After playing just eight minutes in the first half due to three committed fouls, guard Ta'Niya Latson showed just how fresh she was coming off the bench in the second half.

The sophomore guard scored 20 points in the second half, finishing with 25 and helping No. 6 Florida State women's basketball to a 78-65 win over No. 3 Syracuse on Friday in ACC Tournament quarterfinals at the Greensboro Coliseum.

"I'm obviously just super proud of this team for winning a second straight day in a row," FSU head coach Brooke Wyckoff said. "We had a very specific game plan, and each of these players was focused on it and executed it so well.

"We were us today and doing the things that we needed to do to win against a really, really good Syracuse basketball team."

FSU will face No. 2 NC State on Saturday at 2:30 p.m. It's the Seminoles' first appearance in ACC Tournament semifinals since 2020.

FSU basketball dominates from start to finish

Latson hit 10-of-18 shots from the field and was a perfect 4-of-4 from the line. She'd foul out of the game with 4:17 left in the game.

"That was just confidence right there and she came out and backed it up and only 20 minutes of play because of foul trouble," Wyckoff said. "I'm so very, very proud of her and the leadership that she showed on the court and on the bench."

Guard O'Mariah Gordon was a consistent threat on offense throughout the game, finishing with a career-high 24 points and 4-of-4 from the free throw line.

"Being able to attack the basket and score, it takes a lot off of Kay Kay [Timpson], Ta'Niya [Latson] and then it just opens up things for the rest of the team," Gordon said on her instruction to be aggressive offensively throughout the game.

After setting the program's single-season record in double-doubles on Thursday against Wake Forest, forward Makayla Timpson recorded her 17th double-double of the season with 10 points and a career-high 18 rebounds.

"We know how we lost them the first time, off our own bad shots," Timpson said. "We had a lead but now we kept our energy, and we brought it through the whole game. We were in control of the game, which allowed us to win. I'm so proud of my teammates."

As a team, FSU shot 40% (29-of-72) from the field and 78.9% (15-of-19) from the free-throw line. It was 15-of-17 from the free-throw line in the first half alone.

The Seminole defense kept Syracuse guard Dyaisha Fair at bay throughout the night. Fair ranks fifth all-time in NCAA Women's Division I scoring. She had 23 points.

The win avenges an early season loss to the Orange on the road, 73-67.

Preparing for North Carolina State

FSU improves to 23-9 overall and will face NC State on Saturday for a chance to play in the ACC Championship game on Sunday. The winner will face No. 1 Virginia Tech or No. 4 Notre Dame.

The Wolfpack defeated No. 7 Duke 54-51 in the ACC quarterfinals.

In the Seminoles' last meeting with the Wolfpack, they fell in overtime 88-80 on Jan. 4 in Raleigh. At the time, NC State was the No. 3 team in the nation.

"The good news is that we played NC State and that was also a memorable one at their place," Wyckoff said. "We will be ready to just focus in on the scout and a game plan pretty quickly. We've got a great staff that's already been preparing based on all the different scenarios."

Up next

Who: ACC Tournament semifinals - No. 4 FSU (23-9, 12-6) vs. No. 2 NC State (26-5, 13-5)

When: Saturday, 2:30 p.m. at Greensboro Coliseum, Greensboro, NC

TV: ACC Network

Jack Williams covers Florida State athletics for Tallahassee Democrat. Contact him via email at jwilliams@tallahassee.com or on X @jackgwilliams.

This article originally appeared on Tallahassee Democrat: FSU women's basketball upsets Syracuse, on to ACC Tournament semifinal