UNC women’s basketball handles Clemson, sets up ACC tournament showdown with rival Duke

UNC women’s basketball is finally healthy.

Junior Alyssa Ustby and redshirt senior Eva Hodgson — who both missed multiple games late in UNC’s ACC slate due to injuries — returned to action against Virginia Tech on Feb. 23.

One week later, they combined for 28 points to deliver Courtney Banghart her first ACC Tournament win. Both players recorded more than 10 points for the first time since their return to help North Carolina (21-9, 11-7 ACC) defeat Clemson (17-15, 7-11 ACC), 68-58, and pick up the program’s first conference tournament win since 2019.

“We’re whole again,” UNC junior wing Kennedy Todd-Williams said. “It really, truly feels like we’re all whole and we’re all gelling at the right time. They (Hodgson and Ustby) bring such a big piece to this team.”

Hodgson led the charge for the Tar Heels in the first quarter, draining a trio of 3-pointers to give UNC an early 18-11 lead. Before Thursday night, Hodgson hadn’t hit a 3-pointer since Jan. 22 against Georgia Tech.

Hodgson said that she has been working extensively with assistant coach Itoro Coleman to replicate game-like scenarios in her shooting workouts. From corner shots, to shots from the top of the key and wing shots, Coleman’s focus has been to replicate how Hodgson gets to her spots in UNC’s offensive sets.

“If she’s running from the block to the wing, we’ll rep that, as opposed to just staying out there and shooting threes,” Coleman said.

In preparation for the Tigers’ zone defense, Coleman reminded Hodgson of her role — be a zone-buster.

“Eva’s a really good shooter, but sometimes she can get into her head,” Coleman said. “She just has to be reminded, ‘When you’re open, shoot it.’”

After Ustby blocked graduate point guard Brie Perpignan midway through the first quarter and brought the ball up the court, Hodgson found herself open near the corner. After a sharp pass from redshirt freshman Kayla McPherson, the graduate student caught the ball behind the arc.

With McPherson already backtracking down the court, Hodgson rose up and hit her third 3-point attempt of the night.

As Hodgson pointed to the passer and ran back down the court, stopping momentarily for a chest bump with Ustby, the whistle blew.

Coleman, who thought Clemson was taking a timeout, had run onto the court in celebration of Hodgson’s hot hand. Coleman acknowledges that, had UNC lost, she would have been “very upset about that.”

Hodgson, leaning back on a foldout chair in UNC’s locker room after the game, thought the sequence was nothing short of hilarious.

“She just got wicked hype and got on the court,” Hodgson said. “Honestly, I saw that and was like, ‘Alright, let’s go!’”

After Hodgson kicked the game off for the Tar Heels, Ustby provided a steady presence for UNC.

Working alongside Hodgson and the rest of North Carolina’s guards, the Tar Heels fed the ball into Ustby in the high post, opening up isolation drives from the 15-foot line, and shots from behind the arc.

“We know that Clemson pressures the 3-point line quite a bit, so we knew getting it inside would draw some tension, and then that would leave our shooters open,” Ustby said.

Ustby led the Tar Heels with 15 points on 7-12 shooting and added six rebounds, four assists, two steals and a block. Perhaps even more impressive: She wasn’t subbed out of the game until there was less than a minute remaining in the third quarter.

Even then, it wasn’t due to fatigue — Ustby had picked up four fouls.

Coleman credits the small forward’s fitness to her work ethic. When Ustby was returning from injury, the junior ensured that she always got in her “up-and-down” sprints during practice. This wasn’t directed by the strength and conditioning coaches. It was just Ustby being Ustby.

“A lot of times, we have to say, ‘Lys, you need to sit down, you need to take a break,’” Coleman said. “Lys is always going to be prepared and conditioning is something that she prides herself on.”

Thanks to Hodgson and Ustby’s renewed health, North Carolina moves on to face No. 2 seed Duke in the quarterfinals on Friday at 6 p.m. This marks the third matchup between the rivals this season, and second game between the two teams this week. UNC has won both previous contests by a combined margin of nine points.

“It’s the right time to be healthy,” Banghart said. “I’d like to be healthy all the time, but this just gives me more options at a really important time in our season.”

This story was originally published March 2, 2023 at 8:11 PM.