Xylina McDaniel scored 19 points and Waltiea Rolle added 18 and 10 rebounds as No. 11 North Carolina held off No. 20 Florida State 72-62 Thursday night, giving coach Sylvia Hatchell her 899th win.
The Tar Heels (20-2, 8-1 Atlantic Coast Conference) reached 20 wins before the end of January for the first time since 2006-07.
North Carolina led by 19 in the first half, thanks to 14 points by Rolle. But the Seminoles (17-4, 7-3) held the Tar Heels scoreless the final 4:01 leading into intermission, then climbed back to take their first lead of the game at 53-52 with 9:01 remaining.
North Carolina answered with a 10-2 run. After a 3-pointer by Florida State's Alex Deluzio, McDaniel made back-to-back jumpers and Tierra Ruffin-Pratt sank two free throws with 2:15 remaining.
Leonor Rodriguez scored 18 points and Deluzio 16 for the Seminoles, who saw their five-game winning streak end.
