1985–86 Texas Longhorns women's basketball team

The 1985–86 Texas Longhorns women's basketball team represents the University of Texas at Austin in the 1985–86 college basketball season. It was head coach Jody Conradt's tenth season at Texas. The Longhorns were members of the Southwest Conference and played their home games at the Frank Erwin Center. They finished the season a perfect 34–0, 16–0 in SWC play to win the regular season and SWC Tournament. They received an automatic bid to the NCAA Women's Basketball Tournament where they defeated USC to win their first National Championship.

1985–86 Texas Longhorns women's basketball
NCAA Tournament National Champions
SWC Champion
SWC Tournament Champion
Texas Classic Champion
Orange Bowl Invitational Champion
ConferenceSouthwest Conference
Ranking
CoachesNo. 1
APNo. 1
1985–86 record34–0 (16–0 SWC)
Head coachJody Conradt (10th season)
Assistant coaches
  • Jill Rankin
  • Lynn Pool
  • Colleen Matsuhara
Home arenaFrank Erwin Center
1985-86 Southwest Conference women's basketball standings
Conf  Overall
TeamW L PCT  W L PCT
No. 1 Texas160 1.000  340  1.000
Texas Tech133 .813  219  .700
Arkansas133 .813  228  .733
Houston97 .563  1910  .655
Texas A&M97 .563  1613  .552
SMU511 .313  1120  .355
Baylor412 .250  621  .222
Rice214 .125  719  .269
TCU115 .063  522  .185
1986 SWC Tournament winner
Rankings from AP Poll

National Championship

The Texas team, in front of the main tower, lit up with #1
Annette Smith and Jody Conradt with the National Championship trophy

After earning a number one national ranking in 1984, but stumbling in the regional's finals to national power Louisiana Tech, Texas seemed poised for a better result in 1985. Not only did the team earn another top national ranking, but they entered the NCAA Tournament knowing that if they reached the Final Four, they would have the home court advantage with the final games scheduled for their own Frank Erwin Center. Home court would play a part, but not the part hoped for by the Longhorns. In the regional semi-finals, played at the home court of Western Kentucky University, the Hilltoppers stymied the Longhorn's hopes with a 92–90 victory. They would return to the 1986 tournament viewed as one of the top teams in the nation and were once again ranked the top team in the nation, but they still did not have a Final Four NCAA appearance on their resume.[1]

The Texas team won their first game easily, then continued to the regional, this time on their home court. They dispatched Oklahoma easily, then struggled against Mississippi, who were trying to prevent the team from a Final Four yet again. This time, Texas prevailed and beat Mississippi by three points to head to their first NCAA Final Four. Their opponent in the semifinal was none other than Western Kentucky, who had denied them the previous year. This time, the result would be very different, as the Longhorns beat Western Kentucky easily, 90–65.[2]

The other semifinal pitted Tennessee against Southern California. Cheryl Miller was the best player at USC, and had led the team to the national championship in 1984. Miller went on to play for the USA national team and helped the USA win the gold medal at the 1984 Olympics. 1986 was Miller's senior year at USC. The game between Tennessee and USC was a rematch of a physical game played in December, in which Miller was thrown out of the game for an elbow. The game was close, but USC ended up with an 85–77 win. In the rematch, Miller would again come out of the game, but under very different circumstances. She was worried about getting hurt, and with a 70–51 lead, didn't need to stay in. In that game, USC won by 24 points, 83–59.

That set up the championship game between USC and undefeated Texas. The Texas team was very deep but had suffered a number of injuries during the year. The game was close early with the Trojans leading at times in the first half, but Texas went on a 10–2 run to take a seven-point lead. Miller would have one of the worst games in her career. Although she scored 16 points, twelve of those were from the free throw line. She was only 2 for 11 from the field, without a single point in the second half. In contrast, Texas' Clarissa Davis came off the bench to score 25 and earn Most Outstanding Player honors. USC's Cynthia Cooper scored 27 points, and Texas won the national championship 97–81 to complete the first undefeated season in NCAA history.[3][4][5]

