Third-quarter surge: UNC women rise to the occasion in opening win over Oregon State

By the time Lexi Donarski rose up for her fourth 3-point attempt of the third quarter, it was evident to the Carmichael Arena crowd what was about to go down.

When the shot — this time a corner triple in front of the North Carolina bench — sank, her teammates, and fans alike, erupted. Freshman guard Lanie Grant leaned on to the hardwood to high-five Donarski as the graduate ran back down the court. Freshman forward Blanca Thomas was so impressed she dropped to the floor, prompting her teammates to pretend to perform chest compressions.

“You know Lexi’s always gonna bring the heat,” Thomas said, “and so if there’s anyone we can count on, it’s Lexi.”

Despite what the final score — a 70-49 UNC victory over No. 14 seed Oregon State (19-16) — may indicate, the No. 3-seeded Tar Heels (28-7) needed every bit of Donarski’s third-quarter explosion.

Donarski, a former Iowa State Cyclone, dropped 17 points in that quarter alone, including a personal 14-1 run to start the period, helping North Carolina respond after a second-quarter surge from the Beavers.

Her five 3-pointers on Saturday put her in the top 10 for made 3s in a season at UNC with 84.

“Lexi was huge down the stretch,” UNC redshirt junior Kayla McPherson said. “We needed her just to trust herself, because we all trust her to take those shots.”

Donarski led all scorers with 19 points. Senior center Maria Gakdeng added 13 points and five rebounds for the Tar Heels, while graduate small forward Alyssa Ustby recorded 10 points, nine rebounds and four assists.

Ustby’s nine boards on Saturday made her the leading rebounder in North Carolina women’s basketball history with 1,252. She also passed 400 career assists.

“What do you say about a kid that just set the rebound record at a school and a program that is as rich in tradition as this one?” North Carolina coach Courtney Banghart said. “It’s hard to come to a place like this and do something that hasn’t been done before. … It couldn’t happen to a more deserving kid. Really, it means a lot to her — as it should — and I’m super proud.”

The Tar Heels got off to a quick start behind Gakdeng, who used a variety of post moves in scoring seven first-quarter points. With just under two minutes remaining in the opening quarter, she drove right, crossed back left and finished at the rim with a bucket that put North Carolina up by eight.

Oregon State called a timeout, Gakdeng, a senior center, skipped toward her teammates on the bench with a grin. She held up her right hand. Gakdeng’s fingers were held just an inch apart — the “too small” taunt.

Saturday marked the 17th double-digit performance from the second-team All-ACC forward.

“We demanded that she take control and take the ball because we need her to perform for us to be successful,” junior guard Indya Nivar said of Gakdeng. “We had that trust in her … that helped build her confidence. It shows in the games. She scores crucial buckets, she gets crucial rebounds against the best of the best.”

But the Beavers soon proved they were, in fact, not too small for the moment. Oregon State outscored UNC 15-11 in the second quarter and went up by as many as three points after a triple from senior guard AJ Marotte.

North Carolina quickly responded with a Grant 3-pointer that tied the game at 22-22. After a layup from the Beavers’ Kennedie Shuler, Tar Heel guards Jordan Zubich and Reniya Kelly each scored to give UNC a two-point advantage after 20 minutes of play.

Several Tar Heels said the message at halftime was one of urgency. They needed to get stops, push the ball in transition and play to their strengths. The first half, the team felt, was dictated by Oregon State’s slower tempo. As sophomore guard Sydney Barker put it, the team needed to “bang it inside” and “hit some 3s.”

Donarski helped them do just that.

The sharpshooter hit two quick 3s in just over a minute at the start of the third quarter, prompting Oregon State coach Scott Rueck to call a timeout.

That did little to ice Donarski, though, as she quickly took advantage of two straight Beaver miscues to further pad the lead. First, Ustby found her off a Catarina Ferreira turnover for Donarski’s third straight triple.

Then Donarski stole the ball off an errant pass from Tiara Bolden and raced down the court, driving straight into Shuler’s chest for an and-one finish with her right hand. Donarski, fading out of bounds, craned her neck to watch the ball bank off the glass. As it fell through the net, putting North Carolina up by 13 points, she turned to face Nivar. They yelled and shared a chest bump.

“It’s fun when we’re all able to play together and get those stops and really force them to speed up, because I feel like they couldn’t really handle our pressure when we really turned it on,” Donarski said. “That was what propelled us forward in the third quarter.”

From there, the Tar Heels continued to pile on the points, outscoring Oregon State 30-9 in the third quarter.

UNC had a 20-point lead with just over five minutes to play in the game when Ustby grabbed an offensive board, earned a putback and, with that play, broke the North Carolina program record for most career rebounds.

“We all knew it happened,” Donarski said, “and thankfully someone had to tie their shoe so it stopped the game.”

With the clock briefly paused, the graduate student had a moment to take it all in. As she waved to the crowd and glanced around the gym, a standing ovation erupted. Fans held up homemade signs that read, “The Glass Cleaner!” and “Rebound Queen of UNC!”

Ustby’s father, Todd — whom she affectionately calls her “twin flame” — proudly held a poster of his own: “USTBY Grabs History!” The small forward said after the game she didn’t have time to read the words, but the overwhelming roar of the crowd said it all.

The moment clearly touched her.

“It was super special to me,” she said. “Obviously, that’s kind of a hard record to set out and go get starting with your freshman year. ... It’s just really special to be supported by this community. I’ve been loved on so much by all the people that surround it.”

With the win, Ustby and the rest of the Tar Heels advanced and will play No. 6 seed West Virginia. On Saturday afternoon, just before UNC took the court, the Mountaineers defeated No. 11 seed Columbia, 78-59.

North Carolina and West Virginia will face off on Monday at Carmichael Arena to determine which team advances to the Sweet 16. The tipoff time for that game has yet to be announced.

This story was originally published March 22, 2025 at 6:33 PM with the headline "Third-quarter surge: UNC women rise to the occasion in opening win over Oregon State."