By Matthew Maynard

CHAPEL HILL — When Alyssa Ustby didn’t hear her name called on senior day against Virginia in Carmichael Arena, she was heartbroken.

The graduate forward had waited five years for the moment. But an injury against N.C. State on Feb. 16 derailed that opportunity. Ustby had to have surgery on her left knee, forcing her to miss the last four games of the season.

And the chance to play again in Chapel Hill during the NCAA tournament drove Ustby through her recovery process.

“I was so upset that I didn’t get to play on the court that I’ve poured so much into for the last five years,” Ustby said. “So that made me even more urgent to secure that hosting spot.”

No. 3-seeded North Carolina (27–7) begins its NCAA tournament run on Saturday against No. 14-seed Oregon State (19–15). It’s the first time since 2015, and the first time under Coach Courtney Banghart that the No. 12-ranked Tar Heels will host the first two rounds in Chapel Hill. For Ustby, it represents something she’s always wanted, while allowing her to play in Carmicheal one last time.

“I wanted to get back as fast as I could from injury just to help my team make sure that we secured that opportunity for a host so that I could play on that Carmichael court again,” Ustby said. “And I’m so, so excited.”

Ustby began her career at UNC in 2020 during the COVID season. In her first season, she played in 24 games — starting 17 of them — and averaged 9.9 points and 5.7 rebounds.

Since then, she’s continued to grow throughout her time at UNC, while helping build the program around her.

“This is the house that she’s rebuilt in a lot of ways,” Banghart said.

Last season, Ustby became the first UNC women’s basketball player to record a triple-double. The forward tallied 16 points, 16 rebounds and 10 assists in just three quarters against Syracuse in January.

After graduating last season, Ustby opted to return to Carolina for her last year of eligibility. But then, Ustby went down against the Wolfpack late in the season. She missed the last four games of UNC’s regular season before returning for the ACC tournament 14 days after having surgery on her left knee.

“Those games were challenging when they [Ustby and guard Reniya Kelly] weren’t [playing],” guard Lexi Donarski said. “But just playing for them because we know that they still want us to succeed even though they can’t be out on the court with us and just making it through each game until they’re back with us, which thankfully they both are now.”

Ustby missed her senior night. She didn’t hear her name called one last time during the starting lineup at Carmichael Arena.

“To not have her name announced on senior night was really hard,” Banghart said.

Ustby pushed herself through recovery to help the Tar Heels secure a top-4 seed in the NCAA tournament.

She helped UNC beat Boston College and Florida State in the ACC tournament before falling to the Wolfpack in the semifinals.

“It’s the main reason she came back, her wanting a chance to host,” Banghart said. “It’s the main reason she came back so fast from being sidelined was the opportunity to give it back on the court a few more times.”

According to Ustby, hosting was one of North Carolina’s goals at the beginning of the season. They wanted to give back to the UNC community that has supported them every game.

And throughout her five-year tenure in a Carolina blue, she’s seen the program transform.

“It’s super special. Even, like you said, being in this practice gym, this wasn’t here for [the] majority of my career,” Usby said. “Like I stated before, just to witness the growth firsthand of the program and all of the elements that come with it is something that’s super special.”

When the Tar Heels open their NCAA tournament run on Saturday afternoon, it will signify something more for Ustby.

It will be another chance at a last game in Carmichael. A testament to the work she has put in over the last five years. And to the growth of the UNC women’s basketball program.

“I’ve been wanting to host every single year that we’ve had the opportunity to in March,” Ustby said. “It feels good to finally get over that hump and I felt like we finally had the right pieces that were all bought into the same goal, the same mission, and it’s just really rewarding.”

