Alyssa Ustby finished with 16 points, 16 rebounds and 10 assists as North Carolina pulled off an upset win at home over No. 25 Syracuse, 75-51, in Chapel Hill, N.C. on Thursday night.
Ustby’s assist total was a career-best, and her triple-double marked the first by any Tar Heel in the history of women’s basketball at North Carolina. The Tar Heels (10-4, 2-0 ACC) also got a career-high-tying 22 points from Maria Gakdeng and 14 points from Lexi Donarski.
Dyaisha Fair paced Syracuse (11-2, 1-1 ACC) with 17 points, while Alyssa Latham added 11 points and 11 boards.
UNC never trailed, but had an advantage of just two points at halftime. Then, in the third quarter, the Heels outscored the Orange 25-6 to comfortably pull away. Donarski had eight points in that frame, knocking down two 3-pointers and two free throws, while Ustby grabbed seven rebounds.
The Tar Heels shot 50 percent from the floor while limiting Syracuse to 29.6 percent.
North Carolina plays a ranked opponent for the second straight game on Sunday, traveling to No. 16 Notre Dame.
No. 1 South Carolina 89, Florida 66
Kamilla Cardoso had 10 points and 15 rebounds to help the Gamecocks open SEC play with a win over the Gators in Gainesville, Fla.
South Carolina (13-0, 1-0 SEC) also got 17 points from Te-Hina Paopao, 16 points from Raven Johnson, 15 points from Bree Hall and 10 points from Milaysia Fulwiley. Leilani Correa powered Florida (9-4, 0-1 SEC) with 28 points.
The Gamecocks never trailed and led by as much as 32 points. South Carolina outscored Florida in the paint 56-26.
No. 3 NC State 88, No. 22 Florida State 80 (OT)
Before she left the game with an apparent injury in the fourth quarter, River Baldwin tallied 21 points and eight rebounds to help the Wolfpack remain unbeaten with a tough victory over the visiting Seminoles in Raleigh, N.C.
Aziaha James added 18 points and Zoe Brooks chipped in 15 for NC State (14-0, 2-0 ACC). The Wolfpack also got nine points and 11 rebounds from Mimi Collins, and 12 points, six rebounds, four assists and three steals from Saniya Rivers.
Ta’Niya Latson dropped 30 points for Florida State (11-4, 2-1 ACC) while shooting 9-of-9 from the free-throw line.
No. 13 Virginia Tech 82, Wake Forest 73
Elizabeth Kitley and Georgia Amoore each notched double-doubles as the Hokies captured a road victory over the Demon Deacons in Winston-Salem, N.C.
Kitley — playing in the same gym that her father Ralph did — had 27 points, 12 rebounds and four blocks, while Amoore had 20 points and 10 assists for Virginia Tech (11-2, 2-0 ACC). The Hokies also got 11 points from Matilda Ekh and 13 from Rose Micheaux.
Wake Forest (4-10, 0-2 ACC) was led by 29 points from Elise Williams.
Virginia Tech led by 17 points at halftime and later by as much as 21. The Hokies won the rebounding battle 35-17 and outscored Wake 11-4 on fast breaks.
–Field Level Media
