1985–86 Texas Longhorns women's basketball team

Intercollegiate basketball season March 2026 August 2023 Women's Basketball 1985–86 Texas Longhorns Texas Longhorns logo.svg Southwest Conference SWC 1 1 34–0 16–0 Jody Conradt 10th Jill Rankin Lynn Pool Colleen Matsuhara Frank Erwin Center NCAA tournament National ChampionsSWC ChampionSWC tournament champion Texas Classic ChampionOrange Bowl Invitational Champion The 1985–86 Texas Longhorns women's basketball team represented 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. National championship 1986 NCAA Division I women's basketball tournament thumb|300 px|The Texas team, in front of the main tower, lit up with #1 thumb|300 px|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.Celebrating perfection: 1986 Texas Women's Basketball http://www.texassports.com/sports/w-baskbl/spec-rel/012711aaa.html Texas Longhorns Women's Basketball 28 April 2012 15 August 2012 https://web.archive.org/web/20120815093858/http://www.texassports.com/sports/w-baskbl/spec-rel/012711aaa.html dead 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.CART JULIE USC Women Win, and It's Without a Fight https://www.latimes.com/archives/la-xpm-1986-03-29-sp-1386-story.html 28 April 2012 Los Angeles Times March 29, 1986 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.CART JULIE Texas Longhorns Women's Basketball https://www.latimes.com/archives/la-xpm-1986-03-31-sp-2161-story.html 28 April 2012 Los Angeles Times March 31, 1986Jackson Melanie With a freshman leading the way, Texas runs the table https://www.espn.com/womens-college-basketball/news/story?id=2382968 ESPN March 31, 2006National championship moments: 1986 Women's Basketball http://www.texassports.com/sports/w-baskbl/spec-rel/021907aaa.html Texas Longhorns Women's Basketball 28 April 2012 3 June 2012 https://web.archive.org/web/20120603172021/http://www.texassports.com/sports/w-baskbl/spec-rel/021907aaa.html dead Roster 1985 Texas Longhorns women y yes w Beverly Williams n 10 G 5 8 SO Austin, TX Del Valle w Audrey Smith n 11 G 5 7 SR Bay City, TX Bay City w Annette Smith n 15 C 5 11 SR Bay City, TX Bay City w Fran Harris y 20 F 6 0 SR Dallas, TX South Oak Cliff w Paulette Moegle n 21 G 5 10 SO San Marcos, TX San Marcos w Gay Hemphill n 22 F/C 5 11 SR Plainview, TX Plainview w Clarissa Davis y 24 F/C 6 1 FR San Antonio, TX John Jay w Andrea Lloyd Andrea Lloyd-Curry y 25 F 6 2 JR Moscow, ID Moscow w C.J. Jones n 32 F 6 1 SO Las Vegas, NV Rancho w Kamie Ethridge y 33 G 5 5 SR Lubbock, TX Monterey w Yulonda Wimbish n 34 G/F 5 9 SO Victoria, TX Victoria w Cara Priddy n 44 C 6 2 SR Las Vegas, NM Central w Michele Eglinger n 45 C 6 4 SO Houston, TX Scarborough w Wanda Gardner n 50 F 5 10 FR Desoto, TX Desoto https://texassports.com/sports/womens-basketball/roster/1985-86 April 7, 2020 Jody Conradt Jill Rankin Lynn Pool Colleen Matsuhara Volunteer Assistant CoachJamie Smith Student Assistant CoachKriss Ethridge Schedule https://texassports.com/sports/womens-basketball/schedule/1985-86 1985-86 Women's Basketball Schedule Texas Sports PDF April 7, 2020 yes |- !colspan=12 style="Texas Longhorns"| Regular season Friday, November 29, 1985 yes 1 yes 10 Ohio State 78–76 1–0 St. John Arena 4,281 Columbus, OH Sunday, December 1, 1985 yes 1 yes 9 Tennessee 74-52 2-0 Stokely Athletic Center 3,031 Knoxville, TN Sunday, October 6, 1985 yes 1 Western Michigan Texas Classic 92-65 3-0 Frank Erwin Center 2,456 Austin, TX Saturday, December 7, 1985 yes 1 3 Louisiana-Monroe Texas Classic 68-54 4-0 Frank Erwin Center 4,639 Austin, TX Tuesday, December 10, 1985 yes 1 4 USC 94-78 5-0 Frank Erwin Center 11,470 Austin, TX Sunday, December 29, 1985 yes 1 