By R.L. Bynum
CHAPEL HILL — Alyssa Ustby stood on top of the scorer’s table, celebrating with the fans after she made her last home game — 1,580 days after her first — one to remember.
It wasn’t always pretty, but it sure was sweet for No. 3-seed North Carolina, thanks to suffocating defense in the fourth quarter.
The masters of rock fights, the No. 12-ranked Tar Heels emerged from a defensive battle against No. 6-seed West Virginia with a 58–47 victory Monday in the second round of the NCAA tournament at Carmichael Arena to earn their 19th Sweet 16 berth.
“We just had a lot of fire,” said Ustby, who scored 16 of her 21 points in the second half. “We are really excited. We love playing with each other. We want to keep playing, and we want to keep the season going. So, there’s not anything that’s going to stop us. We’re going to keep being determined and locking into our game plan and making sure that we can come out with these wins.”
Ustby went out in style with seven rebounds, four steals and a season-high three blocks as UNC (29–7) earned a regional semifinal clash in Birmingham, Ala., at 2:30 p.m. ET Friday against No. 1-seed Duke, the first meeting in an NCAA women’s tournament. Her celebration was far from spontaneous, and she says she was inspired by former Duke player Tyus Jones, who, like Ustby, is from Minnesota.
“I literally could not sleep because I was so excited,” Ustby said. “I was literally imagining the moment of standing on the scorer’s table. My brain was so obsessed with everything that I knew was gonna happen today. I couldn’t take my usual nap, and so I was just too wired and too excited. I had a plan, but I had to make sure it was cool.”
She asked Assistant Coach Joanne Aluka-White if she should do it.
“She was like, without a doubt, no question,” Ustby said. “That was so much fun. I loved it. That was like a reaction or a chance for me to hype up the fans and kind of celebrate them, too, because they’ve been a part of my journey for so long and have trusted me as a player to develop over my years because I didn’t come in as like a star athlete or a star player. So they’ve just trusted me along this journey.”
With 47.7 seconds left, Coach Courtney Banghart, who was shivering a bit during the press conference because of the ice-cold water shower she got, took out Ustby and two others playing their last home games, Maria Gakdeng (9 rebounds) and Lexi Donarski (11 points), with another, Grace Townsend, coming out seconds later.
“I know people are going to talk about that being your legacy game, and you deserve everything you felt tonight,” Banghart said to Ustby during the postgame press conference. “It’s a joy to coach you. You’ve made me better. You’ve allowed me to get better players here as well. And you doing things the right way. So thanks for choosing Carolina.’
No. 16-ranked West Virginia (25–7) only scored one field goal in the last 11:16 of the game, going 1 of 14 in the fourth quarter. The Mountaineers came into the game shooting 30.5% from 3-point range but shot 9.5% (2 of 21), their second-worst this season.
“I was tired of hearing about their defense, not because it’s not one of the best defenses in the country,” Banghart said, “but why was no one talking about our defense? These guys can defend. They’ve done it all year long, and we knew exactly how we were going to defend them. Us hearing about their defense allowed us to sort of say, ‘OK, we’re going to show, we’re going to prove it.’ “
Mountaineers star JJ Quinerly, their leading scorer at 20.8 points per game, was held to a season-low eight points on 2 of 12 shooting, thanks to terrific defense from Donarski, Reniya Kelly (11 points) and Indya Nivar (6 points, team-high and season-high 10 rebounds).
“It wasn’t a one-person job at all,” Nivar said. “I think we all bought into being in the gaps and helping one another and not having anybody on an island because it was going to take everybody to defend their really good guards.”
Quinerly had never been held to single digits or fewer than three field goals all season.
“We knew that we needed to stop her initial attack, chest to the ball, and then we knew she can snake you back,” Banghart said of Quinerly. “Your gap is sometimes the one that’s, as she goes away from you, you gotta follow her.
“So there were some tactical things that our guys just told me. We said, ‘No islands, no islands, no islands.’ And our guys were a little shifty, and we really tried to clog up,” Banghart said. “We wanted to be high at the point of all screens. We really wanted her to play in a crowd like we did [against Florida State’s Taniya] Latson.”
UNC jumped out to a 12–4 lead on Kelly’s transition 3-pointer 5:11 into the game and two Lanie Grant free throws with 3:36 left in the first quarter. West Virginia converted four turnovers into 10 straight points to take a 15–12 lead on a Jordan Harrison 3-pointer 18 seconds into the second quarter after it was tied at 12 at the end of the first quarter.
A Nivar drive for UNC’s first field goal in more than eight minutes started an 11–2 run — mostly with Kelly sitting with two fouls — capped by a Grant corner 3-pointer and an Ustby drive to take a six-point lead. Three Sydney Shaw free throws with nine seconds left cut the Mountaineers’ halftime deficit to 24–21.
