The North Carolina women’s basketball team outlasted a physical Florida State team to win 78-65 in the quarterfinals of the ACC Tournament on Friday.
After jumping out to a 39-24 halftime lead, the Tar Heels (23-7) had to fight off a furious second half comeback by the Seminoles (24-7). After a 16-4 FSU run cut UNC’s lead to one, the Tar Heels were able to toughen up their defense and end Florida State’s ACC title hopes.
“I was proud of our players for hanging in there,” UNC coach Sylvia Hatchell said. “The first half we played pretty good, then it got very physical. But the kids hung tough in there. It was a battle.”
While UNC’s defense was strong, holding FSU to just 26 percent shooting, the Tar Heels found themselves in foul trouble early in the second half. UNC had to adjust its lineup and go deep into its bench in order to maintain physical defensive play.
“We’ve been not real tough at times this year, so we just wanted to play good solid defense and make the best of it,” Hatchell said. “We have depth on our team and I have a lot of confidence in all of our players. A lot of kids were contributing.”
Junior Laura Broomfield led the scoring for the Tar Heels, putting up 15 points. Senior Italee Lucas provided a lift from behind the arc, knocking down three treys and scoring 13 points.
The Tar Heels now face Miami in the semifinals, a team they lost to 78-66 in February.
“We are excited to play tomorrow,” Hatchell said. “We know Miami is a great team. It is going to be a challenge, but were excited to play.”
