Blast from the past (1986): Texas vs. USC

[Plebe]

On this slow day in WCBB, I thought I'd share this gem I recently came across on YouTube, a game I remember watching as a kid at a time when women's basketball had very little media exposure.

In the days before UConn made undefeated seasons look fairly routine, Jody Conradt's 1985-86 Texas team looked like it might go down as the greatest of all time. They took out USC, 97-81, in the championship game.

This game featured several iconic players:

• Cheryl Miller, in her last collegiate game. She struggled with foul trouble in an extremely tightly officiated game, but still did lots of damage from the free throw line.
• Cynthia Cooper, also in her last collegiate game, led all scorers with 27 points.
• Kamie Ethridge, the legendary Texas point guard, would be on the U.S. Olympic team two years later. (She is now the head coach at Washington State.)
• Clarissa Davis, a next-level athlete who as a freshman came off the bench to lead Texas with 24 points and 12 rebounds.

It's stunning to me, when I rewatch this, just how much the game has changed. If you think today's officiating is bad, this game will shift your perspective. I can hardly believe how over-officiated this game was. There were stretches where it seemed like there was at least one whistle on every possession.

This was also before the advent of the shot clock and the 3-point line. Back then a 15-footer was considered a long-distance shot.

First half:

 

[Plebe]

As an interesting time reference, this just also happened to be Geno's first year at UConn.

Second half:

 

[triaddukefan]

I remember watching this game on CBS as a youngster. I was rooting for USC...... and felt bad that Miller lost in her last collegiate game.

 

[triaddukefan]

Looking at this video... reminds me that the 80s were the heyday of the Jheri Curl. Oh my goodness

 

[Plebe]

Looking at this video... reminds me that the 80s were the heyday of the Jheri Curl. Oh my goodness

Ha yes, as evidenced by about 90% of the Texas roster

 

[Plebe]

I remember watching this game on CBS as a youngster. I was rooting for USC. and felt bad that Miller lost in her last collegiate game.

I had seen Cheryl Miller a few years earlier win two consecutive titles with the McGee sisters. Miller really raised the bar on the athleticism of the women's game. And then this Texas team that went about 9 or 10 deep with extremely athletic players just raised it even higher.

It was also interesting to see Pat Summitt interviewed at halftime. Tennessee still hadn't gotten over the hump at that point, having lost in multiple Final Fours, but they would go on to win 3 of the next 5 years to firmly establish themselves as the premiere program.

 

[CocoHusky]

Cheryl Miller was where my love of WCBB started.

 

[donalddoowop]

Plebe, you were a kid in 1985-1986? Wow! That means you are a kid now compared to a number of us on the BY. I did not see the game but I read about it. There were not many women's games on television then.

 

[JordyG]

Cheryl Miller was where my love of WCBB started.

Anne Meyers opened them, Cheryl made them wide.

 

[VAUConnFan]

I remember this game quite well and was rooting very hard for USC. USC had a point guard I liked an awful lot, Rhonda Wyndham, who had undergone knee surgery a couple of seasons prior; Never regained the explosiveness. Don Ford's younger sister, Holly, was also a member of this USC squad.