Ustby Leads WBB As Tar Heels Improve To 4-0

Saturday, November 18

Chapel Hill

3 PM

North Carolina

Elon

Alyssa Ustby registered her second double-double of the season with 16 points and 11 boards.

Photo by: Jeffrey A. Camarati

November 18, 2023 | Women's Basketball

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CHAPEL HILL, N.C. – Behind another lock-down defensive performance, the No. 17 North Carolina women's basketball team beat visiting Elon 68-39 on Saturday afternoon at Carmichael Arena to improve to 4-0 on the season.

Senior Alyssa Ustby registered her second double-double of the year and 24^th of her career with 16 points and 11 rebounds, both team highs. Senior Deja Kelly and junior Maria Gakdeng added 13 points each.

For the second game in a row, no opposing player hit double figures, with Jessica Booth and Maraja Pass pacing the Phoenix (1-3) with eight points each. It also marked the second game in a row that the Tar Heels held an opponent under 40 points, following Wednesday's 62-32 win over Hampton.

"Defense is always a part of our DNA – we recruit for it, we coach for it, we commit to it," UNC coach Courtney Banghart said. "And they're getting there."

Saturday's game wrapped up a four-game Carmichael homestand to open the season. Next up the Tar Heels play three neutral-site games at the Gulf Coast Showcase in Estero, Fla., beginning with a matchup against Vermont on Friday.

Against Elon, the Tar Heels led 36-23 at halftime but then went more than four minutes in the third quarter without scoring. The Phoenix briefly got the game back into single digits, cutting the margin to nine at 38-29 with 7:20 to play in the third quarter. At that point UNC was in the midst of an 0-for-8 field goal drought, punctuated only by a pair of Lexi Donarski free throws following an Elon technical.

But the Tar Heels stayed positive and the drought ended, with Maria Gakdeng scoring five straight points to make it 45-29. UNC increased its lead from there and was up by 22 heading into the fourth quarter. All 11 available Carolina players saw action and seven played least 20 minutes.

Elon is coached by Charlotte Smith, a UNC legend who hit the gamewinner in the 1994 NCAA Championship game and for whom the program's No. 23 jersey is retired. After the game, Banghart acknowledge having Smith back in Carmichael is exciting for all Tar Heels. "Charlotte is a big deal around these parts," Banghart said. "It's special to have her here, special for the whole community."