After West Virginia cut the lead to one, a Gakdeng follow shot and an Ustby baseline drive started a 6–0 run to open up a seven-point lead with 6:43 left in the third quarter. The Mountaineers responded with a 10–1 run to take a two-point lead on two Sydney Woodley free throws with 3:02 left in the third quarter.
During that third quarter, Ustby played a little at the five spot for the second consecutive game because of the foul trouble to the Mountaineers’ post players.
“We ran a bunch of isos on different spots on the floor so she could attack hips,” Banghart said. “When Alyssa can defensively play the 5, it’s a real advantage for us on the offensive end. We wanted to be aggressive all night, and that’s different than how we had to play against Oregon State.”
Carolina then went on a 9–0 run on a Kelly jumper, a Donarski transition 3-pointer, a Ustby drive and two Ustby free throws with 1:38 left in the third quarter. Nivar’s transition layup at the buzzer gave UNC a 45–38 lead after three quarters.
“I think our preparation prepared us for that moment,” Nivar said. “We knew they were going to fight back. So we just know we had to match their toughness. That end of the third quarter, we were just staying with our principles. We stayed disciplined. I was put in a great position to get that block, and Lexi passed it up for me to the layup.”
West Virginia starting forward Kylee Blacksten picked up her fifth foul with 8:14 left while defending an Ustby baseline drive. Ustby’s two free throws and transition layup 17 seconds later gave UNC an 11-point lead with 7:57 left.
The Mountaineers missed four consecutive layup attempts before two Quinerly free throws ended a more than four-minute scoring drought with 6:25 left. A Kelly drive pushed the lead to 11 with 4:52 left, and two Gakdeng free throws 2½ minutes later moved the lead to 12.
A Sydney Shaw 3-pointer with 39 seconds left was WVU’s first field goal in nearly 11 minutes.
Jordan Harrison led West Virginia with 10 points.
NOTES — This is the first time UNC, Duke and N.C. State have made the Sweet 16 together since 2007, when only the Tar Heels advanced further, losing 56–50 to Tennessee in a national semifinal. … Hall of Fame former UNC coach Sylvia Hatchell was at the game. … It’s Carolina’s first Sweet 16 since 2022. … UNC is 2–0 against West Virginia, winning the previous meeting 95–56 in the James Madison Invitational championship game in Harrisonburg, Va., on Nov. 17, 2019. … Donarski was getting treatment while the press was allowed into the UNC dressing room. … The Tar Heels’ 16 fast-break points set a Banghart-era record in the NCAA tournament, topping the previous best of 14 against South Carolina on March 25, 2022. … It marked the first time since 1995 that the Tar Heels have held back-to-back opponents under 50 points in the NCAA tournament. UNC is the only team to do so in the first two rounds of this year’s NCAA Tournament. … Gakdeng tied Janelle Bailey’s offensive rebound record in the Banghart era in the NCAA Tournament with six.
No. 3 UNC 58, No. 6 W. Va. 47
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
NCAA tournament
Birmingham Regional 2
Legacy Arena at BJCC
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
Birmingham Regional 3
Legacy Arena at BJCC
Saturday’s regional semifinals
No. 2 TCU (33–3) vs. No. 3 Notre Dame (28–5), 1 p.m., ESPN
No. 1 Texas (33–3) vs. No. 5 Tennessee (24–9), 3:30, ABC
Monday’s regional championship
Semifinal winners, 8 p.m.
Spokane Regional 1
Spokane Veterans Memorial Arena
Friday’s regional semifinals
No. 2 N.C. State (28–6) vs. No. 3 LSU (30–5), 7:30, ESPN
No. 1 UCLA (32–2) vs. No. 5 Ole Miss (22–10), 10 p.m., ESPN
Sunday’s regional final
Semifinal winners, 9 p.m.
Spokane Regional 4
Spokane Veterans Memorial Arena
Saturday’s regional semifinals
No. 2 UConn (33–3) vs. No. 3 Oklahoma (27–7), 5:30, ESPN
No. 1 Southern Cal (30–3) vs. No. 5 Kansas St. (28–7), 8 p.m., ESPN
Monday’s regional championship
Semifinal winners, 9 p.m.
Final Four
Tampa, Fla. | Amalie Arena
Semifinals
Friday, April 4
Spokane regional winners, 7 or 9 p.m., ESPN
Birmingham regional winners, 7 or 9 p.m., ESPN
National championship
Sunday, April 6
Semifinal winners, 3 p.m.
| 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 | 4 p.m. | vs. No. 22 Louisville | ACCN |
| 17 | Wednesday | 8 p.m. | vs. UNCW | ACCN |
| 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 | Noon | vs. Stanford | ESPN or ACCN |
| 11 | Sunday | 1 p.m. | at No. 19 Notre Dame | ESPN |
| 15 | Thursday | TBA | 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 | TBA | 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 |
Photo courtesy of UNC Athletics
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