Roster

1985–86 Texas Longhorns women's basketball team
PlayersCoaches
Pos.#NameHeightYearPrevious schoolHometown
G 10 Beverly Williams 5 ft 8 in (1.73 m) SoDel Valle Austin, TX
G 11 Audrey Smith 5 ft 7 in (1.7 m) SrBay City Bay City, TX
C 15 Annette Smith 5 ft 11 in (1.8 m) SrBay City Bay City, TX
F 20 Fran Harris 6 ft 0 in (1.83 m) SrSouth Oak Cliff Dallas, TX
G 21 Paulette Moegle 5 ft 10 in (1.78 m) SoSan Marcos San Marcos, TX
F/C 22 Gay Hemphill 5 ft 11 in (1.8 m) SrPlainview Plainview, TX
F/C 24 Clarissa Davis 6 ft 1 in (1.85 m) FrJohn Jay San Antonio, TX
F 25 Andrea Lloyd 6 ft 2 in (1.88 m) JrMoscow Moscow, ID
F 32 C.J. Jones 6 ft 1 in (1.85 m) SoRancho Las Vegas, NV
G 33 Kamie Ethridge 5 ft 5 in (1.65 m) SrMonterey Lubbock, TX
G/F 34 Yulonda Wimbish 5 ft 9 in (1.75 m) SoVictoria Victoria, TX
C 44 Cara Priddy 6 ft 2 in (1.88 m) SrCentral Las Vegas, NM
C 45 Michele Eglinger 6 ft 4 in (1.93 m) SoScarborough Houston, TX
F 50 Wanda Gardner 5 ft 10 in (1.78 m) FrDesoto Desoto, TX
Head coach

Jody Conradt

Assistant coach(es)

Jill Rankin
Lynn Pool
Colleen Matsuhara
Volunteer Assistant Coach
Jamie Smith
Student Assistant Coach
Kriss Ethridge


Legend
  • (C) Team captain
  • (S) Suspended
  • (I) Ineligible
  • (W) Walk-on

Roster
Last update: April 7, 2020

Schedule

[6]

