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Alyssa Ustby makes UNC women's basketball history in NCAA Tournament
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- Alyssa Ustby makes UNC women's basketball history in NCAA Tournament
When you think of the best student-athletes to don a UNC women's basketball uniform, who are some of the first names that come to mind?
There's the likes of Ivory Latta and Stephanie Watts , but I'm thinking of someone more recent. If Alyssa Ustby isn't on your list of all-time greats, might we suggest you start including her.
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Ustby, now playing her fifth and final season of college basketball, is a North Carolina staple. She's a full-time starter for the Tar Heels since the 2021-2022 campaign, playing 140 out of her 148 games in the starting lineup.
On Saturday, March 22 in UNC's 70-49 NCAA Tournament-opening win over Oregon State , Ustby permanently etched herself in program history.
With her nine rebounds against the Beavers (19-16, 12-8 WCC), Ustby became North Carolina's all-time leading rebounder . Ustby now has 1,252 for her career, a total I almost guarantee grows during the Tar Heels' second-round NCAA Tournament game, against West Virginia Monday night.
Ustby, who leads UNC with 9.5 rebounds per game during the 2024-2025 college basketball season, nearly averages a double-double by 10.6 points per game. Ustby has 10 double-doubles on the year, most recently a 12-point, 18-rebound outing against Florida State in the ACC Tournament Quarterfinals.
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The Tar Heels faced a brief scare near the end of their regular, with Ustby injuring her left knee during an upset, 66-65 win over then-10th-ranked NC State on February 16. Ustby returned just a few weeks later in the ACC Tournament – and now looks to help North Carolina capture its first National Title since 1995.
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This article originally appeared on Tar Heels Wire: Alyssa Ustby becomes UNC's All-Time Rebounds Leader in NCAA Tournament
