As the road to Tampa continues for LSU, so do the challenges that come with it.
Two games were played in the PMAC on Saturday night. The first resulted in a victory for the No. 6 Florida State Seminoles over No. 11 George Mason, 94-59. The second game went to No. 3 LSU, defeating No. 14 San Diego State 103-48.
The top two seeds in the Baton Rouge region showed their dominance early and will face to advance to the Sweet 16.
Although the Tigers have the benefit of having home court in this game, the Seminoles possess a variety of skills and talent that may give LSU some trouble in the round of 32.
The first thing that pops off the screen is the scoring.
The Seminoles are currently ranked No. 2 in the country for points per game at 87.4 on the season. Florida State plays with an extremely fast pace.
During the game against the Patriots you can see head coach Brooke Wyckoff, in her gold pants and high heels, yelling, running and motioning her team to push the ball down court after a miss to get at the most opportunities possible to score.
Wyckoff’s play style has translated well throughout her team as four different Seminoles average more than 10 points per game.
They rank inside the top 35 for 3-point attempts at 24.8 attempts per game, and top 20 for 3-pointers made at 8.7. But they also have the ability to get inside and use their athletic ability.
“They’re very athletic,” LSU guard Jada Richard said. “They rebound the ball really well. Number one scoring in the nation, leading the nation in points per game so, really got to lock in defensively and also just get on the boards.”
Ta’Niya Latson, the 5-foot-8 junior guard from Miami, Florida, not only leads her team in scoring but the country as well.
Latson enters this game averaging an astonishing 25 points, 4.5 rebounds 4.6 assists and 2.2 steals per game.
The nation’s leading scorer has all the weapons in her arsenal to make her an elite scorer. She uses her speed to go down hill and drive to the basket. Seven of her eight made baskets came inside the 3-point line.
“We need to be able to pack the paint, because that’s where she likes to get a lot of her shots,” Aneesah Morrow said.
While shooting on the perimeter isn’t her strong suit, she can still take and make threes. At most, she would take three attempts beyond the arch but makes them fairly efficiently at 35.7%.
“Ta’Niya Latson requires five LSU players to guard her,” Mikaylah Williams said.
Establishing the pick and roll with her bigs such as Makayla Timpson, she’s able to either knife her way to the basket or play make and find her teammates rolling to the basket.
“It’s their dribble penetration that creates a lot of things,” Mulkey said. “They’re so long, they’re athletic, they’re a handful.”
Timpson is someone who tends to get overshadowed by her teammate in Latson but is one of the most impactful players in the tournament.
First, she averages a double-double at 17.6 points and 10.7 rebounds per game while shooting 54.5% from the field.
The length of Timpson allows her to have a big radius to catch the ball inside where she can use her soft touch inside to get close shots at the basket.
She also gets a lot of her points by snatching offensive rebounds and getting second chance opportunities for her team, but the biggest thing comes from what she does on the defensive side.
As a team, Florida State ranks No. 5 in the country for blocks per game at 5.8 and Timpson is the catalyst.
Along with her impressive double-double, she also averages 3.2 blocks and 1.8 steals per game.
Her ability to time her opponent’s shot and send it into the crowd is what makes her so great. Standing at 6-foot-2 she brings good size and length, but her athletic ability to challenge shots and disrupt the game on the defensive end is what she brings to the game.
While the Seminoles have established themselves as one of premiere scoring teams in the country, be sure to watch out what they do on the defensive end as well.