Date
time, TV
Rank# Opponent# Result Record Site (attendance)
city, state
Regular Season
Friday, November 29, 1985*
No. 1 at No. 10 Ohio State W 78-76  1-0
St. John Arena (4,281)
Columbus, OH
Sunday, December 1, 1985*
No. 1 at No. 9 Tennessee W 74-52  2-0
Stokely Athletic Center (3,031)
Knoxville, TN
Sunday, October 6, 1985*
No. 1 Western Michican
Texas Classic
W 92-65  3-0
Frank Erwin Center (2,456)
Austin, TX
Saturday, December 7, 1985*
No. 1 No. 3 Louisiana-Monroe
Texas Classic
W 68-54  4-0
Frank Erwin Center (4,639)
Austin, TX
Tuesday, December 10, 1985*
No. 1 No. 4 USC W 94-78  5-0
Frank Erwin Center (11,470)
Austin, TX
Sunday, December 29, 1985*
No. 1 vs. Rutgers
Orange Bowl Invitational
W 81-63  6-0
 (650)
Coral Gables, FL
Monday, December 30, 1985*
No. 1 vs. No. 8 Mississippi
Orange Bowl Invitational
W 57-46  7-0
 (596)
Coral Gables, FL
Tuesday, December 31, 1985*
No. 1 vs. No. 7 Louisiana-Monroe
Orange Bowl Invitational
W 70-65  8-0
 (744)
Coral Gables, FL
Thursday, January 2, 1986
No. 1 at No. 20 Houston W 92-66  9-0
(1-0)
Hofheinz Pavilion (3,100)
Houston, TX
Saturday, January 4, 1986
No. 1 at Rice W 70-38  10-0
(2-0)
Tudor Fieldhouse (1,016)
Houston, TX
Tuesday, January 7, 1986
No. 1 Arkansas W 75-44  11-0
(3-0)
Frank Erwin Center (3,426)
Houston, TX
Saturday, January 11, 1986
No. 1 Baylor W 93-40  12-0
(4-0)
Frank Erwin Center (3,253)
Austin, TX
Tuesday, January 14, 1986
No. 1 at Texas A&M W 73-59  13-0
(5-0)
G. Rollie White Coliseum (1,150)
College Station, TX
Saturday, January 18, 1986
No. 1 at SMU W 96-58  14-0
(6-0)
Moody Coliseum (2,500)
Dallas, TX
Monday, January 20, 1986*
No. 1 Old Dominion W 93-62  15-0
Frank Erwin Center (5,517)
Dallas, TX
Wednesday, January 22, 1986
No. 1 TCU W 95-42  16-0
(7-0)
Frank Erwin Center (2,388)
Austin, TX
Friday, January 24, 1986*
No. 1 at BYU W 111-78  17-0
Marriott Center (1,578)
Provo, UT
Tuesday, January 28, 1986
No. 1 at Texas Tech W 64-57  18-0
(8-0)
Lubbock Municipal Coliseum (5,005)
Lubbock, TX
Saturday, February 1, 1986
No. 1 Houston W 87-60  19-0
(9-0)
Frank Erwin Center (4,084)
Lubbock, TX
Wednesday, February 5, 1986
No. 1 Rice W 78-46  20-0
(10-0)
Frank Erwin Center (1,346)
Austin, TX
Saturday, February 8, 1986
No. 1 at Arkansas W 75-57  21-0
(11-0)
Barnhill Arena (6,008)
Fayetteville, AR
Wednesday, February 12, 1986
No. 1 at Baylor W 77-45  22-0
(12-0)
Heart O' Texas Fair Complex (662)
Waco, TX
Saturday, February 15, 1986
No. 1 Texas A&M W 77-64  23-0
(13-0)
Frank Erwin Center (4,209)
Waco, TX
Monday, February 17, 1986*
No. 1 Miami W 112-43  24-0
Frank Erwin Center (3,430)
Austin, TX
Wednesday, February 19, 1986
No. 1 SMU W 105-48  25-0
(14-0)
Frank Erwin Center (1,498)
Austin, TX
Saturday, February 22, 1986
No. 1 at TCU W 105-44  26-0
(15-0)
Daniel–Meyer Coliseum (563)
Fort Worth, TX
Sunday, March 2, 1986
No. 1 Texas Tech W 55-43  27-0
(16-0)
Frank Erwin Center (3,735)
Fort Worth, TX
SWC Women's Tournament
Thursday, March 6, 1986
(1) No. 1 vs. (4) Houston
SWC Semifinal
W 81-64  28-0
Moody Coliseum (2,011)
Austin, TX
Saturday, March 8, 1986
(1) No. 1 vs. (2) Texas Tech
SWC Final
W 77-53  29-0
Moody Coliseum (4,782)
Dallas, TX
NCAA Women's Tournament
Friday, March 14, 1986*
(1 MW) No. 1 (9 MW) Missouri
NCAA Second Round
W 108-67  30-0
Frank Erwin Center (4,995)
Dallas, TX
Thursday, March 20, 1986*
(1 MW) No. 1 (4 MW) No. 19 Oklahoma
NCAA Regional Semifinal
W 85-59  31-0
Frank Erwin Center (7,474)
Austin, TX
Saturday, March 22, 1986*
(1 MW) No. 1 (2 MW) No. 11 Mississippi
NCAA Regional Final
W 66-63  32-0
Frank Erwin Center (10,064)
Austin, TX
Friday, March 28, 1986*
(1 MW) No. 1 vs. (4 E) No. 5 Western Kentucky
NCAA Semifinal
W 90-65  33-0
Rupp Arena (8,000)
Lexington, KY
Sunday, March 30, 1986*
(1 MW) No. 1 vs. (1 W) No. 3 USC
NCAA Final
W 97-81  34-0
Rupp Arena (5,662)
Lexington, KY
*Non-conference game. #Rankings from AP Poll. (#) Tournament seedings in parentheses. MW=Midwest.

Rankings

[7]

Regular Season Polls
PollPre-
Season
Week
2
Week
3
Week
4
Week
5
Week
6
Week
7
Week
8
Week
9
Week
10
Week
11
Week
12
Week
13
Week
14
Week
15
Final
AP 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 N/A
Coaches 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1
Legend
  Increase in ranking
  Decrease in ranking
  Not ranked previous week
(RV)   Received Votes

See also

References

  1. "Celebrating perfection: 1986 Texas Women's Basketball". Texas Longhorns Women's Basketball. Retrieved 28 April 2012.
  2. CART, JULIE (March 29, 1986). "USC Women Win, and It's Without a Fight". LA Times. Retrieved 28 April 2012.
  3. CART, JULIE (March 31, 1986). "Texas Longhorns Women's Basketball". LA Times. Retrieved 28 April 2012.
  4. Jackson, Melanie (March 31, 2006). "With a freshman leading the way, Texas runs the table". ESPN.
  5. "National Championship moments: 1986 Women's Basketball". Texas Longhorns Women's Basketball. Retrieved 28 April 2012.
  6. "1985-86 Women's Basketball Schedule" (PDF). Texas Sports. Retrieved April 7, 2020.
  7. "Division I Women's Basketball Records" (PDF). NCAA. pp. 61, 96. Retrieved April 7, 2020.
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