Brown-Turner, No. 3 NC State women top Florida State in ACCs

GREENSBORO, N.C. (AP) — Jakia Brown-Turner scored nine of her 15 points during third-ranked North Carolina State’s dominating third-quarter performance, helping the Wolfpack beat Florida State 84-54 in Friday’s Atlantic Coast Conference Tournament quarterfinals.

Top-seeded N.C. State (27-3) began its march toward a third straight tournament title by shooting 52%. That included the Wolfpack scoring on seven of eight possessions out of halftime, turning a 36-23 lead into a 22-point margin by midway through the period.

N.C. State made 9 of 14 shots (.643) and 3 of 4 3s in that 24-point third quarter.

Elissa Cunane also scored 15 points for the Wolfpack, while Jada Boyd added another 12 off the bench. N.C. State also repeatedly capitalized off mistakes by the ninth-seeded Seminoles (17-13), scoring 21 points off 15 turnovers while FSU didn’t manage any points off turnovers until the final minutes with the game long since decided.

Sara Bejedi scored a career-best 21 points to lead Florida State, a big leap from her season average of 5.8 points. FSU shot 38% and had no other player reach double figures, which made it impossible to keep up once the Wolfpack got rolling.

Brown-Turner was critical in the decisive third-quarter surge with her aggressiveness off the dribble. She drove to the rim for a score 15 seconds into the third, then put her head down and attacked again while running right by a post-up from Cunane that ended up screening two defenders.

She followed that by calmly pulling up off the dribble in the lane for a jumper, then finding Kai Crutchfield for a 3-pointer that pushed the lead to 52-30 with 5:20 left.

BIG PICTURE

FSU: The Seminoles arrived in Greensboro having finished strong with six wins in eight games, and they stood among the first four teams outside the projected 68-team NCAA Tournament field as of Tuesday morning. But they beat fellow bubble team Boston College in Thursday’s second round to help their case while earning an opportunity for a huge win, though that hope quickly faded amid the Wolfpack’s third-period surge.

N.C. State: The Wolfpack claimed the program’s first league regular-season championship since 1990 to earn the No. 1 seed. Wes Moore’s squad is also almost certain to earn a No. 1 seed in the NCAA Tournament for the second straight year. The depth of scoring options is a big reason why, with Brown-Turner, Cunane and Boyd taking over while No. 2 scorer Diamond Johnson (3 of 13) had a rough shooting performance.

UP NEXT

FSU: The Seminoles must wait to learn whether they’ve done enough to secure an NCAA bid.

N.C. State: The Wolfpack advanced to Saturday’s semifinals to face No. 21 Virginia Tech, which beat No. 16 North Carolina in overtime Friday.

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Follow Aaron Beard on Twitter at http://www.twitter.com/aaronbeardap

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