Bulgak powers No. 10 Florida State women to win over UNC

TALLAHASSEE, Fla. (AP) - Florida State assistant Danielle Atkinson told Adut Bulgak during shootaround it was the best she had looked all season.

The senior forward carried that form into another easy win for the Seminoles.

Bulgak had 19 points and 14 rebounds for her sixth double-double of the season, and No. 10 Florida State cruised to a 94-63 victory over North Carolina on Sunday.

"It just started to flow for me and my teammates did a good job passing me the ball," said Bulgak, who tied a season high in rebounds. "We were the aggressors today in the paint which really helped us."

The Seminoles led 41-35 at halftime and put the game away by outscoring the Tar Heels 27-11 in the third quarter. Bulgak, who has 18 career double-doubles, scored nine points in the quarter as Florida State (21-4, 11-1 Atlantic Coast Conference) extended its winning streak to 11.

Six players scored in double figures for the Seminoles in their most lopsided victory against the Tar Heels. Their previous best was an 85-66 win at North Carolina during the 1992-93 season.

Florida State dominated inside. It outrebounded North Carolina by 16. It had 21 offensive boards to go along with decisive edges in points in the paint (50-14) and second-chance points (20-3).

Leticia Romero had 15 points and eight rebounds, and Emiah Bingley also scored 15. Ivey Slaughter had 12 points, Shakayla Thomas finished with 11 and Kai James had 10.

"We love it when our defense helps dictate our offense," Florida State coach Sue Semrau said. "It was a big win over a strong program. We knew the difference in the game was going to be in the paint."

Stephanie Watts led North Carolina (14-13, 4-8) with 19 points and nine rebounds. Destinee Walker added 18 points and Hillary Summers had 12.

"Their inside play and rebounding killed us. They are a veteran team and we are very young," North Carolina coach Sylvia Hatchell said.

Florida State scored the first 10 points of the game and led 25-12 at the end of the first quarter. The Seminoles began the second quarter 3 of 17 from the field as North Carolina came back to tie it at 33 on a Walker 3-pointer with 2:38 remaining.

STAT LINES

Florida State got to the foul line 13 times in the first quarter and made 10. The Seminoles, who were 15 of 25 for the game, have been to the line 13 times or fewer in nine games. ... North Carolina's first four baskets were 3-pointers. It didn't make its first two-point field goal until 8:12 remaining in the second quarter. ... The Seminoles scored 90 or more points for the fourth time this season. It was the fifth time in 12 ACC games they have outrebounded their opponent by 16 or more. ... Walker, who leads the country in minutes, played all 40 for the fifth time this season and has 1,004 for the season. The freshman guard is averaging 37.2 minutes per game.

TIP-INS

North Carolina: The Tar Heels came into the game next-to-last in the ACC in 3-point shooting percentage (26.7 percent), but were 6 of 12 in the first half and 9 of 23 for the game.

Florida State: This marks the fourth time in school history that the Seminoles have defeated Duke and North Carolina in the same season but the first since 2008-09. ... Bingley has made 10 of 14 3-point attempts over the past three games.

UP NEXT

North Carolina hosts Pittsburgh on Thursday.

Florida State visits Syracuse on Thursday.