North Carolina women’s basketball (10-4, 2-0 ACC) beat the No. 25 Syracuse Orange (11-1, 1-1 ACC), 75-51, on Thursday night to achieve its first ranked win of the season.
Senior forward Alyssa Ustby recorded the first triple-double in program history going 16-16-10. She is the third North Carolina basketball player ever — man or woman — to record a triple-double.
“It hasn’t really [sank] in yet but I am just really glad to be surrounded by so many good teammates that encourage and celebrate me and [senior forward Maria Gakdeng] made my job so easy,” Ustby said.
The senior found the net early in the paint during the first minute of the game. As the quarter continued, the Tar Heels’ lead was spearheaded by Ustby and junior guard Maria Gakdeng. Ustby found an open Gakdeng in the post from all areas of the court for several easy bank-in shots. By the end of the first quarter, Gakdeng already recorded 11 points while Ustby boasted five assists. Success in the paint coupled with 3-point shots from graduate guard Lexi Donarski and sophomore guard Paulina Paris helped the Tar Heels end the first quarter with a 19-14 lead.
“Something I have been working on throughout the week was getting deep positioning in the paint and just finishing over my left and right shoulder so being able to do that and working on that with my positioning coach has helped me a lot all around,” Gakdeng said.
North Carolina did not hesitate and opened the second the same way it did the first with a shot in the paint from Ustby. On the defensive side, UNC refused to let the Orange find success in the paint and held them outside of the arc. While the Orange maintained a 37.5 3-point percentage during the second quarter, they could not match the Tar Heels’ diverse success on the other side of the floor.
However as the second quarter progressed, the Orange caught onto the Tar Heels’ previously successful tactics. As North Carolina’s play got sloppier and shots failed to find the net, Syracuse only got smarter. The Orange closed off lanes, forced turnovers and found more shot success in the backcourt. Coupled with needless fouls from senior guard Deja Kelly and an offensive foul by first-year guard Reniya Kelly late in the second quarter, the Tar Heels were unable to keep up with the Orange and found themselves in a one-possession game with a score of 32-30 on display.
To keep the lead, the Tar Heels returned to familiar strategies to open the third quarter with more of a supporting cast joining the effort. After going scoreless in the first half, Deja Kelly made a layup on a fastbreak. Following suit, Gakdeng and Ustby made back-to-back layups. Inspired by the returned momentum, senior forward Anya Poole found open sophomore guard Indya Nivar in the post before the media timeout. During the first five minutes of play in the second half, the Tar Heels held the Orange to a mere four points to take a 15-point lead.
