2023-11-07 04:19:59
It was less than a week ago that Florida State women’s basketball head coach Brooke Wyckoff was at Tallahassee Memorial HealthCare recovering from successful breast cancer removal surgery.
Monday, the first night of the regular season, Wyckoff was back courtside, leading the No. 18 Seminoles to a season-opening win over Charleston Southern, 99-63, at the Donald L. Tucker Center in front of 1,930 fans.
“It felt great to be back,” Wyckoff said. “I just love this team and being around them, the staff and everybody, every day. They did a fantastic job in my absence, I had no doubt that they would. It just felt really, really good to be back and here for the home opener.”
No Ta’Niya, No problem
There was a significant absence from the Seminoles lineup against the Buccaneers as the 2023 ACC Rookie of the Year, guard Ta’Niya Latson, was out with a day-to-day hamstring injury. The last time Latson was out the first round of the NCAA Tournament, where FSU fell to Georgia by 12 points.
However, it was not the same story against Charleston Southern as five different players broke into double figures and had career nights. The Seminoles early on prove that while they are dangerous with Latson, they can operate without her if need be.
“We’ve done a lot of growing,” Wyckoff said. “Adding pieces like Alexis Tucker, who’s an experienced scorer and all-around amazing player, and O’Mariah [Gordon] at full strength. Those are just two examples of how we’ve grown since that time last year.”
Healthy, new faces
Gordon missed a handful of games last season due to injury, but now at full health, she’s quickly proven herself as one of the Seminoles’ top scorers. In two preseason games and the regular season opener, she’s averaged 20 points per game.
She’s had two 20-point performances, downing 22 against Flagler and had 21 against Charleston Southern.
“I’m super grateful to be able to play now and to get that summer and that preseason,” Gordon said. “It really matters, and I think just staying in the training room and remembering that my number one goal is to remain healthy.”
Makayla Timpson pushed 20 points, downing 18 on the night and shooting seven of nine from the field. Amya Bonner had a career-high night, dropping 15 points in her first game as a Seminole. A transfer from UC Berkeley, her career-high was four points prior to Monday’s game.
Transfers showed out big against the Buccaneers and another one was Tucker.
The UC Santa Barbra transfer has broken into double-scoring figures in both preseason games and the Charleston Southern matchup. She finished Monday’s night game with 14 points, three rebounds and three assists.
Tucker said that the two exhibition games, and the games in Croatia over the summer, helped her adjust to a new team and allowed the Seminoles to figure out where they were before the start of the season.
“When we had our first two exhibition games, they were a bunch of learning opportunities,” Tucker said. “It feels good to be able to step onto the floor for a game that counts. Just being able to do what I can do for the team, but see the different areas I can work on because we have some very important games coming up.”
Taking on Tennessee
FSU planned out an ambitious schedule, wanting to play against high-caliber opponents and continue to prove that it is one of the top teams in the country. Thursday, it hosts No. 11 Tennessee before traveling to Gainesville to take on Florida a week later.
The Lady Vols are at FAMU on Tuesday before heading across town to take on the Seminoles.
“We’re super excited as players to get to play against some of the top players in the nation,” Gordon said. “That’s what it’s all about and when it comes down to March Madness, we’re gonna play against the top team.”
“It’s [the Tennessee game] going to put us in a great place and it’s definitely going to show us our strengths and our weaknesses, but we’re super excited about it.”
Up next
Who: No. 18 Florida State (1-0, 0-0 ACC) vs. No. 11 Tennessee (0-0, 0-0 SEC)
When/Where: Thursday, Nov. 11 at 6 p.m. at Donald L. Tucker Center
TV: ESPN2
Jack Williams covers Florida State athletics for Tallahassee Democrat. Contact him via email at [email protected] or on Twitter @jackgwilliams.
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