Ustby stars as 3-on-3 team advances in Romanian tournament, playing with fellow Tar Heel Littlefield

By R.L. Bynum

Wearing No. 23, a number she couldn’t wear during her five seasons at North Carolina, Alyssa Ustby and fellow former Tar Heel Carlie Littlefield led Seattle 3XBA to a pair of blowout pool-play victories Friday at the FIBA three-on-three Bucharest 2025 tournament.

In the second victory, 21–8 over host Kazakhstan, Ustby put on a Jordanesque performance, scoring 11 of Seattle’s points after her team won its Group B opener 21–5 over Bucharest.

Seattle advanced to Pool D of the main draw, playing Saturday at 4:15 a.m. ET against Benin and at 2:35 p.m. ET against the Philippines in the tournament, which is being played at a court set up at the ParkLake Shopping Center in Bucharest, Romania.

Saturday winners advance to Sunday’s semifinals and championship game. The games stream on this YouTube channel.

Ustby couldn’t wear No. 23 at UNC because it was retired for Charlotte Smith. But there was a Michael Jordan vibe at the event because “Sirius” by The Alan Parsons Project — the song played during Chicago Bulls introductions during the Jordan era — was played before every game.

In the Bucharest victory, Ustby scored five points on five field goals and Littlefield netted three points on a field goal and a free throw. Ustby scored 11 field goals in the Kazakhstan win, with Littlefield scoring four points on two field goals and two free throws.

You can watch the Bucharest game beginning at 36:00 and the Kazakhstan game beginning at 1:25 in the the below video.

Ustby, who will play next season in Italy for Panthers Roseto, just finished five outstanding seasons at UNC, leaving as the program’s all-time rebounding leader. Littlefield played the 2021–22 season at UNC after three seasons at Princeton, averaging 8.8 points and 2.7 assists. She played last season in Israel and Romania.