No. 17 Tar Heels upend No. 7 Seminoles, 71-63

Cheryl Treworgy, TSN via PrettySporty.com

CHAPEL HILL, N.C. – Allisha Gray carried the 17th-ranked North Carolina Tar Heels to a 71-63 victory over the seventh-ranked Florida State Seminoles in front of a crowd of 3,211 at Carmichael Arena on Thursday.

Gray’s double-double (22 points, 14 rebounds) along with four assists, two steals and a block led all scorers on the night.

Stephanie Mavunga and Brittany Rountree also finished with double-digit finishes of 11 and 10 points respectively.

Along with Rountree, Hillary Summers added strong rebounding work as both finished with seven rebounds apiece, even as the Tar Heels (20-5, 7-4) were outrebounded by the Seminoles 48-43.

Ivey Slaugher (15 points, 8 rebounds), Maegan Conwright (10 points, 2 rebounds), and ACC co-Player of the Week Adut Bulgak (9 points, 13 rebounds) valiantly fought to keep Florida State (22-3,9-2) ahead during a game that featured six lead changes.

The Seminoles led 34-27 at halftime, but it was Gray’s play during the final 10 minutes of the game that made the difference.

With Florida State leading by as many as 10 points, Gray helped to cut the deficit and tie the score, 57-57, hitting a three with under five minutes to play.

Both teams traded the lead until the final three minutes of play with the Seminoles holding a 63-62 lead.

Florida State went scoreless, while UNC finished the game on a 9-0 run that included a jumper from Gray and successful free throws from Rountree and Latifah Coleman (6 points, 1 rebound, 3 steals) that clinched the upset win.