Birmingham Regional 2

Thursday’s First Four result
No. 11 Columbia 63, No. 11 Washington 60
First round
Friday’s results
Columbia, S.C.
No. 9 Indiana 76, No. 8 Utah 68
No. 1 South Carolina 108, No. 16 Tennessee Tech 48
Durham
No. 10 Oregon 77, No. 7 Vanderbilt 73, OT
No. 2 Duke 86, No. 15 Lehigh 25
Saturday’s results
College Park, Md.
No. 5 Alabama 81, No. 12 Green Bay 67
No. 4 Maryland 82, No. 13 Norfolk St. 69
Chapel Hill
No. 6 West Virginia 78, No. 11 Columbia 59
No. 3 North Carolina 70, No. 14 Oregon St. 49
Second round
Sunday’s results
Durham
No. 2 Duke 59, No. 10 Oregon 53
Columbia, S.C.
No. 1 South Carolina 64, vs. No. 9 Indiana 53
Monday’s games
College Park, Md.
No. 4 Maryland 111, No. 5 Alabama 108, 2 OTs
Chapel Hill
No. 3 North Carolina 58, No. 6 West Virginia 47
Birmingham, Ala.
Friday’s regional semifinals
No. 2 Duke (28–7) vs. No. 3 North Carolina (29–7), 2:30, ESPN
No. 1 South Carolina (32–3) vs. No. 4 Maryland (25–7), 5 p.m., ESPN
Sunday’s regional championship
Semifinal winners, 1 p.m., ABC

Date	Day/month	Time	Opponent/event (current ranks)	TV/ record
	October
30	Thursday	L, 91–82	No. 3 South Carolina in Atlanta	Exhib.
	November
3	Monday	W, 90–42	vs. N.C. Central	1–0
6	Thursday	W, 71–37	vs. Elon	2–0
			WBCA Challenge Las Vegas
13	Thursday	L, 78–60	vs. No. 4 UCLA	2–1
15	Saturday	W, 82–68	vs. Fairfield	3–1
			———————————
20	Thursday	W, 85–50	at N.C. A&T	4–1
23	Sunday	W, 94–48	vs. UNCG	5–1
			Cancun Challenge Cancun, Mexico
27	Thursday	W, 83–48	vs. South Dakota St.	6–1
28	Friday	W, 85–73	vs. Kansas State	7–1
29	Saturday	W, 80–63	vs. Columbia	8–1
	December		ACC/SEC Women’s Challenge
4	Thursday	W, 79–64	at No. 2 Texas	8–2
			———————————
7	Sunday	W, 82–40	vs. Boston Univ.	9–2
14	Sunday	L, 76–66, OT	vs. No. 16 Louisville	9–3, 0–1 ACC
17	Wednesday	W, 84–34	vs. UNCW	10–3
21	Sunday	Noon	vs. Charleston Southern	ACCN Extra
29	Monday	8 p.m.	at Boston College	ACCN
	January
1	Thursday	Noon	vs. California	ACCN
4	Sunday	1 p.m.	vs. Stanford	ESPN
11	Sunday	1 p.m.	at No. 20 Notre Dame	ESPN
15	Thursday	7 p.m.	vs. Miami	ACCN Extra
18	Sunday	2 p.m.	at Florida State	The CW
22	Thursday	8 p.m.	at Georgia Tech	ACCN
25	Sunday	2 p.m.	vs. Syracuse	The CW
	February
2	Monday	6 p.m.	at N.C. State	ESPN2
5	Thursday	7 p.m.	vs. Clemson	ACCN
8	Sunday	2 p.m.	vs. Wake Forest	ACCN
12	Thursday	6 p.m.	vs. SMU	ACCN
15	Sunday	1 p.m.	at Duke	ABC
19	Thursday	6 p.m.	at Virginia Tech	ACCN
22	Sunday	Noon	vs. Pittsburgh	ACCN
26	Thursday	7 p.m.	at Virginia	ACCN Extra
	March
1	Sunday	Noon	vs. Duke	ESPN
			ACC tournament
4–8	Wed.-Sun		Gas South Arena, Duluth, Ga.
			NCAA tournament
20–24	Fri.-Mon.		First, second rounds
27–30	Fri.-Mon.		Regionals Fort Worth, Texas, and Sacramento, Calif.
	April
3, 5	Fri., Sun		Final Four Phoenix