O'Mariah Gordon's freshman season was not a fun.

The Florida State women's basketball star was in pain when she played basketball. She did not enjoy walking to class. She did not even like going to the grocery store.

The now-junior guard was dealing with a heel injury. It was one that doctors could not quite figure out what was wrong.

But Gordon did what she knew best. She played through the pain.

Her success this season has been a product of her ability to battle through pain and adversity even in times she did not think she could go on.

"There wasn't a moment where I was like, 'I don't want to play basketball anymore.' But it was more of a, 'I don't think I can finish [the season]. I don't think I can go into another season like this.'" Gordon told the Democrat of her freshman and sophomore seasons.

"I was thinking about redshirting."

She did not redshirt this season and it's been a blessing for the Seminoles.

Entering the 2023-24 season, FSU fans and opponents were well aware of star Ta'Niya Latson, along with walking double-double threat Makayla Timpson, as well as guard Sara Bejedi and her ability to get a basket.

Gordon - a 5-foot-4 guard from Braden River High in Bradenton - was FSU's secret weapon for the first half of the season.

She will be seeking her 20th double-digit scoring game of the season when the Seminoles (15-7, 6-4 ACC) take on rival Miami (14-6, 4-5) at 11 a.m. Sunday at the Donald L. Tucker Civic Center.

FSU will have a National Girls and Women in Sports Celebration. According to FSU Sports Information, student-athletes from each of FSU women's athletics will be in attendance for the game, will partake in a halftime T-shirt toss and be recognized on the video board throughout the game.

"She's just to see her finally getting into that flow and we depend on her so much to be kind of our unsung hero in that regard," FSU head coach Brook Wyckoff told the Democrat.

"Which she shouldn't be because scoring in double figures. She's so great with that role, just to be that steady presence."

The injury and struggles of Gordon

Gordon averaged 7.4 points, 3.0 assists and 2.1 rebounds per game as a freshman in 20.3 minutes per game during the 2021-22 season. She shot 46% from the field, 38% on 3-pointers and 73% on free throws.

Those numbers dipped to 6.9 points, 2.1 assists and 2.0 rebounds assists on 39% overall and 33% shooting from three in 17.6 minutes per game in 2022-23.

She admitted her entire freshman season was played while in pain. That carried over to her sophomore season.

It started as an Achilles injury for which she required surgery during the summer of her freshman season. The rehab for the injury took three to four months, which allowed her to return for just one practice ahead of the first game of her freshman season.

The surgery did not stop the pain.

"I kind of dealt with that pain my whole freshman year. The pain never went away," Gordon said. "Whatever was done in the surgery, it wasn't what the issue was.

"... So again after my freshman season, I had another surgery, I went to Wisconsin for that surgery. Both surgeries were successful in the way they were supposed to be successful. But for the pain, they didn't do what I needed."

More testing resulted in finding out that rather than an Achilles injury, it was a nerve issue Gordon was dealing with.

Gordon got three shots in her back three different times to help ease the pain in her sophomore season. For the first time, last year, she finally started to start feeling like herself.

But not for long.

"I came back to play at the end of last season, but then I got injured, again with my ankle," Gordon said. "It was just tough with injury after injury. I was thinking, 'When am I going to be able to catch up because I just feel like it's playing catch up.'"

The ankle injury cost Gordon from playing in the NCAA Tournament first-round game against Georgia. Along with Latson already being out with her knee injury, the Seminoles lost to the Bulldogs and had an earlier-than-expected finish to their season.

The injuries also impacted her off the court.

"It was definitely hard mentally and even like, for me it was even outside of basketball because the pain that I would experience again, it was nerve pain, so it was unexplainable," Gordon said.

"It was affecting my everyday life as well. It wasn't just basketball. It's like walking to class and walking through the mall, walking through the store, like after games.

"It was a hard time but again, I learned so much through it and I got mentally tougher and tougher."

Learning to take care of her body

For the first time in her collegiate career, Gordon has had the benefit of an offseason.

The results show why that's been important for the former 2019 and 2020 Florida’s Gatorade Player of the Year and 2021 Florida Dairy Farmers Miss Basketball.

"It was huge to have that offseason," Gordon said. "And then on top of that, we went to Greece this year. So we got a chance to play with one another before we went ahead and played some real games here in Tallahassee.

"But the preseason, being able to work out with the team, building chemistry, being able to get in shape, doing all the rehab, feeling strong and ready to go, it all matters for coming into this season."

Gordon is enjoying the best season of her career with 13.6 points, 3.6 assists and 3.5 rebounds in 29.5 minutes per game. She is shooting 42% from the field, 40% from the 3-point range and 77% from the charity stripe.

"She's just more fit. She's just more physically ready," Wyckoff said. "She's doing the things that she's doing. Now. The way she shoots the ball, the way she's gotten to the basket that she's been doing that since high school. That's why we recruited her here like that is 'O' that' what we've always known.

"She's just, matured enough to be able to really prioritize and get her body in a place where she can sustain to be able to do those things."

Becoming a secret weapon

Gordon loves her fit in Wyckoff's offense. She likes to run and play fast. That's exactly what Wyckoff wants her team to do.

The Seminoles average 81.5 points per game, which is 16th in the nation.

Gordon has played a major role in why the offense works. Entering Sunday's contest against Miami, Gordon sits 32nd in the nation overall with a 2.42 assist-to-turnover ratio. That mark is the second-best in the ACC to Boston College's Kaylah Ivey.

She has 19 games of scoring in double figures this season, which leads the team, more than Latson and Timpson, who each have 18.

Gordon has two 20-point performances, including a 21-point, six-assist performance against Charleston Southern in the season-opener, which Latson missed recovering from a knee injury.

Both Gordon and Wyckoff pointed to the upset 92-91 victory over then-No. 11 Tennessee where she scored 22 points and five assists.

"That Tennessee game that was like the first moment I have where I [said], 'I feel good. Like, I feel like myself, I feel I feel happy.' Like I feel excited to play," Gordon said.

"But I've also had other moments where I've just kind of like kind of just sit back and I'm like I'm being consistent like it's not just one night having 20 minutes I'm having to like it I've been pretty consistent and it just feels good to like to see yourself being consistent and seeing the results."

How to watch FSU women's basketball vs. Miami

Who: Florida State (15-7, 6-4 ACC) at Miami (14-6, 4-5)

When/Where: 11 a.m., Sunday, at Donald L. Tucker Civic Center

TV/Radio: The CW/101.5 FM

Reach Ehsan Kassim at ekassim@gannett.com or follow him on Twitter at @Ehsan_Kassim. You can also follow our coverage on Facebook (NoleSports), Instagram (tlhnolesports) and YouTube channel (NoleSportsTD).

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This article originally appeared on Tallahassee Democrat: O'Mariah Gordon emerging as a secret weapon for FSU women's basketball