Big 3rd quarter gets Florida St. past No. 13 UNC women 78-71

Updated Dec. 29, 2022 10:26 p.m. ET

Associated Press

CHAPEL HILL, N.C. (AP) — Makayla Timpson scored 20 points and grabbed 11 rebounds, Ta’Niya Latson had 12 of her 21 points in the third quarter and Florida State beat No. 13 North Carolina 78-71 on Thursday night.

Latson’s 3-pointer sparked a 9-0 run in the third quarter as Florida State outscored North Carolina 20-10 for a 55-51 lead.

The Seminoles stretched their lead to seven points in the fourth before the Tar Heels pulled to 65-64 with 4:27 remaining. Timpson scored the next four points and then added three more to stretch the Seminoles' lead to 72-66 with 50 seconds left. Timpson finished with 11 points in the fourth and collected a sixth double-double.

Florida State (13-2, 2-0 Atlantic Coast Conference) avenged last season's 64-49 loss to North Carolina that ended a six-game winning streak in the series.

Deja Kelly scored 20 points to lead North Carolina (9-3, 0-1) in its conference opener. Alyssa Ustby added 16 points and 13 rebounds. Kennedy Todd-Williams also had 16 points to go with eight rebounds. Eva Hodgson had 12 points and seven assists.

The Tar Heels closed the first quarter on a 12-5 run to tie it 22-all, opened the second on a 10-1 surge, and then led 41-35 at the break. Kelly scored 14 points and Ustby had 12 in the half.

On New Year's Day, Florida State plays at Georgia Tech while North Carolina plays at seventh-ranked Virginia Tech.

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AP women’s college basketball: https://apnews.com/hub/womens-college-basketball and https://apnews.com/hub/ap-top-25-womens-college-basketball-poll and https://twitter.com/AP_Top25