generated more assists than turnovers.
  • Ta’Niya Latson is shooting right at 50 percent (128-of-256) for the season. She has nine games this year where she has shot 50 percent or better from the floor.
  • Ta’Niya Latson is averaging 25.8 points, 5.5 rebounds, shooting 53.6 percent (37-of-69) and 45 percent (9-of-20) from 3-point range in FSU’s four true road games this year at Kent State, Houston, Wisconsin and No. 13 UNC. FSU is out-rebounding opponents, 50.5-39.5, this year on the road.
  • Against UConn on Dec. 18, the Seminoles out-scored the Huskies 66-59 after falling behind 26-11 in the first quarter. Against UNC on Dec. 29, FSU finished the game on a 55-39 run after trailing 32-23 with 4:26 left in the second quarter.
  • Florida State moved up seven spots to 27th in the latest NET rankings following its win at No. 13 UNC.
  • FSU owns eight consecutive winning seasons in ACC play. The Seminoles have also won 10 or more games in ACC play in each of the last seven seasons.
  • Latson and Snoop Turnage were once teammates at Westlake High School in Atlanta, where they won the 2021 GEICO National Championship.

  • Assuming FSU takes care of business vs. Georgia Tech on Sunday I expect FSU to be ranked next week:

  • For the seventh straight week, Florida State women’s basketball freshman guard Ta’Niya Latson has earned ACC Rookie of the Week honors after putting up 21 points and six assists against the Miami Hurricanes to open ACC play.

From FSU Sports Info:

She is the only player in the country who ranks in the Top 3 in total points (third; 350), free throws made (second; 105) and field goals made (third; 242).

Ranking in the Top 3 in the nation in all three categories raises the conversation that as just a freshman, Latson might be the most versatile scorer in the country. Despite her high volume of shots from the floor (242 total attempts), Latson is shooting 50.4 percent overall and 40.4 percent from 3-point range.

She continues to lead the ACC in scoring at 25.0 points per game while igniting the Seminoles to their best start at 12-2 overall since the 2019-20 season. Latson’s scoring has been a big part in FSU showing a near +18.0 points per game improvement in scoring (87.9 from 70.0) from its first 14 games in 2021-2022.

  • The biggest star of the show Taniya Latson has taken college basketball by storm, turning into one of the best players in the country as a freshman.

Men’s Basketball

Winners of three of their last four, Florida State came into a road match against the Duke Blue Devils with a little bit of momentum. But Duke, coming off a road loss to Wake Forest, got a five-star freshman back from injury and simply overwhelmed FSU with size, depth, and offensive rebounding. The Seminoles didn’t look intimidated, but they did look overmatched, ultimately falling 86-67 in Cameron Indoor Stadium. The loss drops FSU to 4-11 and 2-2 in ACC play....{continued *FOR FREE}

  • Men’s hoops also got in on the Rookie of the Week action, with Cam Corhen getting tabbed after logging a career-high 18 points as well as two assists and seven rebounds in last week’s win over the Notre Dame Fighting Irish.

  • As the year comes to an end, Florida State basketball recaps some of the biggest moments from the previous two seasons:

  • Former FSU star Devin Vassell was recently interviewed by San Antonio Spurs legend George Gervin, talking about his journey on the basketball court.

This is the place we’ve set up for our members to discuss the Florida State Seminoles men’s basketball for any breaking news, recruiting, players eligible for the NBA Draft, and any other basketball related news you may want to bring up for discussion....{Continued *FOR FREE}


Soccer

  • Florida State soccer got some major news Tuesday night, with 2024 forward Taylor Suarez flipping her commitment from North Carolina to Florida State:

Suaraz, a starting forward on the US Women’s U17 National Soccer Team, was named 2021 Gatorade North Carolina Player of the Year as a sophomore.

From the Charlotte Post:

The brightest star currently in the Charlotte sports galaxy right now is so far away – 8,497 miles away to be exact – that it’s a safe bet most don’t even know her name.

Taylor Suarez, a junior at Ardrey Kell High who also plays for the Charlotte Soccer Academy, was a starting forward for the U.S. Women’s U17 National Soccer Team against hosts India at the FIFA U17 World Cup in their first match on Tuesday.

She played all 90 minutes at Kahlinga Stadium, a cricket ground in Bhubaneswar, a city similar in size to Charlotte on the northern part of India’s east coast, and scored on a penalty kick in the USA’s 8-0 win.

Coming into the World Cup, Suarez had earned nine national team caps, starting four matches, scoring twice and assisting six times.

Lightning quick with darting moves, Suarez, who played as a freshman at Charlotte Christian, scored 18 goals and recorded 12 assists last season even though she missed eight games due to national team duties. Still, she helped Ardrey Kell to a 25-2-1 record and a 4A state runner-up finish to Cardinal Gibbons on penalty kicks. Suarez recorded five goals and six assists in six playoff games.

It has been about two weeks since Florida State fell to North Carolina in the first national semifinal game. Therefore enough time has passed to allow us to evaluate the season a bit more dispassionately. We will also discuss the (very) early prospects for next season.

