Florida State women's basketball: Seminoles dominant in second half to defeat No. 16 Duke

Florida State women’s basketball picked the perfect time to bounce back from its worst loss of the season.

The No. 24 Seminoles defeated ACC rival No. 16 Duke 70-57 in front of former head coach Sue Semrau on Sunday at Donald L. Tucker Civic Center in a top-25 matchup.

It was the first time Semrau had seen FSU (19-5, 8-3 ACC) play this season in person since announcing her retirement at the end of last season. Semrau was honored before the game and then again between the first and second quarter after coaching the Seminoles for 24 seasons.

Duke (18-3, 8-2) holds a one-game lead over the Seminoles in the ACC standings.

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Florida State was coming off a 70-47 loss to No. 7 Notre Dame on the road Thursday. It was the third win over a ranked opponent for FSU. It’s the most in a single season since it had six during the 2019-20 season.

“Huge win for us against a very good Duke team,” FSU coach Brooke Wyckoff said. “I’ve said it all season, but the way this group responds to any kind of adversity or down moment, the Notre Dame game, they always are able to respond and do exactly what is needed to be done to bounce back.

“They did that, led by (Makayla Timpson), amazing performance. I am really proud of our defensive effort in what we were able to hold Duke in shooting percentage and points.”

FSU used an 8-0 run to end the first half and score the first seven points of the third quarter to take control of the contest. Duke shot just 26% (19 for 72) for the game.

Florida State’s largest victory over Duke was a 69-45 victory on Jan. 18, 2017. The Blue Devils lead the all-time series 38-15, but FSU has won seven of the last nine matchups.

Sophomore forward Makayla Timpson led the Seminoles with 21 points, 10 rebounds and three in the victory. It was her 11th double-double of the season, tying her for seventh most in program history in a single season. Natasha Howard (2013-14) holds the record with 15.

Freshman guard Ta’Niya Latson added 15 points, while Sara Bejedi added 11 points, four rebounds and four assists.

Shayeann Day-Wilson led the Blue Devils with 14 points, while Vanessa De Jesus added nine.

With 7:38 left in the fourth quarter, Snoop Turnage went down with a lower-body injury and did not return.

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Coach Sue presence

Ahead of the game, the Seminoles honored long-time head coach Semrau during an hour-long ceremony. The team also honored her in between the first and second third quarters.

It was her first game in person watching the team this season.

Semrau took over the FSU basketball program in 1997 that had been struggling. She led the Seminoles to 16 NCAA tournament appearances, including three NCAA Elite Eight appearances in 2010, 2015 and 2017. Semrau was named the National Coach of the Year in 2015, earning all-ACC Coach of the Year honor four times and left as the program's winningest const with 470 victories.

“It felt good just to see her face,” said sophomore Timpson who played and was recruited by Semrau. “We have been in contact with each other, but just seeing her face was amazing.

“I heard her on the sideline during the game screaming, ‘yeah (KK).’ I didn’t look at her, I didn’t want to be distracted, but I knew she was at the game today.”

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Big run

Following a 9-0 run for Duke, the score was tied at 22 with 2:54 left in the first half. The Seminoles scored eight straight points, including a buzzer-beating floater by Latson to push the lead to eight.

FSU scored the first seven points of the second half to push the lead to 15 points and led by as many as 24 points in the fourth quarter.

The Blue Devils held just one lead in the game and for 20 seconds, an 8-7 lead following a 6-0 run in the first quarter.

Timpson gave Duke fits during the run on offensive rebounding. She finished with five offensive rebounds.

“Notre Dame, I didn’t like that at all,” Timpson said. “We had to win today. We played as a team, which allowed us to win the game.”

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Defensive rebounding

The Irish outrebounded the Seminoles 34-25 in their victory on Thursday. Wyckoff addressed the team needing to be better in that aspect following the game.

FSU responded with a strong performance on the boards, including on defensive rebounds with a 34-27 advantage.

Erin Howard led the way with eight defensive rebounds, while Maria Valenzuela added six rebounds and Timpson finished with five. Five other Seminoles had at least three defensive rebounds.

“Coach Sue loves defense and rebounding,” Wyckoff said. “We definitely did that today for her. That’s the culture she instilled on the basketball floor here and that’s how you grind it out in the ACC. It’s super important. It was awesome to have her courtside and get this win for her.”

Up next:

The Seminoles host Wake Forest at 6 p.m. Thursday at Donald L. Tucker Civic Center before getting the weekend off. They return to action the following Thursday on the road at Miami at 6 p.m.

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

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This article originally appeared on Tallahassee Democrat: FSU women's basketball: Seminoles dominant in second half to defeat Duke