The Florida State Women’s Basketball team finally broke the seal in ACC play. They went on the road and took care of business as they took a 69-65 victory over Pitt. Overall, it was the Seminoles’ best win of the season as the team came together down the stretch and made big plays behind their huge road victory.
The story of the night was the resurgence of senior guard Amaya Bonner, who finished the contest with 22 points along with 5 rebounds and 4 assists. In Sunday’s matchup against Miami, Florida State head coach Brooke Wyckoff made an adjustment in the starting lineup, which included Bonner replacing Solé Williams as one of the guards. As one of the veterans and returners for the Seminoles, Bonner was relied upon to make an impact on both ends for her team.
This season has been a struggle for Bonner to find her footing offensively. While she’s great defensively with her length, athleticism, and active hands, one of her issues is finding consistency on the other end. The biggest question was what was the identity of Amaya Bonner on the offensive end? Is she a spot up shooter? Is she an attacker? What was the best way to find her rhythm on that end of the floor?
Luckily, Bonner has played for Coach Wyckoff for three seasons now. Since her arrival at Florida State, she’s shown spurts of what she can provide offensively. A standout performance by Bonner in a Florida State jersey is scoring 14 points against her former team California. What stood out in this contest was her three-point shooting. Playing next to dynamic guards who are quick decision-makers, Bonner did a great job of positioning herself to catch the ball and consistently make perimeter shots. Unfortunately, her performance was spoiled as the Seminoles suffered a blowout loss on the road.
Placing Bonner in the starting lineup is the definition of Coach Wyckoff taking a chance on her senior guard. As the team has been struggling to find a rhythm all season, it’s best to try anything. Before starting in Sunday’s matchup against Miami, Bonner was huge in their previous matchup against Virginia, recording 15 points, 6 rebounds, 5 assists, 3 steals, and 3 blocks. The stat sheet shows her overall impact as she made hustle plays as well as made a huge block to force overtime.
Bonner’s performance against Miami was an experiment, to say the least. As one of the lead guards of the team, herring was on her shoulders to create shots for both herself and her teammates. Bonner did just that as she found high-percentage shots around the basket. Her attacking pressured the defense into collapsing, which also led to open looks on the perimeter for her teammates. Bonner finished the contest with 13 points on 50 percent shooting. Unfortunately, her performance was spoiled again as the Hurricanes finished with a 89-73 win.
After the loss vs Miami, the Florida State Seminoles were 0-5 in Conference Play. Although they competed in nearly every matchup, their late-game execution was not up to par as they were dominated in the second half of games. Luckily, their matchup against Pitt was a new opportunity to change the energy of the team. Despite being placed in a back-and-forth contest, their late-game execution was phenomenal, which led to a huge road win.
Once again, Bonner stole the show as she scored 22 points while shooting 50 percent from the floor. Alongside her co-Star Sydney Bowles, the two led the charge for Florida State and were finding different ways to score. However, Bonner was the leading factor in the fourth quarter. She continued to bring the energy defensively while it led to easy opportunities on offense. With less than two minutes remaining, Bonner hit two huge driving layups to help Florida State hold off Pitt in their win.
Over the last three games, Amaya Bonner is averaging 16.6 points along with 4 rebounds on 48 percent shooting. So far, the adjustment of placing her in Florida State’s starting lineup has been a success as they grabbed their first win in 2026. As Bonner has played exceptional basketball over her last three games, she will be expected to keep the momentum going as her role has been maximized as the lead guard for Florida State.