UM women lose 83-82 to No. 23 FSU, which was missing nation’s top scorer Ta’Niya Latson
Florida State, the nation’s highest-scoring women’s basketball team, brought its high-octane offense to the Watsco Center Sunday afternoon and managed to survive 83-82 against cross-state rival University of Miami in a thrilling game that went down to the wire.
The biggest UM home crowd since the season opener was riveted through 11 lead changes in the final five minutes before Makayla Timpson scored the game-clinching layup for 23rd-ranked FSU with three seconds remaining.
Miami had a chance to regain the lead just before time expired, but Cameron Williams missed a jumper in the lane. In a season of several heart-breaking close losses, this one was particularly painful for the Hurricanes. Not only was it against a bitter rival, but it came on the heels of a two-point road loss at 10th ranked N.C. State.
UM players were so dejected after Sunday’s game that they did not do post-game interviews.
The Canes dropped to 13-12 overall and 3-11 in the ACC. They are clinging to 15th place in the conference standings with four games left and second-ranked Notre Dame up next in Coral Gables. Only the top 15 of 18 ACC teams qualify for the conference tournament.
“I’m extremely proud of the effort, the effort’s there,” said Miami coach Tricia Cullop, in her first season with the team after the retirement of longtime coach Katie Meier. “It comes down to a stop here and a made basket there. In both games [vs. N.C. State and FSU] we had a shot; unfortunately, the shot didn’t go down in both instances. But it didn’t come down to just that shot.”
Cullop stressed how proud she is of her team, which has remained united and motivated despite its record in ACC play.
“The execution to get to the point where we had a chance to win was phenomenal, and that fortitude and determination is to be applauded,” she said. “To have the obstacles and tough stretch we’ve had and still continue to fight every day says a lot about who they are as people. I appreciate that they’re strong character kids.”
Leading the way, once again, was senior guard Haley Cavinder, who had 27 points, eight rebounds, and seven assists with just one turnover. She shot 10-of-16 and was 4-of-8 from beyond the arc.
With the score tied 76-76 and 1:28 to go, Cavinder chased down an offensive rebound off a missed shot by Natalija Marshall, kept the ball in bounds and then made a driving layup to push the Hurricanes ahead. She also made a pair of free throws to give UM an 82-81 lead with nine seconds left as the crowd of 3,477 went wild.
“Look at her stat line,” Cullop said of Cavinder. “She had 27 points, was guarded by their best defender all night and only one turnover. She gives us everything she’s got every second she’s out there. She’s one of the biggest competitors. I don’t know that she always gets the credit she deserves because of our record, but I’d put her up against a lot of the people in the nation.
“She’s phenomenal and I have enjoyed coaching her. She wills her team to work harder because of all the effort she puts in.”
Cavinder reached the 2,500-point mark for her career last week and is the only active player to have 2,500 points, 1,000 rebounds and 500 assists.
One player the fans did not get a chance to see was Miami native and FSU star Ta’Niya Latson, the nation’s leading scorer (26.2 ppg), who was a late scratch from the game roster due to an unspecified injury. Latson, a junior guard who attended American Heritage High School, was coming off a 29-point performance on Thursday in a home loss to Louisville.
Latson leads the nation in 25-point games this season with 15 and was eight points shy of hitting 2,000 career points. She watched the game from the bench in a gray sweatsuit and silver sneakers, and was an animated cheerleader for her teammates.
Senior guard O’Mariah Gordon of Sarasota, the smallest player on the court at 5-4, stepped up big for the Seminoles with a career-high 34 points. She also had a team-high seven assists.
Asked what made Gordon so tough to defend, Cullop said: “Her quickness around ball screens and getting to the hole. She was getting two or three every time by drawing a foul...I though Ahnay [Adams] did a pretty good job on her, but she fouled out unfortunately. It would have been nice to have her at the end defensively.”
Timpson finished with 22 points on 9-of-12 shooting for FSU and grabbed a team-high nine rebounds. Sydney Bowles added 18 points. The Seminoles were averaging a nation-best 91.2 points entering the game.
Miami’s top scorers, in addition to Cavinder, were Jasmyne Roberts with 16 points, Marshall with 15 and Williams with 12. Haley Cavinder’s twin sister, Hanna, had six rebounds and six assists.
Cullop said the Hurricanes are determined to make the ACC tournament.
“We’re doing everything we can to try to get in,” she said. “For some of our players it’s their last year playing, and I hope for them we can get in, but we’re going to have to win some games to get there. I know this group’s up for the task. We’re just going to have to finish it.”
FSU improved to 20-6 on the season and 10-4 in the ACC. The Seminoles’ next game is Thursday at home against Pittsburgh.