By R.L. Bynum

CHAPEL HILL — From the first game of Alyssa Ustby’s fifth and final college season, it’s apparent that she’s done what will give women’s basketball coaches more headaches — get more versatile.

The 6–1 wing has always been North Carolina’s Swiss army knife, contributing in so many ways, including scoring, relentless rebounding, playmaking, defense and general superior court savvy that’s hard to teach and has the only triple-double in program history.

As Ustby said after No. 15 UNC’s 83–53 opening-game victory Monday over Charleston Southern, she’s worked and will continue to work to “sharpen the sword” as the Tar Heels (1–0) prepare to host UNCW (0–1) at 7 p.m. Thursday (ESPN3).

“When she first came here, we really worked on her footwork in the mid-post,” Coach Courtney Banghart said of the preseason All-ACC First Team selection. “And then she’s just added layers to her game. She’s a real sponge. Her clips have gone from ‘Here’s your footwork in the post’ to ‘Here’s your level of discernment.’ I think she’s really gotten into that, which is where she’ll be at the next level, a facilitator as well as a scorer.”

Enter the perimeter threat that was non-existent last season.

Ustby only attempted 12 3-pointers last season (making three), mostly when the shot clock was about to expire. She was hesitant to pull the trigger from outside the arc.

She has multiple 3-pointers in only eight of 118 career games, topped by hitting four on Feb. 7, 2021, when she scored a game-high 20 points in a 76–69 home victory over N.C. State. Her last multiple-3-pointer game was when she hit two in a 62–58 loss at Miami on Jan. 5, 2023.

Teams sagged off of her because they didn’t consider her an outside shooting threat. Thanks to focusing on her shot in the offseason, that mindset may have to change. She only made one of three attempts, but her confidence in that shot was evident.

“It felt great to see it go in,” Ustby said, “just because I’ve been working so hard at it all summer and obviously been making some in practice. But there’s nothing like making a three at Carmichael on a game day.”

Ustby, who led UNC against Charleston Southern in points (18), rebounds (8), assists (4) and blocks (2), said that the coaches helped her restructure her shot in the offseason, making mechanical adjustments.

Ustby focused on the path of the ball and that daily grind has paid off. She lamented that it’s easy to talk about but hard to do.

“Probably every day, for a couple of months straight, I was just doing your basic form shots,” Ustby said last month at ACC Tipoff. “Really being intentional about how the ball is sitting in my hand and where my fingertips are on the ball and following through.”

Ustby said that she was pulling the ball instead of pushing it along the natural path it was supposed to follow.

“That was a hard habit to break,” said Ustby, who is in a one-year master’s program after graduating with a degree in advertising, public relations and business in May. “But I’m really glad that I stuck to the boring and mundane actions every single day in order to develop a great product.”

Even with the improved shooting form, Ustby says it’s important to be efficient with that ability and know when to shoot.

“I’ve had a lot of conversations with Coach about how to read closeouts and when to make this pass and figure out how to play basketball smart,” Ustby said after Monday’s win. “That process takes a lot of communication and watching film, and I know that we’re going to have a lot of film to watch, because there were some decisions that I wish I would have made a different choice.”

She’s forcing opposing coaches to make more tough choices. Stopping Ustby was always tough, but it will be tougher this season.

NOTES — Thursday’s game is the first of four against players on last season’s roster who transferred. After facing UNCW center Ali Zelaya, the Tar Heels host forward Teonni Key and Kentucky on Dec. 5 in the ACC/SEC Challenge, visit forward Anya Poole and Clemson on Feb. 9 and host RyLee Grays and Virginia on March 2 in the regular-season finale. … UNCW, in its first season under Coach Nicole Woods after going 5–25 last season, lost its opener 99–57 at Virginia Tech on Monday and has a nine-game losing streak. … Zelaya started and played 26 minutes against the Hokies with nine points, four assists and a block. … Four of the five meetings with UNCW have been at Carmichael, and the Tar Heels have won all five. The closest margin was Carolina’s 64–42 victory in Chapel Hill on Dec. 7, 2022, with the biggest blowout an 82–55 win in Carmichael on Dec. 5, 2018. … Carolina is 27–3 in November under Banghart. … After Thursday’s game, UNC doesn’t return to Carmichael until a Nov. 29 game with N.C. Central.

