No. 24 Cal Women Throttle High-Scoring Florida State, 82-70

The No. 24 Cal women, off to their best start in 12 years, locked up high-scoring Florida State and its star guard Ta’Niya Latson on Sunday afternoon, breezing to an 82-70 victory at Haas Pavilion.
The Seminoles arrived as the nation’s No. 2 scoring team at 94.2 points per game and boasting the highest-scoring player in the land.
But the Bears led by as many as 34 points in the third quarter and held Latson to 13 points, 10 of them in the second half when the outcome was secure. She managed just three free throws in the first half when Cal led by as many as 25 points in the wire-to-wire triumph.
The Bears (16-2, 4-1 ACC) dominated the Seminoles (13-4, 3-2) and improved to 11-0 at home. FSU was on the brink of joining Cal in the AP Top-25, having checked in at No. 27, but was swept in the Bay Area this week.
This is a different Cal team, on an entirely different level than last year, when the Bears won 18 games but were 0-9 against AP Top-25 opponents. Cal already has beaten a pair of ranked foes, Alabama and North Carolina State.
“For us, our goal is to make the NCAA Tournament and that means we have to beat some ranked opponents and protect the home court. We’re doing that,” coach Charmin Smith said.
“We understand there is a target on our back now and sometimes we can be the ones that people are hunting. We’re used to hunting and now we can be the hunted.”
Cal sophomore guard Lulu Twidale was a dynamo in the first half, scoring 19 points, dishing four assists and taking turns defending Latson, who arrived at Berkeley averaging 27.7 points.
Asked how she felt about the Bears' defensive performance against Latson, Smith acknowledged, “I’d say I was very impressed.”
Twidale wound up with 19 points, including five 3-point baskets, while Ioanna Krimili had 18, Marta Suarez scored 17 and Michelle Onyiah chipped in 11.
FSU shot 26 percent and had 12 turnovers in the first half as Cal raced to a 50-25 lead at the break. The Bears outscored FSU 15-2 in points off turnovers in the first half.
Cal’s lead continued to swell in the second half and reached 34 points, at 67-33, when Noble scored in the lane with 4:50 left in the third period. The Bears led 72-46 entering the fourth quarter.
Latson, who has 19 career games of at least 30 points and scored 40 against Virginia Tech on Jan. 2, was never a factor.
Twidale and Jayda Noble shared most of the defensive assignment and Latson managed just three field-goal attempts in the first half, failing to convert any of them. The 5-foot-8 junior from Miami scored her first field goal on a drive to the basket with 6:32 left in the fourth quarter.
Latson finished with 13 points on 3-for-11 shooting from the field and had six turnovers in 30 minutes.
The Bears hit the road this week and will face No. 14 Duke (13-4, 4-1) on Thursday.