January 28, 1999

CHAPEL HILL, N.C. (AP) - Jessica Gaspar scored 22 points and Juana Brown added 17 as No. 14 North Carolina beat Florida State 87-76 Thursday night.

LaQuanda Barksdale scored 14 points, Nikki Teasley added 13 and Jackie Higgins had 10 for North Carolina (20-4, 7-3 Atlantic Coast Conference).

After Brown's 3-pointer with 13:20 left in the first half broke a 10-10 tie, the Tar Heels led the rest of the way.

Brown scored 11 points in the first half, and North Carolina led 43-32 at the break. The Tar Heels increased their lead to 69-54 after Gaspar hit a 3-pointer, made two free throws and then hit another 3 with 5:02 remaining.

Tamara Gracey, who led Florida State with 24 points, cut the lead to 78-72 with a putback with 48 seconds left. But Gaspar hit five of six free throws in the final minute to seal the win.

Gracey also had 13 rebounds for Florida State (6-13, 2-8), which made only two 3-pointers in the game but outrebounded North Carolina 40-30.

Arieshia Davidson added 14 points and Brooke Wyckoff had 10 points for the Seminoles.