UNC schedule

Date	Day/month	Time/ score	Opponent/event (current rank)	TV/ record
	November
4	Monday	W, 83–53	vs. Charleston Southern	1–0
7	Thursday	7 p.m.	vs. UNCW	ESPN3
12	Sunday	7 p.m.	at N.C. A&T	ESPN3
15	Friday	6 p.m.	vs. No. 2 UConn in Greensboro	ESPN2
			Battle 4 Atlantis Paradise Island, Bahamas
23	Saturday	4 p.m.	Ball State	FloHoops
24	Sunday	1:30 or 6:30	Texas A&M or Villanova	FloHoops
25	Monday	Noon, 2:30, 5 p.m. or 7:30	No. 12 Baylor, No. 25 Indiana, Columbia or S. Miss	ESPN2, ESPNU or FloHoops
			———————————
29	Friday	TBA	vs. N.C. Central	ESPN3
	December
			ACC/SEC Women’s Challenge
5	Thursday	5 p.m.	vs. No. 22 Kentucky	ESPN2
			———————————
8	Sunday	2 p.m.	vs. Coppin State	ESPN3
11	Wednesday	7 p.m.	vs. UNCG	ESPN3
15	Sunday	2 p.m.	vs. Georgia Tech	ACCN
			Jumpman Invitational in Charlotte
18	Wednesday	6:30	vs. Florida	ESPNU
			———————————
21	Saturday	Noon	vs. Norfolk State	ESPN3
			ACC season
29	Sunday	4 p.m.	at Miami	ACCN
	January
5	Sunday	1 p.m.	vs. No. 6 Notre Dame	ESPN
9	Thursday	7 p.m.	vs. No. 11 Duke	TBA
12	Sunday	2 p.m.	vs. Boston College	ACCN
16	Thursday	8 p.m. ET	at SMU	ESPN3
19	Sunday	2 p.m.	at Pitt	ACCN
23	Thursday	7 p.m.	vs. Wake Forest	ESPN3
26	Sunday	Noon	vs. No. 19 Florida State	ACCN
30	Thursday	TBA	at Cal	ESPN3
	February
2	Sunday	3 p.m. ET	at Stanford	The CW
9	Sunday	2 p.m.	at Clemson	ESPN3
13	Thursday	7 p.m.	vs. Virginia Tech	ESPN3
16	Sunday	2 p.m.	vs. No. 9 N.C. State	ESPN
20	Thursday	6 p.m.	at Syracuse	ACCN
23	Sunday	2 p.m.	at No. 17 Louisville	ESPN
27	Thursday	7 p.m.	at No. 11 Duke	ESPN
	March
2	Sunday	2 p.m.	vs. Virginia	The CW
5–9	Wed.–Sun.		ACC tournament Greensboro Coliseum

UNC roster

Year	No.	Players	Pos.	Height
Freshman	0	Lanie Grant (5 star)	PG	5–10
Freshman	34	Blanca Thomas (5 star)	C	6–5
Freshman	3	Jordan Zubich (4 star)	G	5–11
RS Freshman	21	Ciera Toomey	F	6–4
RS Freshman	4	Laila Hull	W	6–1
Sophomore	10	Reniya Kelly	PG	5–7
Sophomore	15	Sydney Barker	PG	5–6
RS Junior	11	Kayla McPherson	PG	5–8
Junior	24	Indya Nivar	G	5–10
Junior	14	Trayanna Crisp	G	5–8
Senior	5	Maria Gakdeng	C	6–3
Graduate	2	Grace Townsend	G	5–5
Graduate	20	Lexi Donarski	G	6–0
Graduate	1	Alyssa Ustby	F	6–1

Class of 2025 commitments

Player	Rating	ESPN rank	Position	Height	Hometown
Nyla Brooks	Five star	No. 17	Wing	6–1	Alexandria, Va.
Taliyah Henderson	Five star	No. 21	Wing	6–1	Tucson, Ariz.
Taissa Queiroz	Four star	No. 76	Forward	6–1	Santa Rosa, Calif.

Players transferring in offseason

Class	Player	Pos.	Height	School
Sophomore	RyLee Grays	F	6–3	Virginia
Junior	Paulina Paris	G	5–9	Arizona
RS junior	Teonni Key	F	6–4	Kentucky
Graduate	Deja Kelly	G	5–8	Oregon
Graduate	Ali Zelaya	F	6–4	UNCW
Graduate	Anya Poole	F	6–2	Clemson