Bejedi, Latson lead No. 21 Florida State past No. 11 Virginia Tech
TALLAHASSEE, Fla. (AP) — Sarah Bejedi scored a career-high 31 points, Ta'Niya Latson added 20 points and No. 21 Florida State defeated No. 11 Virginia Tech 89-81 on Sunday.
A 10-0 run to open the fourth quarter put Florida State (14-4, 5-1 ACC) in control and the Seminoles went on to knock Virginia Tech (13-3, 4-1) out of first place in the conference. FSU's win leaves six teams with one loss in the ACC.
A jumper by Georgia Amoore got the Hokies within 80-77 with 3:39 remaining, but they went scoreless through their next four possessions before FSU's Latson made two free throws with 53 seconds left. Virginia Tech then committed a quick turnover and a layup by Latson gave the Seminoles an 84-77 lead with 47 seconds remaining. Florida State made 5 of 6 from the line to wrap it up.
Bejedi made 9 of 15 shots overall, 5 of 9 3-pointers, and 8 of 12 free throws to go with eight rebounds and three assists. Latson had eight rebounds and three assists. Makayla Timpson scored 18 points and O'Mariah Gordon had 17 points for the Seminoles, who got 86 points from their starters.
Elizabeth Kitley had her fourth 30-point game of the season, leading Virginia Tech with 30 points and 12 rebounds. Matilda Ekh had 14 points, Amoore 13 and Rose Micheaux 12.
Bejedi scored eight of Florida State's first 10 points and the Seminoles had a streak of six consecutive made shots that led to a 23-15 lead through the first 5 1/2 minutes. Florida State led 27-19 after one quarter.
Virginia Tech stormed back in the second, outscoring FSU 27-13 after making 11 of 19 shots overall, including five 3-pointers. Ekh made 3 of 4 3-pointers in the period for nine points and Kitley scored eight of her 14 first-half points in the second quarter. Virginia Tech led 46-40 at halftime.
Florida State is at Syracuse on Thursday. Virginia Tech plays at Duke, also on Thursday.
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