Florida State Women's Basketball: Seminoles Currently Facing Three-Game Skid

Two weeks ago, the Seminole Nation rejoiced. The Women’s Basketball team defeated two ranked teams on their home floor and looked as if they were one of the best teams in the country. Their success came with accolades as far as Player of the Week Awards and others. However, things quickly took a turn after the Seminoles’ successful week. 

Thursday, January 18, the Seminoles found themselves in Syracuse, New York, as they prepared for another ACC showdown against the Orange. The weather may have been cold but the team was red hot after a huge win against Virginia Tech. Throughout the first half, everything was clicking for Florida State. They were sharing the ball extremely well and continued to beat teams in transition and scoring outside. At one point, the Seminoles held an 18-point lead and were on their way to their fourth straight win. 

Unfortunately, Dyaisha Fair happened. She’s been the leading factor for Syracuse all season and kept her foot on the gas in sparking a comeback. Fair continued to manipulate the defense with her ball-handling and ability to score on the perimeter. She finished with 31 points on the evening as Syracuse outscored Florida State 25-11 in the fourth quarter. In the end, it was the Orange who came out on top in a 79-73 victory. 

Three days later, the Noles flew back to Tallahassee for a showdown against Virginia. If there’s one thing about Florida State Women’s Basketball, they know how to respond after a loss. They understand the flaws in their last performance and make necessary adjustments to get back in the win column. Sunday afternoon’s matchup against the Cavaliers was an opportunity to get back on track on their home floor. 

Virginia was one of the bottom-seeded teams in the ACC. They went into Sunday’s matchup 0-6 in conference play and were desperate for their first win. Florida State understood that the Cavaliers were going to come into the game hungry for a win. However, were they prepared to slow down the offensive performance that was going to take place? 

It was a back-and-forth contest, to say the least. However, Virginia was the more hungry team. Offensively, they played extremely well with their ball movement and utilizing players coming off screens for perimeter shots. Cavaliers guard Kymora Johnson was the shining star of the contest as she finished with 35 points on 14/20 shooting. As a team, Virginia shot 53 percent from the field compared to Florida State’s 39 percent. Confidence was shown on Virginia’s side as they received their first conference win against one of the best teams in the ACC. 

The Seminoles found themselves in a weird predicament. Losing two games in a row was not something the team was used to. One of Florida State’s biggest issues throughout the season was losing momentum in the second half by taking their foot off the gas. That flaw came to bite them as they were outmatched in the fourth quarter two consecutive games. Luckily, Brooke Wyckoff’s team had a few days to regroup and prepare for a road matchup against the Duke Blue Devils. 

Playing at Cameron Indoor Stadium is always an honor for young players. Many legendary players of the past made their mark on that court with historic performances. For the Seminoles, they’ve had recent success playing against Duke as they grabbed a big win against them last season. On this occasion, they had to prepare to play in hostile territory once again. Looking to break their losing streak, it was important that they came together and delivered a monster performance. 

Truth be told, the monster performance took place from Duke. They got off to a terrific start in the first quarter and never looked back. In this contest, Florida State lost their togetherness. This is a team that thrives off of playing with one another. However, the energy was nowhere to be found. Ta’Niya Latson did her best offensively to keep her team alive as she finished with 15 points. However, it’s hard to win as a one-man show against Duke. 

Defensively was where the Seminoles didn’t show energy. They failed to rotate on that end and were late at closing out on shooters. Duke shot 40 percent from three led by Taina Mair who shot 4/7 from three-point land. In the end, Duke dominated Florida State from every aspect of the game. They gave the Seminoles their worst loss of the season in an 88-46 blowout victory. 

As the Seminoles are currently on a three-game losing streak, they’ve now fallen to eighth place in the ACC rankings. This is a conference where every game is important and teams can’t afford to go on a losing streak. Now Florida State has placed themselves in a hole that they have to climb out of. 

The key to ending this losing streak is for the star players to lead the way. As always, Ta’Niya Latson is going to set the tone offensively. Her ability to break down the defense with her attack mentality brings a different energy to the team. However, Florida State needs better production from senior guard Sara Bejedi. Over the past three games, Bejedi is shooting 20.5 percent from the field after two huge performances against North Carolina and Virginia Tech. With Florida State’s two wing talents elevating their play, the energy will rub off on the rest of the team. 

The Seminoles have another road game against Georgia Tech on Sunday at 4:00 pm ET. Once again, it’s another ACC showdown that they have to prepare for. Many remember what took place when these two teams met on December 29. Ta’Niya Larson exploded for 30 points and the Seminoles won by double-digits. Florida State will want a repeat of what took place nearly a month ago if they want to break their three-game losing streak.