By R.L. Bynum

CHAPEL HILL — A one-on-one meeting in Coach Courtney Banghart’s office with the door closed has led to a shift in Alyssa Ustby’s approach that is producing impressive results.

Carolina had just lost to UConn in Uncasville, Conn., for the Tar Heels’ fourth loss in five games, and Banghart delivered a message to her senior wing.

“Lys and I get along really well,” Banghart said. “But I was pretty direct in my office, closed door, about how good players have to play well in big games. And this is the time of the season where every game is big. So, she doesn’t have an option anymore to see how the game goes. She has to impact the game in a positive way for us to win. And so she took it and got right back, and I think got right in the gym that afternoon.”

The meeting has had its intended result, with Ustby scoring 23 points in the next game Dec. 15 against Western Carolina, then back-to-back double-doubles in wins Dec. 19 over Oklahoma (15 points, 13 rebounds) and Dec. 31 Clemson (21 points, 11 rebounds) before she made history on Thursday night.

Ustby was all over the court in producing the first triple-double in program history with 16 points, 16 rebounds, 10 assists and two steals, as UNC sent a message to the poll voters after the Heels fell out of the Top 25 with a decisive 75–51 home victory over No. 25 Syracuse.

She became the first player in women’s college basketball history to get a triple-double with totals of at least 15 points, 15 rebounds and 10 assists against a ranked team. She joined two UNC men’s players who had triple-doubles 24 seasons ago: Brendan Haywood (18 points, 14 rebounds and 10 blocks against Miami on Dec. 4, 2000) and Jason Capel (16 points, 11 rebounds and 10 assists vs. Buffalo on Dec. 17, 2000).

Ustby has always been impressive with her all-around game, but she has appeared more assertive since that meeting, which has made a big difference. She has scored double-figure points in the last seven consecutive games after doing it in only four of the first seven.

“I’ve recognized it,” Ustby said of her more determined approach. “Just bringing my best self every day for our team and being intentional about that and not clocking in with the attitude of like, ‘Oh, it’s another day.’ So, kind of making that mental shift, I think would be the only thing that I could really pinpoint that that has been that shift.”

The attitude adjustment is undoubtedly leading to some bad attitudes from the opposition that’s happy to see the 6–1 senior in their rear-view mirror, such as Syracuse coach Felisha Legette-Jack, when asked how to deal with Ustby.

“We don’t have to anymore; we don’t play them anymore,” Legette-Jack said. “That’s something that the other teams have to talk about. But she’s a great player.”

Ustby met the physical challenges that Syracuse brought inside, which led to many rebounds.

“They had a lot of post players that were super aggressive, so that made my job pretty challenging,” Ustby said. “But I just had to meet the physicality and try to fight for those boards and stay out of foul trouble, which was another goal of mine tonight. Just watching the ball go up and just seeing how it’s coming off the rim. And, if we’re on defense, blocking out first and try to find a body, so I’m a step ahead to the rebound, before my opponent.”

Banghart has stressed that her best players have to excel if the Tar Heels are going to meet their goals, and that goes for the other starters, including senior Deja Kelly, graduate Lexi Donarski and junior Maria Gakdeng.

“She’s approaching the game — as is Lexi, as is Maria — they are obligated to play well in big games,” Banghart said. “And in the nonconference, I’m not sure they did that enough as a group. And so it’s good to see that they’ve made that shift that, ‘OK, we have an obligation to play well.’ “

The obligations will only get greater as the Tar Heels (10–4, 2–0 ACC) play their first two games this season on an opponent’s home court, visiting No. 16 Notre Dame (10–2, 1–1) at 5 p.m. Sunday (ESPN2) and No. 22 Florida State (11–4, 2–1) at 6 p.m. Thursday (ESPN3).

“We’re gonna get totally locked into how we wanted to play,” Banghart said. “And I think part of that, I have to be mindful that I just want them to get better, and part of that is just winning the next game at this point in the season.”

Having Ustby on the court sure helps.

