University of Texas Austin - Cactus Yearbook (Austin, TX)

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foes Long Beach State Southern California Idaho Notre Dame Ohio State Northeast Louisiana Tennessee Temple Ohio State Tennessee Rice Arkansas Baylor . . . Texas A M Southern Methodist University Texas Christian University Western Kentucky Texas Tech Houston Rice Arkansas Baylor Texas A M SMU TCU Texas Tech 100-M 8949 B7-44 84-59 99-78 S5-60 78-85 93-57 97-63 88-74 85-53 59-56 88-58 94-60 91-50 99-67 63-41 74-52 79-73 96-63 91-65 SWC Tournament Houston Texas Tech Arkansas NCAA Tournament St. Joseph ' s James Madison Rutgers Louisiana Tech 96-50 93-57 110-65 74-52 60-53 73-49 72-70 86-56 91-57 J5-T7 75-79 NCAA Semi-Finalists RobcM ohcn Women ' s Basketball 1 83

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. rolling over non-conference foes by Nick Sa ran takes The Lady Longhorn Basketball team began non-conference play with the am- bitious goal of repeating last year ' s undefeated season. Although the Lady Horns were unable to meet this goal, the non-conference season was more than successful. The Lady Horns started the defense of their National Championship title, ranked at the top of the Associated Press pre-season poll. But Head Coach Jody Conradt wasn ' t sure that the Horns deserved the top ranking. I have felt at other times we were deserving. Potentially, we have a chance this year. But right now, when you look at the inexperience of this team, it may be stretching it a bit, she said. The season started at the University of Southern California Invitational Nov. 28 against seventh-ranked Long Beach State. The Lady Horns easily won 100-86. Then, in a rematch of last season ' s national championship, the Lady Horns faced the then sixth-ranked USC and again won. This time 89-69. The next game was in Moscow, Idaho, where the Lady Horns played the University of Idaho. The game was a pleasant homecoming for UT forward Andrea Lloyd, who graduated from Moscow High School, since Texas trounced Idaho 87-44. The home opener for Texas was in the Dr Pepper Texas Classic against Notre Dame Dec. 5. The game was the first meeting between the Irish and Texas. The 84-59 victory over Notre Dame moved Texas into the tournament championship game against 15th- ranked Ohio State. Texas won 99-78, with 29 points from tournament Most Valuable Player Clarissa Davis. The next game was in Monroe, Loui- siana, Dec. 9. The game put the Horns ' streak up against the Lady Indians ' 32- game home winning s treak. The game ended with an 85-60 Texas victory. UT versus UT was the name of the game for the McDonald ' s Challenge, when the third-ranked University of Tennessee Lady Volunteers visited Texas. The Horns ' streak was broken here as they missed some key free throws resulting in their first loss, 85- 78. Tennessee, as a result, took the top spot in the poll, while Texas fell to third. Conradt said the team was able to learn from this loss. Although I ' ve been harping on them all season about keeping their intensity level up, we had been chugging along just fine. Then bang, a tough loss comes around, and they begin to realize they need to be more of a team and play with a little more intensity, Conradt said. The Horns needed this intensity for the Orange Bowl Burger King Invita- tional. The tournament featured three of last year ' s final four teams. The first team that the third-ranked Horns faced was Temple University. The Horns were able to easily defeat the Lady Owls 93-57. The next round of the tournament was against 16th-ranked Ohio State. The Lady Horns beat the Lady Buckeyes for the second time in the season 97-63. The tournament cham- pionship was a revenge match against the top-ranked Tennessee Lady Volunteers. This time, the Lady Horns beat Tennessee 88-74. After the game the Horns reclaimed the top ranking in the poll. The last non-conference game of the year was against 19th-ranked Western Kentucky. The last time the two teams met was in the 1985 National Collegiate Athletics Association playoffs. The Lady Hilltoppers had defeated the Horns, keeping the Horns out of the Final Four. This time the Horns were able to force 26 turnovers in front of 9,541 fans to win 63-41. The Hilltop- pers were intimidated, even in the opi- nion of their coach. I wish you guys would tell me why we shot 25 percent and 3 1 for the game, and turned it over 26 times, Paul Sanderford said. I ' d like to think it was the intimidation factor. LOOK OUT: Beverly Williams, liberal arts sophomore, pulls down a rebound against Texas Tech, Jan. 24. IN CONTROL: Andrea Lloyd, sociology senior, avoids an SMU defender, Jan. 17. J . - ' : I . 1 1 I 1 82 Women ' s Basketball

