Kelly, Ustby Picked For Naismith Trophy Midseason Team

Two Tar Heels have been named to the midseason team for the 2023 Jersey Mike's Naismith Trophy for women's player of the Year, announced on Tuesday. Juniors Deja Kelly and Alyssa Ustby are among the standouts on the 30-player list.

UNC is one of five schools with two players honored.

Kelly, a guard from San Antonio, Texas, leads UNC in scoring and ranks sixth in ACC play with 15.9 points per game. She also leads the team in assists (3.4, 11^th in the conference). She's 10^th in the ACC in assist-turnover ratio (1.5).

Ustby, a guard/forward from Rochester, Minn., is UNC's top rebounder and ranks fourth in the ACC with 8.9 per game. She's also third in the conference in field goal percentage (.524), ninth in blocks (1.3) and ninth in steals (2.0).

Other Atlantic Coast Conference players on the list are NC State's Diamond Johnson, Virginia Tech's Elizabeth Kitley, Florida State's Ta'Niya Latson, Notre Dame's Olivia Miles and Louisville's Hailey Van Lith.

No. 14 Carolina (17-6, 8-4 ACC) returns to action on Thursday with a road game at Syracuse. UNC's next home game is Sunday at noon against Boston College.

Players Mentioned

Deja Kelly

Alyssa Ustby

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