TALLAHASSEE, Fla. (Seminoles.com) — Florida State Women’s Basketball fell to No. 24 UNC, 64-49, on Sunday afternoon in what was a Paint It Pink game at the Donald L. Tucker Center.
“It was disappointing the way we finished the game,” FSU Head Coach Sue Semrau said. “I thought we were scratching and clawing and doing some things, and I thought they (UNC) did a great job of going to a smaller lineup. We couldn’t guard their penetration, and then when they were hitting those tough shots, we couldn’t come in and knock down shots.”
The Tar Heels (21-5, 11-5) held just a 40-35 lead through the first three quarters, but shot 56.3 percent (9-of-16) in the fourth quarter to out-score the Seminoles (14-12, 8-8), 24-14. Guard Deja Kelly played all 40 minutes and totaled 26 points on 9-of-15 shooting with five assists.
FSU senior guard Morgan Jones got things going in the second half to finish with 11 points and five rebounds. Her layup and the foul cut the UNC lead to just one at 45-44, but the Tar Heels used a game-changing 11-0 run to break it open and take a 12-point lead with 4:15 left in the game.
Senior forward Valencia Myers added eight points and 11 rebounds off the bench, where the Seminoles out-scored UNC 20-7. The Tar Heels won the battle inside, out-rebounding FSU 40-32.
The Tar Heels managed to build an early lead before Erin Howard and Sara Bejedi each hit three pointers in a tight opening period. The Noles bench outscored their opponents 11-0 in the first quarter, taking a 14-13 advantage.
The game remained tight in the second quarter with the Noles going on an 8-3 run at the end of the frame to trail 25-22 at the half.
The Noles came out of halftime productive when Jones drove it to the basket for a tough finish. O’Mariah Gordon followed suit with a nice layup in traffic. Gordon and Jones would soon work in tandem again when Gordon came up with a steal to give Jones a layup on the fast break to tie the game at 33 apiece.
FSU was unable to sustain its momentum in a fourth quarter where the Tar Heels worked some of their best offense of the day. FSU’s loss snaps its six-game win streak vs. UNC.
The Noles play their final regular season home game against No. 16 Georgia Tech on Senior Day on Thursday, February 24. The game will be at 6 p.m. on the ACC Network.
