Two former Tar Heel women’s basketball stars are getting their shots at the pros. UNC’s Alyssa Ustby signed a free-agent contract with the Los Angeles Sparks Tuesday morning, and Maria Gakdeng signed with the Atlanta Dream later that day.

Ustby played five seasons at UNC, during which time she helped the Tar Heels reach the NCAA Tournament each year, reach the Sweet 16 twice and host NCAA Tournament games at Carmichael Arena in 2025. It was the first time Carmichael had hosted a postseason game since 2015.

Ustby played in 150 collegiate games and made 143 starts. During her five seasons as a Tar Heel, she averaged 10.8 points, 8.5 rebounds and 2.7 assists per game. She earned All-ACC honors in each of her final four seasons (two first team, two second team) and was named to the ACC’s All-Defensive Team for the first time in the 2024-25 season.

Ustby’s versatility was on full display the night of January 4, 2024, when she scored 16 points, grabbed 16 rebounds and dished out 10 assists against No. 25 Syracuse to record the first triple-double in the history of the UNC women’s basketball program. That season saw Ustby average a career-high 3.6 assists per game, and she never averaged fewer than 2.2 in any of her five seasons.

Ustby was on track to comfortably break the program’s all-time rebounding record in her fifth and final season, but all that ground to a halt when she suffered a knee injury – later revealed to be a torn meniscus – in the opening minutes of UNC’s game against NC State on February 16. Ustby would miss the remainder of the regular season, but returned in time for the ACC Tournament, less than three weeks after the injury occurred. She officially passed Bernadette McGlade for the rebounding record in the first round of the NCAA Tournament against Oregon State and finished her career with 1,269 rebounds to her name.

Gakdeng began her collegiate career at Boston College –a earning ACC All-Freshman team honors in 2022 – before transferring to UNC ahead of the 2023-24 season. She played in 66 games as a Tar Heel and started 65.

In her first season in Chapel Hill, Gakdeng led the ACC with a 62.6 field goal percentage, averaging 9.2 points, 5.9 rebounds and 1.5 blocks per game. Gakdeng increased both her scoring and rebounding as a senior, finishing with 10.8 points and a career-high 7.6 rebounds per game, both of which ranked second on the team. Gakdeng earned second team All-ACC honors while helping the Tar Heels reach the Sweet 16.

 

Featured image via Associated Press/LM Otero

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