UNC season statistics

ACC standings

Team	League	Overall
No. 11 Virginia Tech	14–4	23–6
No. 10 N.C. State	13–5	25–5
No. 20 Syracuse	13–5	23–6
No. 14 Notre Dame	13–5	23–6
No. 24 Louisville	12–6	23–8
Florida State	12–6	21–9
Duke	11–7	19–10
North Carolina	11–7	19–11
Miami	8–10	18–11
Georgia Tech	7–11	16–14
Virginia	7–11	15–14
Boston College	5–13	13–18
Clemson	5–13	12–18
Pittsburgh	2–16	8–23
Wake Forest	2–16	6–24

Sunday’s games
North Carolina 63, Duke 59
Boston College 84, Pittsburgh 58
No. 10 N.C. State 75, Wake Forest 57
No. 14 Notre Dame 74, No. 24 Louisville 58
Georgia Tech 71, Miami 66, OT
Florida State 82, Clemson 79
Virginia 80, No. 11 Virginia Tech 75
ACC tournament
Greensboro Coliseum
Wednesday-Sunday

Date	Day/month	Score	Opponent/event (current rank)	Record
	November
8	Wednesday	W, 102–49	vs. Gardner-Webb	1–0
12	Sunday	W, 74–70	vs. Davidson	2–0
15	Wednesday	W, 62–32	vs. Hampton	3–0
18	Saturday	W, 68–39	vs. Elon	4–0
			Gulf Coast Showcase in Estero, Fla.
24	Friday	W, 54–51	Vermont	5–0
25	Saturday	L, 63–56	No. 15 Kansas State	5–1
26	Sunday	L, 65–64	Florida Gulf Coast	5–2
			ACC/SEC Women’s Challenge
30	Thursday	L, 65–58	vs. No. 1 South Carolina	5–3
	December
6	Wednesday	W, 81–66	vs. UNC Greensboro	6–3
			Hall of Fame Women’s Showcase in Uncasville, Conn.
10	Sunday	L, 76–64	No. 10 Connecticut	6–4
			———————
15	Friday	W, 96–36	vs. Western Carolina	7–4
			Jumpman Invitational in Charlotte
19	Tuesday	W, 61–52	No. 18 Oklahoma	8–4
			ACC season
31	Sunday	W, 82–76	vs. Clemson	9–4, 1–0 ACC
	January
4	Thursday	W, 75–51	vs. No. 22 Syracuse	10–4, 2–0 ACC
7	Sunday	W, 61–57	at No. 9 Notre Dame	11–4, 3–0 ACC
11	Thursday	L, 70–62	at Florida State	11–5, 3–1 ACC
14	Sunday	W, 81–68	vs. Virginia	12–5, 4–1 ACC
18	Thursday	W, 73–68	at Georgia Tech	13–5, 5–1 ACC
21	Sunday	W, 79–68	vs. No. 23 Louisville	14–5, 6–1 ACC
25	Thursday	W, 66–61	vs. Miami	15–5, 7–1 ACC
28	Sunday	L, 81–66	at Virginia	15–6, 7–2 ACC
	February
1	Thursday	L, 63–59	at No. 11 N.C. State	15–7, 7–3 ACC
4	Sunday	L, 70–61, OT	vs. No. 13 Virginia Tech	15–8, 7–4 ACC
11	Sunday	L, 68–60, OT	at Duke	15–9, 7–5 ACC
15	Thursday	W, 75–62	vs. Pittsburgh	16–9, 8–5 ACC
18	Sunday	W, 58–50	at Wake Forest	17–9, 9–5 ACC
22	Thursday	W, 80–70	vs. No. 11 N.C. State	18–9, 10–5 ACC
25	Sunday	L, 74–62	at No. 13 Virginia Tech	18–10, 10–6 ACC
29	Thursday	L, 78–74	at Boston College	18–11, 10–7 ACC
	March
3	Sunday	W, 63–59	vs. Duke	19–11, 11–7 ACC
			ACC tournament Greensboro Coliseum
7	Thursday	L, 60–59	Second round: vs. Miami	19–12
			NCAA tournament Columbia, S.C.
22	Friday	W, 59–56	First round: Michigan State	20–12
24	Sunday	L, 88–41	Second round: No. 1 South Carolina	20–13