March 16, 2023
How Olivia Miles and Ta’Niya Latson injuries impact teams’ chances
By Aya Abdeen
Notre Dame and Florida State announced that key players will miss NCAA Tournament
On Thursday, Notre Dame and Florida State announced that their key players would miss the upcoming NCAA Tournament due to injuries. According to Notre Dame, Olivia Miles, a sophomore point guard for the Fighting Irish, will miss the remainder of the season after suffering an injury to her right knee during a game against Louisville in February. Florida State announced that Ta’Niya Latson will miss the upcoming NCAA Tournament due to non-specified injuries.
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Miles, one of the best young players in women’s college basketball, earned AP All-American second-team and USWBA All-American third-team honors. Throughout the season Miles averaged 14.3 points, 7.3 rebounds, 6.9 assists and 2.1 steals per game for Notre Dame.
Miles became the first freshman in men’s or women’s basketball to have a triple-double in a game during the 2022 NCAA Tournament, when the Notre Dame Fighting Irish defeated Merrimack by a score of 108-44.
Notre Dame also dealt with another injury as Dara Mabrey missed the remainder of the season due to a right knee injury she suffered in January. Mabrey, a graduate student, averaged 9.3 points, 2.7 rebounds and 2.4 assists per game for the team.
The Notre Dame Fighting Irish finished the season with an overall record of 25-5 (15-3 in ACC) and are seeded at No. 3 in the Greenville 1 Regional. On Friday, they will take on the Southern Utah Thunderbirds, a No. 14 seed, in the first round. If they advance to the second round, they will face the Creighton vs. Mississippi State winner on Sunday.
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Florida State’s freshman guard Ta’Niya Latson led the ACC in scoring and averaged 21.3 points per game for the Seminoles. The 5’8 guard received Rookie of the Year honors from The Athletic and ACC, and was named to the All-ACC First Team and All-Freshman Team.
Latson is the only freshman to be ranked top 40 in scoring in Division I and became one of the Ann Meyers Drysdale Award finalists. She also became the first player to average the most points as a freshman in ACC.
Florida state will also have to play without sophomore O’Mariah Gordon. Gordon, a sophomore guard, averaged 17.6 minutes, 6.9 points, 2.0 rebounds and 2.1 assists per game and started in two of the 30 games played for the Seminoles throughout the season. Last season, the 5’4 guard was named the All-ACC Freshman Team after starting in 20 of the 31 games she played for the team, averaging 7.4 points, 2.1 rebounds and 3.0 assists per game.
The Florida State Seminoles are seeded at No. 7 in the Seattle 4 Regional and will take on the No. 10 Georgia Bulldogs in the first round on Friday. They finished the season with a 23-9 (12-6 ACC) record and a No. 5 seed in ACC. The Seminoles were upset by No. 12 Wake Forest in the second round of the ACC Tournament.
Written by Aya Abdeen
Aya Abdeen is a student in sports journalism at Arizona State University and has been a contributing writer for The Next Hoops since December 2022. Her work has also appeared on AZPreps365.
