The University of Texas at Austin Athletics
40 Years of Memories
11.28.2017 | Women's Basketball
Looking back on 40 years in the Erwin Center for Texas Women's Basketball.
By: Natalie England
TexasSports.com
When the Frank Erwin Center opened, it was hailed as the "college version of Madison Square Garden."
Four decades later, the special events hub has hosted its share of concerts and circuses, but is best known as the home of Texas Men's and Women's Basketball.
The Longhorns will celebrate the Erwin Center's 40th anniversary on Thursday, Nov. 30, when Texas hosts Louisiana Tech.
TexasSports.com looks back on some of the most memorable women's basketball moments in the Erwin Center's history.
Opening Day (Nov. 29, 1977)
The first event to take place in the Frank Erwin Center was fittingly a Texas sporting event -- in fact, a women's basketball game. The Longhorns defeated Temple College, 69-64, in a day game, and Temple guard Evwella Munn, who later transferred to UT, scored the building's very first basket.
Later that evening, the arena hosted its first public ticketed event -- when the men's basketball team hosted Oklahoma.
Smith becomes UT's all-time leading scorer (Dec. 10, 1985)
Annette Smith scored over Southern California's Cheryl Miller to break the UT men's and women's scoring record. The game was momentarily paused, as the crowd gave Smith a standing ovation. She wore a huge wrap on her knee, which she had hurt in February 1984, and missed the rest of that season, plus the entire 1984-85 campaign.
It was a poignant moment for the senior, who courageously fought through that horrific injury to play again, and the Longhorns beat the Women of Troy in a preview of that year's title game.
1986 Midwest Regional: UT vs. Ole Miss (March 23, 1986)
With six seniors that had only lost nine games in four years, the Longhorns still struggled before finally beating Mississippi, 66-63. "We almost fell apart," Jody Conradt said. "But before we did, we regrouped and said 'Let's reach down and find something extra.'" The Longhorns did, and used the victory to remain undefeated and propel them towards their first national title.
National Championship celebration (March 31, 1986)
This wasn't a game, but it honored one of the most significant games in UT women's athletics history. The Longhorns were a day removed from their historic 97-81 victory against Southern California in the national championship game -- when UT became the first team in NCAA history to go undefeated for the title.
Conradt, her staff and players were carried from airport to arena in a convoy of classic cars, and thousands of fans gathered inside to welcome the Longhorns home.
The Honorable Barbara Jordan, a longtime fan who sat courtside for most games, was one of the event's featured speakers.
First sold out women's Final Four (March 27, 1987)
The Longhorns, the nation's defending national champion, carried 65 wins in their previous 66 games into the rowdy building of 15,823 sold-out seats. The year prior, UT became the first team in NCAA history to go undefeated en route to the national title. However, in the national semifinal, Louisiana Tech upset the Longhorns on their partisan home floor, and afterward, Tech guard Teresa Weatherspoon noted, "We worked so well together. It was like we cut the crowd's vocal cords."
In the championship game, Tennessee overtook Louisiana Tech to give coach Pat Summitt her first national title.
Arkansas snaps UT's 183-game Southwest Conference winning streak (Feb. 23, 1990)
There is no other adequate way to describe UT's domination of women's basketball in the Southwest Conference other than to just say the Longhorns were supreme. After falling to Texas A&M, 59-53, on Jan. 23, 1978, the Longhorns went undefeated in league play for more than 12 years.
Streaks eventually have to end, and Arkansas shocked the Longhorns - - and the country -- with the Razorbacks' 82-77 win that snapped UT's streak at 183 games.
Freshman Norman's 3-pointer lifts Longhorns over No. 4 Tennessee (Dec. 21, 2002)
With one second left, freshman point guard Nina Norman swished a 3- pointer, but it almost cost Texas the game.
Norman's shot went through as the 30-second clock expired, which the Longhorns mistook as the buzzer for the game clock, clearing the bench for a premature celebration at midcourt. UT received a technical foul for the bench-clearing. Tennessee's Kara Lawson sunk two free throws, but the Lady Vols couldn't get a crosscourt shot off before the game clock finally expired.
Conradt's 800th career victory (Jan. 22, 2003)
On a night that belonged to the coach who established the Texas Women's Basketball tradition, her players broke away from tradition. After Conradt earned career win No. 800, when No. 16 UT upset No. 7 Texas Tech with a 69-58 victory, the Longhorns lifted Gatorade cooler to douse their head coach in celebration, but substituted gold and purple confetti for colored liquid.
After the triumph -- one in a string of 17-straight that carried UT into the Final Four -- Conradt was characteristically eloquent and reflective. "If there ever was an occasion that was about team, it's this one, because 800 times, young women just like these, have gotten on the court and fought for The University of Texas and come out victorious," Conradt said.
Carey's deep shot ignites crowd (Feb. 29, 2004)
Known for her clutch and timely shooting, senior Jamie Carey sank a late 3-pointer in the final home game of the regular season against Kansas State. With about seven seconds left, UT called timeout, KSU went the length of floor but Nicole Ohlde missed a turnaround at buzzer. The Longhorns won, 65- 63, sending the Erwin Center crowd into one of the biggest explosions in the building's history.
Aston debuts as head coach (Nov. 20, 2012)
The Longhorns defeated Jackson State, 80-53, to give Karen Aston her first victory inside the Erwin Center as a head coach.
Longhorns earn program's 1,000th victory (Jan. 27, 2016)
A victory over Kansas marked the 1,000th victory in program history, and Texas became just the fifth program in NCAA Division I history to reach the milestone, joining Tennessee, Louisiana Tech, James Madison and Old Dominion.
"You always set goals in athletics. We can measure ourselves against other outstanding programs and say 'Yes, Texas has a place among the elite in women's basketball,'" Conradt said.
Ticket punched to Sweet 16 (March 19, 2017)
Texas defeated No. 17/17 NC State in the NCAA Second Round and advanced to the NCAA Sweet 16 for the third-straight year.
