Chapel Hill, N.C. – The seventh-ranked Florida State Women’s Basketball team put up a strong fight on the road at No. 17/14 North Carolina, but a game-ending 9-0 run by UNC resulted in a 71-63 loss to snap FSU’s nine-game ACC win streak.
Sophomore guard Allisha Gray recorded 22 points and 14 rebounds, making big shots down the stretch to give the Seminoles (23-3, 9-2) their first loss since falling at Notre Dame 74-68 on Jan. 2. The game included 50 personal fouls called combined, the most in a game played by FSU this season.
FSU sophomore forward Ivey Slaughter led the Noles with 15 points and eight rebounds but ultimately fouled out during a key stretch of the game. Junior center Adut Bulgak was tough inside with nine points and 13 rebounds, but also fouled out with 42 seconds remaining in the game.
“Credit North Carolina and their competitiveness and fire,” FSU head coach Sue Semrau said. “Allisha Gray had a great game for them and made big plays down the stretch. This is something we will look to learn from and move forward because we have a lot of big games left in our season.”
Three costly turnovers in the final minute spoiled FSU’s chances of pulling off its highest-ranked road win in just over six years. With 2:49 remaining, sophomore guard Leticia Romero gave Bulgak a nice lob pass in the post that she finished to put FSU ahead 63-62 and what would be its final lead of the game. UNC guard Brittany Rountree would hit a runner in the lane with 1:26 left to give the Tar Heels (20-5, 7-4) the lead again.
Florida State finishes the week at Virginia on Sunday, Feb. 15, with tip-off coming at 1 p.m. on the ACC’s regional sports networks. The game can be seen locally on Sun Sports as well as a host of other TV networks.
*FSU Sports Information
