GREENSBORO, NC. — The 14th-ranked North Carolina Tar Heels exacted revenge against the 22nd-ranked Florida State Seminoles in a fight to the finish, winning 60-56 to advance to the semifinals in the ACC Tournament. With the win, they advanced to play the winner of NC State and Georgia Tech in the semi-finals on Saturday, March 8th, at noon EST.

Both teams started the game with opposite shooting performances, with North Carolina shooting 47% from the field and Florida State shooting 22%. As a result, the Tar Heels led after the first quarter, 22-12. The Seminoles’ star, Ta’Niya Latson, who leads the country in scoring, was held to 13 points, three in the quarter. Shutting her down was important for North Carolina, as she hit a game-winning shot at the buzzer in an earlier meeting in Chapel Hill. The Tar Heels had many contributors to their early lead, including Alyssa Utsby, who scored five of her 12 points in the first. After a poor shooting performance to start the contest, Florida State found its groove to end the first half.

Unlike the first quarter, the Seminoles saw more of their shots go in to close the half. They went on a 19-4 run in the quarter to take a 31-27 lead into the break. Malia Williams played a big role in their run, scoring her seven points in the quarter. O’Mariah Gordon also led the charge for them, scoring five of her points in the second period. After shooting great to start the game, the Tar Heels struggled to get going. Florida State’s defense played a huge factor in North Carolina’s inability to score in the quarter. After starting 44% from the field, their percentage dropped down to 30%, with the Seminoles also generating their seven turnovers. In addition to creating turnovers, Florida State showed their athleticism on defense with four blocked shots. Although the Tar Heels struggled in the second quarter, they still managed to keep the game close as they came out of the locker room.

The Tar Heels used the third quarter to take back the lead, 46-42. They climbed back into the game thanks to Lexi Donarski, who scored six of her 12 points in the quarter. Indya Nivar was also a part of snatching the lead back for North Carolina, as she scored five of her 10 points in the period. The Tar Heels stepped up on defense against their opponents' star players, as Latson was held to only one point in the quarter. This was a big key to getting the lead back and carrying the momentum into the final quarter. Another massive reason the Tar Heels won this game was their rebounding. They had a total of 58 rebounds in the contest, while Utsby and Mariah Gakdeng had 18 and 16, respectively. As the game moved to the fourth quarter, it remained competitive down to the final seconds.

In the closing seconds of the fourth quarter, North Carolina had the ball with 20 seconds left. With a chance to make it a two-possession game, sophomore point guard Reniah Kelly (Ren-I-Uh) made a two-pointer in the closing moments that sealed the victory. After missing the last two weeks with an undisclosed injury, Kelly’s return paid dividends. As the Tar Heels survived another game to advance, they hope their run in the ACC tournament continues.