1985–86 USC Trojans women's basketball team

1985–86 USC Trojans women's basketball
Pac-West champions
NCAA tournament, Runner-up
Conference	Pacific West Conference
Ranking
Coaches	No. 2
AP	No. 3
Record	31–5 (8–0 Pac-West)
Head coach	Linda Sharp (9th season)
Home arena	L.A. Sports Arena

1985–86 Pacific West Conference women's basketball standings

v t e	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

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

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 Linda Sharp (Cal State Fullerton) Assistant coach(es) Legend (C) Team captain (S) Suspended (I) Ineligible (W) Walk-on Injured Current redshirt Roster

Schedule

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

See also: 1985–86 NCAA Division I women's basketball rankings

Ranking movements
Legend: ██ Increase in ranking ██ Decrease in ranking

	Week
Poll	Pre	1	2	3	4	5	6	7	8	9	10	11	12	13	14	15	Final
AP	7	5	4	3	3	2	2	5	5	4	7	7	7	4	4	3	Not released
Coaches	7	5	3	3	3	2	2	5	5	4	7	7	7	5	3	3	2

Awards and honors

Notes

References

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.

External links

• USC Athletics Site