UNC has missed Alyssa Ustby and Reniya Kelly. Will they play in the ACC Tournament?
North Carolina hopes to have two of its key starters back during the ACC women’s basketball tournament, head coach Courtney Banghart said Monday.
Alyssa Ustby left the Tar Heels’ game against N.C. State on Feb. 16 after two minutes of play. Reniya Kelly has not played in the last two games with an undisclosed lower body injury.
Banghart left the door open for limited minutes, but she believes they will likely play this week.
“There’s a good possibility. I think me holding them to put them in the best position for the postseason was important,” Banghart said during an ACC medial availability. “I know they’re not going to let me hold them much longer. I’ll tell you that much. There’s a good chance, definitely, for the NCAA Tournament, but most likely they won’t listen to me any longer, and I’ll have to play them sooner.”
In the three-game span, UNC squeaked out a one-point win over N.C. State before losing to Duke and Virginia. The Tar Heels led Duke by two points before falling to the Blue Devils at Cameron Indoor Stadium. Meanwhile, they gave up an 18-point lead to the Cavaliers on Sunday in their final regular season game.
In that time period, however, several players stepped into increased roles. Freshman Lanie Grant averaged 14.3 points in the past three games, including a career-high 19 points at Louisville. She hit the game-tying 3-pointer to help the Tar Heels pull off a comeback victory on the road.
Veteran players Grace Townsend, Trayanna Crisp and Blanca Thomas have come off the bench in Ustby’s and Kelly’s absences and provided valuable minutes for UNC.
Even if the Tar Heels get play from Ustby and Kelly in the ACC Tournament, Banghart expects to pull from her bench in an effort to make a run.
“You’re going to have to continue to get as much as you can from your bench,” Banghart said. “That’s going to continue to be important. We played three games in three days down in the Bahamas with less time in between the games. Ended up just fine that way. You condition them for these type of opportunities. You kind of take one day at a time, but the more you can use your bench, in general, the more you have options there, the better.”
Ustby entered the Heels’ matchup against the Wolfpack leading the team with 11.2 points, 9.7 rebounds and 3.1 assists per game.
She is the only player in Tar Heel history to record a triple double and is a Top 10 finalist for the Cheryl Miller Small Forward of the Year Award for the third straight season. She notched 1,200 rebounds earlier this season and ranks No. 2 in UNC history. She’s added 1,722 career points.
Kelly has taken on a larger role this season at point guard. She averages 10.1 points, 2.8 rebounds and 2.3 assists.
North Carolina earned the No. 5 seed in the ACC Tournament. It plays the winner of No. 13 Syracuse/No. 12 Boston College.
This story was originally published March 3, 2025 at 4:14 PM.
