Thirty years ago, Texas Tech shocked the basketball world by winning the NCAA Women’s National Championship.
We will take a trip down memory lane to my alma mater, Texas Tech, which is located in Lubbock in West Texas. The year is 1992, and the Big 12 Conference–the league in which the Red Raiders now play–doesn’t yet exist. Back in those days, Tech and a number of other schools that eventually migrated to the Big 12 and elsewhere played in the Southwest Conference.
The SWC included other Texas schools, Texas and Texas A&M among them, plus the Arkansas Razorbacks. It was known as a footfall conference, but this story is about another sport, women’s basketball, and my Texas Tech Lady Raiders.
The team was led by player Sheryl Swoopes and head coach Marsha Sharp. The team went 31-3 that season, 13-1 in the SWC, and they won the SWC post-season tournament.
Swopes in the title game v. Ohio State (photo FOX Sports)
Then came the NCAA tournament, and the Raiders played in the West Region, starting in Missoula, MT. After winning the region by beating the Colorado Buffalos, Tech took on Vanderbilt in the Final Four. and won.
The stage was set — the national championship game vs. the Big Ten’s Ohio State Buckeyes, and it would be played in front of the first-ever sold-out arena for a women’s national title game.
Close throughout, Tech had just enough to win, squeaking out an 84-82 win. Swoopes dominated with 47 points, setting a single-game championship scoring record, and claiming Outstanding Player honors.
The Lady Raiders were everything you could ever want and expect from a championship club. They worked hard, were well-coached, and played with strategy. The 40,000 fans who welcomed them home at Jones Stadium knew that, and expressed their appreciation for a team that put Texas Tech on the map.
National Champions!
