# 1985–86 USC Trojans women's basketball team

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.

## 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 | 31–4 | Rupp Arena Lexington, Kentucky |
| Mar 30, 1986* | (1 W) No. 3 | vs. (1 MW) No. 1 Texas National Championship | L 81–97 | 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

## Rankings

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