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1985–86 USC Trojans women's basketball team

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1985–86 USC Trojans women's basketball
Pac-West champions
ConferencePacific West Conference
Ranking
CoachesNo. 2
APNo. 3
Record31–5 (8–0 Pac-West)
Head coach
Home arenaL.A. Sports Arena
Seasons
1985–86 Pacific West Conference women's basketball standings
Conf Overall
Team W   L   PCT W   L   PCT
No. 3 USC 8 0   1.000 31 5   .861
Arizona 4 4   .500 19 9   .679
Arizona State 4 4   .500 15 10   .600
UCLA 3 5   .375 12 16   .429
Stanford 1 7   .125 13 15   .464
As of March 31, 1986
Rankings from AP Poll

The 1985–86 USC Trojans women's basketball team represented the University of Southern California during the 1985–86 NCAA Division I women's basketball season. The squad was led by ninth-year head coach Linda Sharp and superstar Cheryl Miller. The Trojans played their home games at the L.A. Sports Arena and were members of the Pacific West Conference.

The Women of Troy finished the regular season with a 27–4 record (8–0 WCAA) and the No. 3 ranking in the AP poll. As the top seed in the West region of the NCAA tournament, USC played the entire regional near their home city of Los Angeles. The team defeated Montana, North Carolina, and Louisiana Tech to earn the school's third Final Four appearance. In the national semifinals, USC easily defeated Tennessee, 83–59. In the National Championship Game, the Trojans played No. 1 and unbeaten Texas. The Longhorns were too much for USC as they won the title by a score of 97–81 to secure the program's first NCAA title.

Miller capped her career with over 3,000 points, multiple player of the year awards, and two national championships, and remains one of the most decorated women's college basketball players of all time. Her number 31 jersey was the first basketball jersey – men's or women's – to be retired at USC.

Previous season

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The 1984–85 USC Trojans women's basketball team finished with an overall record of 20–9 and a No. 15 ranking in the final AP poll. They reached the Sweet Sixteen of the women's NCAA tournament before losing to No. 3 Long Beach State, 74–72, in the West regional semifinal round.

Roster

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1985–86 USC Trojans women's basketball team
Players Coaches
Pos. # Name Height Year Previous school Hometown
G 21 Rhonda Windham
RS Jr   Bronx, New York
F 31 Cheryl Miller 6 ft 2 in (1.88 m) Sr Riverside Polytechnic Riverside, California
G 44 Cynthia Cooper 5 ft 10 in (1.78 m) Sr Locke Los Angeles, California
Head coach
Assistant coach(es)

