USC Women’s NCAA Tournament results
The USC women’s basketball program is poised for greatness under current coach Lindsay Gottlieb. The Trojans made the bracket in this year’s NCAA Tournament, and will bring in the nation’s No. 1 recruit, Juju Watkins, next season. The program is building considerable momentum and is on a flight path to much greater heights.
The Trojans hope to approach the lofty status they first gained in the 1980s. USC won two national titles, becoming the first program to win two NCAA Tournaments. The Women’s NCAA Tournament began in 1982. USC quickly established itself as the number one program in the sport before Pat Summitt and the Tennessee Lady Vols took over and gained that place of primacy. Then came Geno Auriemma and the Connecticut Huskies in the 21st century. They overtook Tennessee as the most successful women’s college basketball program of all time.
Here are all of USC women’s basketball’s particularly significant NCAA Tournament results. You will note they are all confined to an increasingly distant past, which makes the current revival under Gottlieb and assistant coach Beth Burns so exciting:
1982: USC TO THE ELITE EIGHT
Jan 15, 2023; Los Angeles, California, USA; A general overall view as Southern California Trojans guard Destiny Littleton (11) dribbles the ball over the SC logo at midcourt in the first half against the Stanford Cardinal at Galen Center. USC defeated Stanford 55-46. Mandatory Credit: Kirby Lee-USA TODAY Sports
USC made the Elite Eight in the first-ever Women’s NCAA Tournament, putting together a 23-4 record. It was only the beginning of something very special.
1983: USC WINS NATIONAL TITLE
Unknown date & location; USA: FILE PHOTO; Southern California Trojans forward Cheryl Miller (31) reacts on the sideline. Mandatory Credit: Long Photography-USA TODAY Sports
The USC Trojans won the national title and lost two games all season long. HBO did a documentary on this 1983 USC team.
1984: USC REPEATS
University of Southern California’s Cheryl Miller, left, and Cynthia Cooper rejoice after winning the NCAA Women’s Basketball Championship by defeating the University of Tennessee 72-61 in Los Angeles, April 1, 1984. Miller was named MVP of the tournament. The win was the second consecutive championship win for the USC Trojans. (AP Photo/Lennox McLendon)
USC did it again with a national title repeat. Cheryl Miller and Cynthia Cooper are Trojan basketball legends for what they did in the 1980s.
1985: USC GOES TO THE SWEET 16
Feb 19, 2012; Los Angeles, CA, USA; Southern California Trojans former players Pamela McGee and Paula McGee poses with supporters including Lisa Leslie and Cheryl Miller during halftime ceremony to retire their numbers at the Galen Center. Mandatory Credit: Kirby Lee/Image of Sport-USA TODAY Sports
USC’s bid for a third straight national title ended with a trip to the Sweet 16. Back then, a Sweet 16 felt like a “down year” for the program. It’s hard to imagine now, but that’s what it felt like in 1985.
1986: NCAA RUNNER-UP
Feb 19, 2012; Los Angeles, CA, USA; Southern California Trojans former players Paula McGee (right) and Pamela McGee (second from left) speak during halftime ceremony to retire their jersey numbers as Lisa Leslie (center) and Cheryl Miller (left) listen at the Galen Center. Mandatory Credit: Kirby Lee/Image of Sport-USA TODAY Sports
The women’s dynasty during the 1980s was unreal, and the Women of Troy finished as the runner-up in 1986. Three national championship game appearances in four seasons? What a powerhouse.
1987: USC TO THE SWEET 16
Mar 6, 2011; Los Angeles, CA, USA; The retired numbers of Southern California Trojans former women’s basketball players Cynthia Cooper (44), Cheryl Miller (31) and Lisa Leslie (33) at the Galen Center. Mandatory Credit: Kirby Lee/Image of Sport-USA TODAY Sports
Another year, another deep run in the NCAA Tournament. The good times kept rolling in the year after Cheryl Miller and Cynthia Cooper used up their collegiate eligibility.
1988: USC TO THE SWEET 16, AGAIN
Jan 19, 2017; Los Angeles, CA, USA; General overall view of Southern California Trojans logo at midcourt before a NCAA basketball against the Arizona Wildcats at Galen Center. Mandatory Credit: Kirby Lee-USA TODAY Sports
This ended up being the last NCAA Tournament trip for Linda Sharp as head coach.
1992: USC TO THE ELITE EIGHT
1 Dec 1990: Head Coach Marianne Stanley of USC during the Trojans 70-63 loss to Northwestern at McGaw Hall in Evanston, Illinois. Mandatory Credit: Jonathan Daniel/ALLSPORT
USC head coach Marianne Stanley wasn’t at the program for an especially long time, but her 1992 Elite Eight run was spectacular and a demonstration that USC’s women’s basketball brand was still robust.
1993: USC TO THE SWEET 16
Dec 8, 2007; New York, NY, USA; Rutgers Scarlet Knights coaching staff (l-r) Michelle Edwards, Betsy Yonkman, Marianne Stanley, head coach C. Vivian Stringer, Carlene Mitchell and Tasha Pointer against Army Black Knights at Madison Square Garden. Rutgers won 59-42. Mandatory Credit: Jim O’Connor-USA TODAY Sports
The Trojans made the Sweet 16 and continued their early-1990s run of high-level play. This program was still a force in women’s college basketball.
1994: CHERYL MILLER COACHES WOMEN OF TROY TO THE ELITE EIGHT
Feb 19, 2012; Los Angeles, CA, USA; Southern California Trojans former players Paula McGee (right) and Pamela McGee (second from left) speak during halftime ceremony to retire their jersey numbers as Lisa Leslie (center) and Cheryl Miller (left) listen at the Galen Center. Mandatory Credit: Kirby Lee/Image of Sport-USA TODAY Sports
Cheryl Miller, who won multiple national titles as a player at USC, led the Trojans to the Elite Eight in her first year as head coach.
This is the last time USC women’s hoops made the Elite Eight. Next year marks the 30th anniversary of this occasion.
