DURHAM, N.C. -- Eighth-ranked North Carolina missed starters Alyssa Ustby and Reniya Kelly in a loss Thursday night at No. 16 Duke. Coach Courtney Banghart sounds optimistic the Tar Heels won't be in that position as March heats up.
Ustby, a fifth-year forward, has missed the past three games since exiting in the opening minutes of a win against now-No. 9 NC State on Feb. 16 with an unspecified injury. Kelly, a sophomore guard who has upped her offensive game significantly in recent weeks, was an unexpected scratch against rival Duke after logging at least 30 minutes for five straight games.
Both players were on the sideline Thursday night but not in uniform. And their absences loomed in the defeat, notably in a game-turning third quarter as UNC had more turnovers (10) than points (nine) and Duke scored 11 points off those miscues.
Afterward, Banghart called Kelly "minute to minute" in saying confidently she would be back, though she didn't specify Kelly's issue. As for Ustby, Banghart showed no concern when asked for an update, quipping: "You saw her, she almost subbed herself in, it looked like."
"She'll be back, too," Banghart said. "It's a long season. It's a really physical game. Obviously we've put a lot of miles on those kids. And you just want to make sure you don't put them in a position where they're going when they're not ready."
Ustby is a two-time team captain who has started 137 of her 144 career games, and her 1,211 rebounds rank second in program history. She's the team's No. 2 scorer (10.7) and top rebounder (9.4) this season.
Kelly is the Tar Heels' third-leading scorer at 10.1 points per game, though she's averaging 15.5 points in her past eight -- including 23 points in the win against the Wolfpack.
UNC, which entered Thursday as the nation's only unbeaten team on the road (9-1), had won seven straight and 12 of 13 before falling to Duke. The Tar Heels (25-5, 13-4 ACC) close the regular season at home Sunday against Virginia as they chase a top-four seed and the double-round bye that goes with it for next week's ACC tournament.
They're also vying to host opening weekend NCAA tournament games for the first time since 2015. The selection committee's latest rankings released shortly before tipoff Thursday had UNC on the right side of the cutline as a regional 3-seed.
"If this was an NCAA tournament game, it might be a little bit different," Banghart said. "But we've got some more season left and we want to make sure we're at our best when we need to be."