TALLAHASSEE, FLA. – Taking on Florida State from the Tucker Center on Sunday afternoon, North Carolina women’s basketball grabbed the lead in the opening possession and never looked back, coming away with an 82-55 victory over the Seminoles.
In a team attack, North Carolina (14-5, 3-3 ACC) shut down Florida State (6-12, 1-5 ACC) and its high-octane offense to come away with its second conference road win of the season.
Four Tar Heels wrapped their days with double-figures in scoring, with Lanie Grant leading all with 14 points as she matched her career-best with four made triples. Nyla Harris grabbed a team-high six rebounds and added 13 points, while Ciera Toomey finished with 12 points, five rebounds, and a block. For the second straight game, Reniya Kelly tallied double-figures, with 11 points after shooting 50% from beyond the arc with three made threes.
The Tar Heels’ 27-point win over the Seminoles marked the largest in the series since 2002 and is the first time Carolina has defeated Florida State in consecutive meetings since 2014 and 2015.
As a team, Carolina was hot from deep with 13 made threes at a clip of 36.1%. Sharing the ball at a high rate, the Tar Heels tallied 20 assists on 30 made field goals, with Indya Nivar dishing out six helpers.
Kelly picked up where she left off, knocking down a jumper and a triple in the opening two minutes to score Carolina’s first five points of the day. The three-ball began to fall early, with three in the opening frame. Holding the Seminoles without a field goal for over half the quarter, the Tar Heels asserted themselves with a 17-8 advantage through one.
Taissa Queiroz continues to flourish for Carolina, adding two buckets quickly in the second. Despite Florida State beginning to heat up from the floor, Kelly continued to cook by knocking down threes as UNC maintained its lead. Limiting the Seminoles to a mere 20.7% from the field in the first half, Carolina wrapped the half on a 12-0 run to go ahead by 19 at the break.
Starting the third on an 8-0 Run, Carolina’s offense dictated the tempo of the game and remained ahead by double figures throughout the third. Although Florida State posted spirited comeback efforts, the Tar Heels’ balanced scoring kept them in control. Harris came alive in the third, scoring nine of Carolina’s 23 points to remain ahead by 26 with 10 minutes remaining.
With a win in sight, Grant lit it up from beyond the arc with three triples in the final frame. Limiting Florida State without a field goal for a multi-minute stretch in the final frame, the Tar Heels came away with the 82-55 win over the Seminoles on their home court.
The Tar Heels remain on the road, heading to Atlanta on Thursday to visit Georgia Tech. The tip-off against the Yellow Jackets from McCamish Pavilion is slated for 8 p.m. ET, airing on the ACC Network.