UNC's Alyssa Ustby missed senior day due to injury. March Madness offered her another home finale

CHAPEL HILL, N.C. (AP) — There was less than a minute left in the final home game of Alyssa Ustby's North Carolina career. Victory was in hand, along with a ticket to the NCAA Tournament's Sweet 16.

And she was eyeing that scorer's table.

“Jumping on a scorer's table has always been like a dream of mine to do," Ustby confessed.

So that's how the Tar Heels' fifth-year forward ended Monday night's 58-47 win against West Virginia, standing atop the scorer's table and yelling toward the cheering home fans and applauding from above the court. It was the perfect send-off for a player who had missed her scheduled home finale due to injury, then made good on a second shot in March Madness.

Two days after setting the program's career rebounding record, Ustby had 16 of her 21 points after halftime for the third-seeded Tar Heels (29-7), who advanced to the tournament's second week for the first time since 2022. And that set up the first tournament meeting with rival Duke on the women's side in the Birmingham 2 Region semifinals.

But for Monday night, the focus was just as much on the 6-foot-1 Ustby, who was capping a career that began with playing in front of essentially no fans in Carmichael Arena due to the COVID-19 pandemic.

Ustby made 7 of 11 shots to go with seven rebounds and four steals. She also drew a game-high eight fouls, including one withering stretch in which Ustby drew three on the same possession — twice by driving the baseline — in a show of her keep-her-feet-moving grind.

“Alyssa, thank you,” UNC coach Courtney Banghart said during the news conference, turning to her veteran forward on her right. "Thank you for how you've handled your career, how you've worn Carolina on your chest and who you've brought along with you.

"I know people are going to be talking about that being your legacy game, and you deserve everything you felt tonight."

It was, in fact, a delayed home finale for Ustby, who injured her left knee in mid-February against N.C. State and missed roughly three weeks. The injury happened in subtle fashion, with Ustby checking out of the game in the opening minutes with no dramatic collision or collapse and quickly heading to the locker room.

Her status hung over the Tar Heels as she didn't play again until the Atlantic Coast Conference Tournament, which meant she missed her senior day against Virginia — a game in which the Cavaliers rallied from a huge deficit and topped the Tar Heels.

At the time, the Tar Heels were coming down the stretch hoping to do enough to secure a chance to host opening-week games in the NCAA Tournament. And Banghart had publicly mentioned the hope that there would be another chance for Ustby to play in Carmichael.

“I was mainly just focusing on my health and trying to get back because I knew that was what was going to be best for the team," Ustby said. "I could worry as much as I want to, but that wouldn't change anything. So I tried to channel all of that energy into my recovery process and make sure i got back as fast as I could. It turned out well.”

The Tar Heels ultimately got Ustby another shot to play at home, first with Saturday's first-round win against Oregon State when she set the rebounding mark. Then came the West Virginia game, with the Tar Heels locking down in a defense-first game and holding the Mountaineers to 24.1% shooting.

Ustby checked out a final time with 47.7 seconds left, greeting Banghart with an emphatic slap of the hands and a big hug.

Moments later, Ustby started asking associate head coach Joanne Aluka-White whether she thought it would be OK for her to scale the scorer's table at the horn.

“I was like, ‘Is it crazy if I do this?’” Ustby said. “She was like ‘No-no-no-no, do it, do it, do it.’ So obviously I had her support but it still took a little bit of courage to go jump up there.”

It ended up offering Ustby a signature moment of celebration, as well as what she described as a tribute to the fans who had backed the Tar Heels through her career.

“This is what she deserves, playing five years here,” said Lexi Donarski, a fellow fifth-year senior. "This community supports her and us so much.

“Her being able to take in the moment and play in Carmichael again is everything that we could have wanted for her. To be here with her doing that is just so much fun.”

___

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