Bejedi's hot hand guides Florida State women's basketball to ranked win over North Carolina

Fifth-year guard Sara Bejedi knocked down a season-high 23 points as she helped No. 21 Florida State women's basketball (14-4, 5-1 ACC) to a 70-62 win over No. 20 North Carolina (11-5, 3-1) on Thursday at the Donald L. Tucker Civic Center in front of 1,946 fans.

"It's another amazing ACC game. I love this time of year and just the opponents we get to face night in and night out is really fun," FSU head coach Brooke Wyckoff said. "To do it at home and to battle it out for a great win, I couldn't be more happy for this team."

Status of Ta'Niya Latson

FSU sophomore guard Ta'Niya Latson, who is averaging 20.3 points a game and 17 away from 1,000 career points, went down late in the fourth quarter, holding her right knee. She was helped off the floor and taken to the locker room and did not return.

Wyckoff said that she had no comment on Latson's status at the post-game press conference as she had not yet been to the locker room after the game was over.

Latson missed a handful of games at the end of last season due to a left knee injury, missing the ACC Tournament and the first round of the NCAA Tournament. Latson also missed the first game of this season, a 99-63 FSU win over Charleston Southern, before returning in the Seminoles' second game of the season against Tennessee.

Bejedi breakthrough

Bejedi was lights out for the Seminoles, shooting 6-of-15 from the field, 5-of-9 from outside the arc and 6-of-7 at the free throw line.

In FSU's game against Clemson, Bejedi knocked down a season-high 19 points, shooting 5-of-7 from deep. Thursday she blew past the margin again and downed 15 points from outside the arc again. She also had an impressive six rebounds in the finish.

"I'm just having fun with it," Bejedi said. "I'm a big stressor from my freshman year. I'm panicking and trying to do everything right and wanting to succeed. This year, coming in, I just had to shift my approach to the game and I have a coaching staff that trusts me and teammates that trust me."

"Everything is out of my control. I'm just enjoying the ride."

While Latson continues to be a major point-getter for the Seminoles, they are seeing big-time production from multiple other players. Bejedi continues to score more and more each night, and O'Mariah Gordon also broke double-scoring figures with 12 points.

"That's what I love about these leaders and players that are stars," Wyckoff said. "They're capable of scoring and doing so much. They're team players first and foremost. Sara was very humble about what she's doing differently this year. Her mindset is she wants to be about the team more than anything else."

Makayla Timpson continues to stand tall

Forward Makayla Timpson had 14 pulldowns and 11 points, recording her eighth double-double of the season. She has broken double-scoring figures in all but two games this season and has recorded at least six rebounds in every game.

Her stats haven't just led FSU or the ACC, but rank in the top 50 nationally. She has 47 blocks on the season, which now puts her in seventh place nationally and first in the ACC. Timpson's eighth double-double of the year ties her for 18th in the country, alongside seven other players including Iowa's Caitlin Clark

"We rely on her for her rim protection and her ability to just battle," Wyckoff said. "She battled every single possession tonight against Marai Gakdeng, who is just a phenomenal inside presence. She battled, defended, rebounded and scored when we really needed her to down the stretch."

"She's another player that really took ownership and said 'I'm going to win this for us' and hit some big, big shots."

FSU improves to 14-4 overall and 5-1 in ACC play. It returns to the court on Sunday to face No. 11 Virginia Tech (13-2, 4-0) at 1 p.m. at the Tucker Center. The Hokies defeated Miami in Blacksburg on Thursday, 76-52, off of 31 points from senior center Elizabeth Kitley.

Jack Williams covers Florida State athletics for Tallahassee Democrat. Contact him via email at jwilliams@tallahassee.com or on X @jackgwilliams. 

This article originally appeared on Tallahassee Democrat: Florida State women's basketball holds off North Carolina comeback for win