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Ta'Niya Latson makes history; No. 23 Seminoles sting Georgia Tech Again

ATLANTA, Ga. (Seminoles.com) – Sophomore guard Ta’Niya Latson recorded her record-breaking 12th career 30-point performance as No. 23 Florida State Women’s Basketball used a huge fourth quarter to defeat Georgia Tech, 78-67, on Sunday afternoon at McCamish Pavilion.

Ignited by Latson’s 17 points in the fourth quarter, the Seminoles (15-7, 6-4) came back from a 55-51 deficit at the end of the third quarter and out-scored the Yellow Jackets (13-8, 4-5) 27-12 in the final period. Latson delivered 33 points with six rebounds and five assists, completing FSU’s regular season sweep over Georgia Tech.

In her short FSU career that consists of just 52 games, Latson moves past FSU all-time leading scorer Sue Galkantas for the most 30-point games in school history. Amazingly, Latson has delivered four performances with 30+ points vs. Georgia Tech in all four games played, including stat lines of 30, 31, 32 and 33-point games against the Yellow Jackets.

Florida State women's basketball player Ta'Niya Latson
Florida State women's basketball player Ta'Niya Latson

The Seminoles clamped down defensively in the fourth quarter as well, holding Georgia Tech to 3-of-16 in the frame. FSU went 9-of-19 in the fourth and used a huge 10-0 run midway through the quarter to finally separate from the Yellow Jackets.

Junior guard O’Mariah Gordon had another impressive outing, scoring 12 points with three rebounds. She leads FSU with 19 double-figure point games this season.

With the help of Makayla Timpson (8), Snoop Turnage (7) and Sakyia White (5), the Seminoles out-rebounded Georgia Tech 45-33 on the glass in what was one of their best defensive efforts in conference play. The win over Georgia Tech is a strong way to begin the second half of their conference schedule, with FSU owning a 6-4 ACC mark.

Timpson also became the 19th Seminole to eclipse 600 career rebounds in Sunday’s matchup.

The turning point of the game came on FSU’s 10-0 run that was guided by Latson. The Miami, Fla., native began getting downhill throughout the second half and gave the Seminoles their first lead of the quarter at 61-60 with 6:21 remaining. Alexis Tucker was a key part as well, taking a drive to the rim and getting the tough layup, and then following with a big mid-range jumper to put FSU ahead 69-64 with 1:43 left.

FSU followed with three big defensive stops until Georgia Tech’s Rusne Augustinaite hit a 3-point field goal to cut its deficit to 74-67 with 16 seconds remaining. Latson’s first made free throw with 25 seconds left in a Georgia Tech fouling situation gave her 30 points to secure the career record.

Georgia Tech’s Kara Dunn led the Yellow Jackets with 19 points in the loss.

Florida State women's basketball player Ta'Niya Latson
Florida State women's basketball player Ta'Niya Latson

Florida State is the last team in the ACC to get a bye game, but it comes this week as the Seminoles will not play on Thursday. FSU’s next game is a big one at home vs. Miami on Sunday at 11 a.m. The game will be part of the Noles’ National Girls and Women in Sport Celebration.

This article originally appeared on Tallahassee Democrat: Ta'Niya Latson makes history; No. 23 Seminoles sting Georgia Tech Again