yes Rutgers Orange Bowl Invitational 81-63 6-0 650 Coral Gables, FL Monday, December 30, 1985 yes 1 yes 8 Mississippi Orange Bowl Invitational 57-46 7-0 596 Coral Gables, FL Tuesday, December 31, 1985 yes 1 yes 7 Louisiana-Monroe Orange Bowl Invitational 70-65 8-0 744 Coral Gables, FL Thursday, January 2, 1986 No 1 yes 20 Houston 92-66 9-0 1-0 Hofheinz Pavilion 3,100 Houston, TX Saturday, January 4, 1986 No 1 yes Rice 70-38 10-0 2-0 Tudor Fieldhouse 1,016 Houston, TX Tuesday, January 7, 1986 No 1 Arkansas 75-44 11-0 3-0 Frank Erwin Center 3,426 Houston, TX Saturday, January 11, 1986 No 1 Baylor 93-40 12-0 4-0 Frank Erwin Center 3,253 Austin, TX Tuesday, January 14, 1986 No 1 yes Texas A&M 73-59 13-0 5-0 G. Rollie White Coliseum 1,150 College Station, TX Saturday, January 18, 1986 No 1 yes SMU 96-58 14-0 6-0 Moody Coliseum 2,500 Dallas, TX Monday, January 20, 1986 yes 1 Old Dominion 93-62 15-0 Frank Erwin Center 5,517 Dallas, TX Wednesday, January 22, 1986 No 1 TCU 95-42 16-0 7-0 Frank Erwin Center 2,388 Austin, TX Friday, January 24, 1986 yes 1 yes BYU 111-78 17-0 Marriott Center 1,578 Provo, UT Tuesday, January 28, 1986 No 1 yes Texas Tech 64-57 18-0 8-0 Lubbock Municipal Coliseum 5,005 Lubbock, TX Saturday, February 1, 1986 No 1 Houston 87-60 19-0 9-0 Frank Erwin Center 4,084 Lubbock, TX Wednesday, February 5, 1986 No 1 Rice 78-46 20-0 10-0 Frank Erwin Center 1,346 Austin, TX Saturday, February 8, 1986 No 1 yes Arkansas 75-57 21-0 11-0 Barnhill Arena 6,008 Fayetteville, AR Wednesday, February 12, 1986 No 1 yes Baylor 77-45 22-0 12-0 Heart O' Texas Fair Complex 662 Waco, TX Saturday, February 15, 1986 No 1 Texas A&M 77-64 23-0 13-0 Frank Erwin Center 4,209 Waco, TX Monday, February 17, 1986 yes 1 Miami 112-43 24-0 Frank Erwin Center 3,430 Austin, TX Wednesday, February 19, 1986 No 1 SMU 105-48 25-0 14-0 Frank Erwin Center 1,498 Austin, TX Saturday, February 22, 1986 No 1 yes TCU 105-44 26-0 15-0 Daniel–Meyer Coliseum 563 Fort Worth, TX Sunday, March 2, 1986 No 1 Texas Tech 55-43 27-0 16-0 Frank Erwin Center 3,735 Fort Worth, TX |- !colspan=12 style="Texas Longhorns"| SWC women's tournament Thursday, March 6, 1986 No 1 1 yes 4 Houston SWC Semifinal 81-64 28-0 Moody Coliseum 2,011 Austin, TX Saturday, March 8, 1986 No 1 1 yes 2 Texas Tech SWC Final 77-53 29-0 Moody Coliseum 4,782 Dallas, TX |- !colspan=12 style="Texas Longhorns"| NCAA women's tournament Friday, March 14, 1986 yes 1 MW 1 9 MW Missouri NCAA second round 108-67 30-0 Frank Erwin Center 4,995 Dallas, TX Thursday, March 20, 1986 yes 1 MW 1 4 MW 19 Oklahoma NCAA regional semifinal 85-59 31-0 Frank Erwin Center 7,474 Austin, TX Saturday, March 22, 1986 yes 1 MW 1 2 MW 11 Mississippi NCAA Regional final 66-63 32-0 Frank Erwin Center 10,064 Austin, TX Friday, March 28, 1986 yes 1 MW 1 yes 4 E 5 Western Kentucky NCAA Semifinal 90-65 33-0 Rupp Arena 8,000 Lexington, KY Sunday, March 30, 1986 yes 1 MW 1 yes 1 W 3 USC NCAA Final 97-81 34-0 Rupp Arena 5,662 Lexington, KY MW Midwest Rankings 1985–86 NCAA Division I women's basketball rankings http://fs.ncaa.org/Docs/stats/w_basketball_RB/2018/D1.pdf 61, 96 Division I Women's Basketball Records NCAA PDF April 7, 2020 + Regular season PollsPoll Pre-Season Week2 Week3 Week4 Week5 Week6 Week7 Week8 Week9 Week10 Week11 Week12 Week13 Week14 Week15 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 Texas Longhorns women's basketball References Category:Texas Longhorns women's basketball seasons Texas Texas Category:NCAA Division I women's basketball tournament championship seasons Category:NCAA Division I women's basketball tournament Final Four seasons Texas Longhorns women's basketball Texas Longhorns women's basketball