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

Roster

Schedule

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Date
time, TV
Rank# Opponent# Result Record Site
city, state
Regular season
Nov 22, 1985*
No. 7 BYU W 102–53  1–0
L.A. Sports Arena 
Los Angeles, California
Nov 26, 1985*
No. 7 at Pepperdine W 94–50  2–0
Firestone Fieldhouse 
Malibu, California
Nov 29, 1985*
No. 7 vs. Saint Joseph's
Maryland Tournament
W 96–66  3–0
Cole Field House 
College Park, Maryland
Nov 30, 1985*
No. 7 at Maryland
Maryland Tournament
W 76–54  4–0
Cole Field House 
College Park, Maryland
Dec 5, 1985*
No. 5 Indiana W 99–53  5–0
L.A. Sports Arena 
Los Angeles, California
Dec 7, 1985*
No. 5 at Cal Poly Pomona W 88–56  6–0
Kellogg Gym 
Pomona, California
Dec 10, 1985*
No. 4 at No. 1 Texas L 78–94  6–1
Frank Erwin Center (11,470)
Austin, Texas
Dec 13, 1985*
No. 4 No. 11 Tennessee W 85–77  7–1
L.A. Sports Arena 
Los Angeles, California
Dec 22, 1985*
No. 3 Oregon State W 117–55  8–1
L.A. Sports Arena 
Los Angeles, California
Dec 27, 1985*
No. 3 Missouri
Transamerica-USC Tournament
W 118–68  9–1
L.A. Sports Arena 
Los Angeles, California
Dec 28, 1985*
No. 3 No. 2 Georgia
Transamerica-USC Tournament
W 70–67  10–1
L.A. Sports Arena 
Los Angeles, California
Jan 3, 1986*
No. 2 Old Dominion W 89–76  11–1
Los Angeles Convention Center 
Los Angeles, California
Jan 6, 1986*
No. 2 at No. 5 Louisiana Tech L 53–75  11–2
Thomas Assembly Center 
Ruston, Louisiana
Jan 8, 1986*
No. 2 at No. 15 Ohio State W 83–81 OT 12–2
St. John Arena 
Columbus, Ohio
Jan 14, 1986*
No. 5 at Cal State Fullerton W 80–68  13–2
Titan Gym 
Fullerton, California
Jan 16, 1986
No. 5 Arizona W 92–72  14–2
(1–0)
L.A. Sports Arena 
Los Angeles, California
Jan 18, 1986
No. 5 Arizona State W 95–61  15–2
(2–0)
L.A. Sports Arena 
Los Angeles, California
Jan 25, 1986
No. 5 at Stanford W 81–59  16–2
(3–0)
Maples Pavilion 
Palo Alto, California
Jan 26, 1986*
No. 4 at California W 86–70  17–2
Harmon Gym 
Berkeley, California
Jan 28, 1986*
No. 4 No. 7 Long Beach State L 75–76  17–3
L.A. Sports Arena 
Los Angeles, California
Feb 1, 1986
No. 4 UCLA W 89–67  18–3
(4–0)
L.A. Sports Arena 
Los Angeles, California
Feb 4, 1986*
No. 4 at San Diego State W 91–73  19–3
Peterson Gymnasium 
San Diego, California
Feb 8, 1986*
No. 4 Cal State Fullerton W 87–64  20–3
L.A. Sports Arena 
Los Angeles, California
Feb 14, 1986
No. 4 at Arizona State W 80–57  21–3
(5–0)
ASU Activity Center 
Tempe, Arizona
Feb 15, 1986
No. 4 at Arizona W 83–67  22–3
(6–0)
McKale Center 
Tucson, Arizona
Feb 20, 1986
No. 4 Stanford W 88–62  23–3
(7–0)
L.A. Sports Arena 
Los Angeles, California
Feb 22, 1986*
No. 7 No. 4 Long Beach State W 99–68  24–3
L.A. Sports Arena 
Los Angeles, California
Feb 28, 1986*
No. 4 vs. Utah State
Northern Lights Invitational
W 115–45  25–3
Sullivan Arena 
Anchorage, Alaska
Mar 1, 1986*
No. 4 vs. SMU
Northern Lights Invitational
W 121–61  26–3
Sullivan Arena 
Anchorage, Alaska
Mar 2, 1986*
No. 4 vs. NE Louisiana
Northern Lights Invitational
L 68–70  26–4
Sullivan Arena 
Anchorage, Alaska
Mar 6, 1986
No. 4 at UCLA
Rivalry
W 89–57  27–4
(8–0)
Pauley Pavilion 
Los Angeles, California
NCAA tournament
Mar 16, 1986*
(1 W) No. 3 (8 W) Montana
Second round
W 81–50  28–4
L.A. Sports Arena 
Los Angeles, California
Mar 21, 1983*
(1 W) No. 3 vs. (4 W) No. 16 North Carolina
Regional Semifinal – Sweet Sixteen
W 84–70  29–4
Long Beach Arena 
Long Beach, California
Mar 23, 1986*
(1 W) No. 3 vs. (2 W) No. 4 Louisiana Tech
Regional Final – Elite Eight
W 80–64  30–4
Long Beach Arena 
Long Beach, California
Mar 28, 1986*
(1 W) No. 3 vs. (4 ME) No. 15 Tennessee
National Semifinal – Final Four
W 83–59[1]  31–4
Rupp Arena 
Lexington, Kentucky
Mar 30, 1986*
(1 W) No. 3 vs. (1 MW) No. 1 Texas
National Championship
L 81–97[2]  31–5
Rupp Arena 
Lexington, Kentucky
*Non-conference game. #Rankings from AP Poll. (#) Tournament seedings in parentheses.
W=West.
All times are in Pacific Time.

Source: USCTrojans.com[3]

Rankings

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Ranking movements
Legend: ██ Increase in ranking ██ Decrease in ranking
Week
PollPre123456789101112131415Final
AP7543322554777443Not released
Coaches75333225547775332

Awards and honors

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Notes

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References

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  1. ^ "USC Women Win, and It's Without a Fight". The Los Angeles Times. March 29, 1986. Retrieved April 21, 2024.
  2. ^ "Texas Is a Perfect 34-0 as Longhorns Stop Miller, Win Women's NCAA Title". The Los Angeles Times. March 31, 1986. Retrieved April 21, 2024.
  3. ^ "1985-86 USC Women's Basketball Schedule". USCTrojans.com. Retrieved April 21, 2024.
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