No. 19 FSU women’s basketball falls at no. 11 Virginia Tech

No. 19 Florida State (20-7, 9-5 ACC) was defeated by no. 11 Virginia Tech (20-4, 10-4 ACC) by an 84-70 score today in Blacksburg, VA.

Game Recap

Virginia Tech got off to a dream start nailing their first two shots (both threes) and forcing Brooke Wyckoff into taking an early timeout. Makayla Timpson scored a layup over Elizabeth Kitley for Florida State’s first points of the game. However, the Hokies would respond with an 11-2 run to jump out to a 17-4 lead. VT was 8-11 from behind the arc in the first quarter. The hot shooting allowed the Hokies to take a commanding 34-11 lead into the second quarter.

The Hokies cooled off a bit in the second quarter but FSU was not able to cut meaningfully into the huge lead. Taylor O’Brien nailed a triple from just inside half-court to beat the first half buzzer but the Noles were still facing a 47-25 deficit going into the second half.

FSU came out like gangbusters in the third quarter going on an 8-0 run to cut the deficit to 47-33. However, Tech would eventually respond with a 10-0 run of their own (with the help of a questionable intentional foul call) to extend the lead to 61-39. The Hokies would take a 64-47 lead into the fourth quarter.

From there FSU was never able to cut the lead to single digits as Virginia Tech earned the 84-70 victory.

Post Game

Ta’Niya Latson led led the Noles with 15 points. Makayla Timpson had another strong game with 12 points and seven rebounds. Sara Bejedi chipped in with 10 points.

Valencia Myers has now played the most games ever of any player in an FSU uniform. The graduate student played today in her 139th career game at FSU, breaking the program’s all-time record.

There’s not a ton to say about this game. The Hokies came out red hot hitting shots from everywhere racing out to the big lead and the Noles couldn’t cut the lead down enough to put any real pressure on Tech. FSU never stopped playing though. The Seminoles actually won every quarter except the first.

Going forward the schedule eases up considerably for Florida State. However, that is a bit of a double edged sword. The easier schedule will allow the Seminoles to win more league games. FSU still has a great chance to finish in the top 4 of the ACC and get the double-bye in the ACC Tournament. On the other hand, the Noles won’t have the chance to earn impressive resume wins in the last four games although the game at Clemson is currently a Q1 game.

If FSU can avoid the upset in the last four regular season games that would likely be enough to earn a third or fourth seed in the ACC Tournament. Florida State would then likely meet North Carolina, Louisville or Miami in the quarterfinals. If the Noles could win that game even if they lost in the semifinals they would be in good shape at 25-8 to get a top four NCAA Tournament seed.

The opportunity is there. The Seminoles just have to seize it.

Next Game

Florida State will welcome Syracuse to Tallahassee on Thursday. The game will tip at 6pm and will be broadcast on the ACC Network.