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Spirited spectators spur on teams by Jennifer Stephens After all the games were played, after all the attendance counts were totaled, the National Collegiate Athletic Association Final Four, played at the Frank Erwin Special Events Center, meant more than a string of broken at- tendance records or a new national champion. The event signaled an im- portant rise in the popularity of women ' s basketball. Over the weekend of Mar. 27-29, each of the three games of the Final Four were sold-out. The semi-final match between Texas and Louisiana Tech broke the NCAA record for attendance at a single women ' s game with 1 5,5 14. But these were just numbers. The ac- tual figures did not portray the emotion, spirit and enthusiasm felt by players, coaches and fans. Susan Anderson, Texas center, said the crowd was excellent and the team was impressed. According to Anderson, not only did the fans root for Texas but supported the other teams as well. They (the fans) made the other teams feel really welcome. As a rookie on the squad, Anderson said the added attention of the fans real- ly helped her performance. Everyone ' s behind you; it can ' t help but boost your confidence, Anderson said. The University acquired the tourna- ment through a bidding process. Beating out other competitors, to prove that it could provide the best package of ac- commodations, transportation and work-out facilities. Thus, Texas earned the right to host the Final Four. Welcoming the teams to the tourney, the Women ' s Athletic Department hosted a banquet for the hoopsters on a boat traveling down Town Lake, Mar. 26, preceding the semi-final games. Later in the evening on campus, basketball enthusiasts were treated to a rowdy pep rally for the Lady Longhorns on the steps of the Main building. A weekend event of this size and prestige involved a great deal of plan- ning. According to Ivan Meltzer, women ' s sports information director, 1 84 Women ' s NCAA Final Four however, there were no major problems and the Final Four festivities ran smoothly. Administratively, it came off really well. It was a great success, Meltzer said. For Texas fans, having the tourna- ment in Austin was made more exciting since the Lady Longhorns were in the semi-finals. After a tough victory on the road against Rutgers in the East Regionals, the Horns returned home to face the crowd and the Lady Techsters. Even before the NCAA tournament though, the Lady Longhorns were bring- ing in the fans. The team broke the NCAA record for average home game attendance with 5,858 per contest. Overall, over 100,000 people came to see the lady hoopsters during their season including both home and away games. The reason for their popularity in- volved their winning ability. Once they come out for one time, they get involved and then they come back, Anderson said. But as all seasons go, their campaign had to come to an end. In a game that Meltzer deemed, one of the best in the history of women ' s basketball, the Horns lost to the Lady Techsters, 79-75. Even though they lost the chance to repeat as national champions, the Texas women proved that their brand of basketball is here to stay. The team received a majority of sup- port from Austin-area residents and UT students as approximately 75 percent of the tickets were sold in central Texas. All the figures and statistics seemed to lead to a very positive conclusion. If the trend of increased attendance con- tinues, the Lady Longhorns may look forward to more sold-out crowds in seasons to come. With that in mind, Coach Jody Con- radt could remain optimistic following the semi-final defeat. Texas is here. Texas is packing the house, Conradt said. DOWN AND OUT: Louisiana Tech ' s Stacey Davis watches her team lose. STOLEN OPPOR- TUNITY: Louisiana Tech ' s Teresa Weatherspoon steals the ball from Tennessee ' s Dawn Marsh.