These are real questions posed by real people in the sense that they are actual questions (they end in a question mark) and I am a real person. I have written all of the questions....{continued *FOR FREE}


Golf

  • Women’s Golf’s Finne-Ipsen Earns Her Degree From Florida State

Two things are a certainty when you become a member of the Florida State Women’s Golf program.

First, you’ll compete for ACC and NCAA Championships. Under Head Coach Amy Bond, the Seminoles have advanced to the finals of match play at the ACC Championships in each of the last two seasons, and also played in the NCAA Regional Championships in each 13 years. The Seminoles are also one of only four teams in the nation that have played in each of the last six NCAA Championship Finals.

Second, you’ll earn your degree from Florida State University. The Seminoles’ academic success includes a perfect APR (Academic Progress Rate) score in each of Bond’s seasons as Florida State’s head coach. The APR is a measurement of eligibility and retention of student-athletes competing on every NCAA Division I sports team. Simply put, every player who has competed for four years at Florida State during Bond’s tenure has earned her degree.

Senior Cecilie Finne-Ipsen adds her name to that list of graduates on December 9, 2022 as she earns her B.S. in Business Management.

For Finne-Ipsen, who transferred to Florida State from UNC Charlotte in the fall of 2021 to complete her playing career and get her degree, graduation day has been a day she dreamed about for a long time.

“My parents have always stressed how important education is,” said Finne-Ipsen who plans to begin her career as a professional golfer immediately following graduation. “It shows me that I’m capable of more than just playing golf.”

Finne-Ipsen’s long list of academic honors illustrates the importance of earning her degree while competing at the highest level of collegiate golf.

She’s a three-time WGCA All-American Scholar Team honoree. She’s been named to the Conference USA Academic Honor Roll (three times) and ACC Academic Honor Roll each year of her career. She earned the Conference USA Academic Medal of Honor (three times) at Charlotte, while earning President’s List (perfect 4.0 GPA) and Dean’s List (3.5 GPA or better) honors during her academic career as a Seminole.

“I have a hard time doing something half-heartedly,” said Finne-Ipsen just days prior to Florida State’s graduation ceremony. “If I sign up for something, I can’t help but try to do the best I possibly can. I’ve always considered myself someone who needs to work hard to understand the material, but I also think I’ve gotten to know myself better and figured out how I best learn.”

In addition to earning her degree, Finne-Ipsen also earned success on the golf course as a Seminole.

Finne-Ipsen finished her career ranked in Florida State’s all-time top-20 with a career stroke average of 75.29. She helped Florida State win the team championship at the Barbara Nicklaus Classic in the fall of 2021 and the NCAA Tallahassee Regional Championship during the spring of 2022. She finished in ninth place in the individual standings in leading the Seminoles to the championship at the NCAA Tallahassee Regional, and earned four consecutive top-25 finishes during the spring of 2022.

“Graduation is a special time for every student athlete and is celebrated by our university and within our program,” said Bond. “I am extremely proud of Cece for earning her degree. She is a dedicated student with great grades. Her commitment to her academics and athletics makes her the total package.”

Finne-Ipsen, whose two favorite classes at Florida State have been in professional selling and negotiations and conflict management, hopes to utilize her degree in management to build a business around her career as a professional golfer.

It’s hard for Finne-Ipsen to select her favorite academic moment as a student-athlete at Florida State, but she points to what her academic success means to her parents as one of the driving forces of her success.

“I know what is important to my parents is that I get an education and that I do my best with the time I have available,” said Finne-Ipsen. “I know they are proud of what I have achieved, but they would also have been proud if I had gotten all B’s and C’s, as long as I did the best that I could.”

When pressed on her favorite moment, she shared a proud personal achievement.

“I’m always going to remember picking up my honor cord for graduating Summa Cum Laude. Summa Cum Laude – with the highest distinction.”


Softball

We continue our dive into the 2023 Florida State softball program, this week we take a look at the two sophomores currently returning to Tallahassee. In addition to Amaya Ross and Krystina Hartley, Lonni Alameda and her staff recently added the addition of Katie Dack, via the transfer portal, to the sophomore class....{continued *FOR FREE}

We continue our dive into the 2023 Florida State softball program, this week its part two of the redshirt players.

After suffering an injury in 2021, Jahni Kerr looked to return last season. Back in the lineup in 2022, Kerr posted a .261 batting average. Her success late in the season saw her move her way up through the lineup. While at the plate she recorded 47 hits, 25 runs scored, 10 doubles, 5 home runs, 35 RBI, and was walked 10 times...{continued *FOR FREE}


Check out our dedicated Fanpost for FSU Women’s sports for any Women’s sports news you come across and can share to help keep your community up to date on what is happening in FSU women’s athletics during the week...{continued *FOR FREE}


Baseball


Other Cool Stuff

  • Congratulations to Ernie Sims:

  • The Big Man Big Heart Foundation continues to prove why NIL is a major positive for college football:

On Saturday, December 17, Florida State University took the first physical steps in finishing a project that’s been just over a half-decade in the making.

First floated as a potential infrastructure addition in 2016, FSU has been actively pursuing the construction of a standalone football facility since 2018, when it announced official plans.

In 2021, athletic director Michael Alford shared new renderings and finalized plans for the facility, announcing that the fundraising goal to kick off construction had been met, leading to today’s groundbreaking ceremony...{continued *FOR FREE}