North Carolina (12-1-2, 2-1 in the ACC) led 1-0 at the half on a goal by midfielder Mary McDowell. But an explosion of four goals in a just over nine minutes cemented the win in the second half.
UNC broke through for a 2-0 lead at 63:31 when Anne Morrell scored her fourth goal of the season. Morrell's shot hit the post and then bounced off FSU goalkeeper Kerry York into the back of the net.
Just over three minutes later Morrell scored again on a rebounded shot from Lindsay Tarpley. Tarpley assisted another goal less than a minute later, when Alyssa Ramsey took Tarpley's pass, dribbled past York and scored into an empty net. Midfielder Leigh Blomgren finished off the scoring for UNC at 72:35 with her first career goal.
Florida State (7-4-3, 1-2-1) averted the shutout by scoring with 1:32 to play in the match.
Smith Returns to UNC to Coach
Charlotte Smith-Taylor, the most decorated player in the history of North Carolina women's basketball, has joined the staff as an assistant coach, Coach Sylvia Hatchell announced Tuesday. Smith-Taylor replaces Sylvia Crawley, also a former UNC player.
Crawley, a member of the staff for the last two seasons and a member of the WNBA's Portland Fire, will play professional basketball for Samsung Basketball Club in Seoul, South Korea.
Smith-Taylor, who played for the Tar Heels from 1992-95, is the only UNC women's basketball player to have had her jersey retired. The 6-0 forward, who wore No. 23, was named National Player of the Year by ESPN in 1995 following a career in which she scored 2,094 points (third all-time at UNC) and grabbed 1,200 rebounds (second all-time at UNC).
Smith-Taylor was the 33rd pick in the 1999 WNBA draft by Charlotte and has played for the Sting for four seasons. She will continue to play for the team while working at North Carolina.
