By james art 
TALLAHASSEE – The No. 19 Florida State women’s basketball team opened the 2024-25 season by defeating North Florida 119-49 on Monday afternoon at the Donald Tucker Civic Center. The win set the school record for most points scored in a game and was the 26th straight home win for FSU.
Forward Makaliah Timpson began her senior campaign with a double-double, scoring 17 points and grabbing a career-high 22 rebounds. Her defensive effort tied the third-best performance in program history, just two tackles short of the record of 24 set against Coppin State by Levi Torres in 2000.
As a team, the Seminoles made 15 three-point field goals, tying the program record set against Milwaukee on December 20, 2018.
Timpson now ranks second in program history with 32 career double-doubles, tied with Sue Galkantas (1981-1984). The Edison, Ga., native also contributed a career-high four assists.
Junior guard Ta’Nia Latson led all scorers with 27 points. She moved up to 14th in FSU history in career scoring with 1,391.
The Noles also had three other scorers in double figures O’Mariah GordonCindy Bowles and Avery Treadwell. Gordon added 15 points, four assists and a career-high four steals. Treadwell enjoyed a career day, setting career highs in points (14) and also going a perfect 5-of-5 from the floor. Bowles added 18 points.
FSU was stout on the defensive side of the ball, forcing 26 fumbles and holding the Ospreys to just 33 percent shooting from the field.
“It was a great first game,” the FSU head coach Brooke Wyckoff said. “That’s exactly how I wanted us to start the season. We scored a lot of points and did a lot of good things statistically, but the mentality, the buy-in, the way we came out, from the start of the game to the end, the way we used our hearts and minds to To get that win was what I’m most proud of. It’s a great first step.”
In the first quarter, the Seminoles got hot quickly, starting the game on a 19-0 run before the Ospreys made their first bucket with just over four minutes left in the quarter. Latson had eight points on 3-4 shooting, while Timpson had 10 rebounds and added four points for the Seminoles, who led 30-7 after one frame.
FSU had 13 points off the bench in the second quarter, seven of which came from Bowles. FSU added 26 points in the second, extending its lead to 56-20 at halftime.
Latson led the Seminoles out of the break scoring the first six points. Timpson added seven rebounds while scoring seven more points in the quarter. FSU scored a game-high 38 points in the third, extending the lead to 95-34.
In the fourth, Gordon hit her third triple, giving her 15 points on the day. After two Timpson free throws, Knowles surpassed 100 points with seven minutes left in the game. FSU finished the quarter scoring 25 points, led by Timpson and Bowles, who each had six.
The Seminoles (1-0) will travel to Champaign, IL to face Illinois on Thursday, November 7th at 7:00 PM on Big Ten Network+.
More information about FSU women’s basketball can be found on Instagram (FSUWBB), X (FSUWBB) and Facebook (FSUWomensBasketball).