'Mighty' Last Shot: Alyssa Long Pursuing Hoops Dreams at Immaculata

Former North Carolina midfielder Alyssa Long still dons Carolina blue these days at Immaculata University, a small college 405 miles from Chapel Hill in East Whiteland Township, Pa.

It’s not just because Long, a UNC midfielder from 2021-23, left Chapel Hill with a boatload of swag when she turned her tassel in May, though she likely did. Immaculata University also refers to one of its colors as “Carolina blue.” It’s Long’s new home and where – in a crossover move — she’s playing basketball this year.

“We use Navy and Carolina blue,” Long said. “It’s funny — it was a good omen that the right place called.”

It was the right place and the right time. Long’s lacrosse eligibility ran out when the final buzzer sounded on UNC’s loss to Florida in the first round of the NCAA tournament in May. The real world wasn’t next for her. Her long-term career goals don’t involve a net. She’s studying to become a teacher and is pursuing her Master’s in education with a certification for Pre-K to fourth grade.

Coincidentally, those years in school marked the beginning of Long’s athletic career. Basketball came first — in kindergarten. And if Long is being honest?

“Basketball has always been like my first love,” Long said.

Her father coached it, and her brother, Kyle, also played. But Kyle stood out in another sport: Lacrosse. Long gave it a try in third grade but didn’t start playing consistently until junior high, when she was already a part of the AAU circuit for hoops. Between practices and games, she was accompanying Kyle on college recruiting trips for lacrosse.

“I was like, ‘OK, this is the kind of the sport that’ll get me to the highest level of competition, the best chance to win a national championship,’” Long said. (Spoiler alert: Long was right — about herself and her brother. Kyle chose Maryland, and the siblings were part of undefeated Division I national championship lacrosse teams in 2022.)

But part of the reason basketball was a long shot — pun intended — for Long was that the future educator lacked something you can’t teach.

“I ended up growing to be 5-2,” Long said with a laugh. “Basketball wasn’t really in the cards for me.”

At least not at the Division I level. Still, Long played point guard for the Springfield (Pa.) High School basketball team for four years, serving as a two-time captain and leading the team to 92 wins, a league championship and a pair of district crowns. She left AAU and focused on club lacrosse.

As a freshman, Long accepted an offer to play for North Carolina. (The NCAA rules have since changed to push back direct contact between coaches and prospective recruits until Sept. 1 of the student-athlete’s junior year.)

It was a no-brainer and a decision Long doesn’t regret. Basketball remained close to her heart. If there was a pickup game, Long was probably part of it. She played 1-on-1 on her dorm’s court during her freshman year. UNC women’s basketball head coach Courtney Banghart gave her a ball so she could shoot around. She participated in an intramural game with the UNC women’s soccer team once.

“It was always something I loved,” Long said. “It was nice to have an outlet for a sport that was fun and different but got me ready — moving my feet, playing on-ball defense, communicating.”

Initially, Long’s college hoops dreams remained just that — a dream. She didn’t give her decision a second thought. But then, Pat Spencer changed the game. The former Loyola lacrosse attackman joined the Northwestern men’s basketball team for the 2019-2020 season.

After stints overseas and in the G-League, Spencer signed a two-way contract with the Golden State Warriors last season and made his NBA debut on Feb. 25.

“I was like, ‘Oh, maybe I could do that,’” Long said. “I had to do a [graduate] program to become a teacher.”

Once again, her brother paved a path. He went to Immaculata after Maryland and is now a seventh-grade teacher.

“He mentioned they were easy to work with, so I was like, ‘OK, I’ll do it there,’” Long said.

But would she play basketball? Long was on the fence about committing to a fifth year of athletics, especially after a challenging season at UNC. Multiple Tar Heels sustained injuries before the 2023 season, resulting in a “down” year by UNC standards (a 10-7 record and first-round NCAA tournament exit). Long loved her years in Chapel Hill but craved a break.

“My senior year was tough,” Long said. “I took a step away and was enjoying the summer and not having to get up and work out.”

A month of that was enough.

“I started feeling like I’d regret not being on a team, having a routine and practicing every day,” Long said. “I miss the runs at Carolina.”

Those who knew her best agreed: Division III basketball was worth a shot.

Long jumped on a FaceTime call with head coach Brittany Whalen and visited campus to firm up details. She met the team.

“It was the second time of feeling like, ‘This is perfect,’” Long said in a nod to her process at UNC.

Perfect, but different. Division III rules limit time with coaches during the preseason, so much of the bonding and conditioning is athlete-led. But that wasn’t an issue for the Mighty Macs.

“We all showed up every day to work,” Long said. “They don’t shy away from competition. They don’t shy away from hard runs. I have loved every second of it. I definitely underestimated the time and fierce competition that this team has.”

The multi-game weeks also force players to put in work while no one is watching, finding time to watch film and come to practice with scouts.

“Lat week, we played Monday, Wednesday and Saturday,” Long said. “If we played two games in a week at Carolina, it was like, ‘Oh my gosh — two games this week.’ It’s definitely different.”

The Mighty Macs went 2-1 during that span, with Long coming off the bench and scoring eight points in total. She’s learning to accept her new role and this new version of her.

“I had to give myself a lot of grace in September and October,” Long said. “I was like, ‘Alright, it’s been four years. It’s OK.’”

Long has also quickly learned that part of the Mighty Macs’ fierce, competitive edge is because of unfinished business. They lost to Neumann University at home in last year’s Atlantic East semifinals and have their eye on a conference crown in 2024-25. They were voted preseason No. 2.

“I’ve gone in like, ‘Hey, I’m going to do whatever I can and whatever my role is,’” Long said. “This is the only shot I get.”

Once the clock runs out on her athletic career, Long plans to complete her degree and coach club lacrosse with HHH. But she has no plans to pull a Spencer and vie for a spot playing alongside Indiana Fever sensation Caitlin Clark in the WNBA. Long will instead soon pivot to the classroom, where she’ll lean into the lessons she learned on the field and hardwood.

“I remember my [North Carolina] teammate Katie Hoeg say, ‘I can answer every question in my dental school with a lacrosse story,’” Long said. “I still use her analogies … [My teams] have faced adversity of injuries, schoolwork and time management. There’s no problem that I can’t adjust to. There’s no situation that scares me away.”