The Los Angeles Dodgers are gunning for a three-peat World Series championship in 2026. Only two MLB teams have ever done it. In college sports, three-peat national champions exist, notably John Wooden’s UCLA teams and Geno Auriemma’s UConn women’s basketball teams. USC women’s basketball did have a chance to achieve a three-peat title. The year was 1985.
Cheryl Miller was on the 1985 USC team. That’s why it had a chance to win it all for a third straight year. Another women’s basketball legend, Cynthia Cooper, was also on the 1985 Women of Troy roster. However, the absence of Pamela and Paula McGee — two core members of the 1983 and 1984 national championship squads — proved to be significant. USC had a lot of winning parts, but not all the ones it had the year earlier. Those were the parts the Trojans needed to go all the way.
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USC was still a good team in 1985, just not a great one. The Trojans were a No. 4 seed in the Women’s NCAA Tournament. They reached the Sweet 16, still a marker of a well-above-average team which belonged in the Final Four conversation. However, as the 4 seed, USC had to play the No. 1 seed in its region in the Sweet 16. USC almost beat Long Beach State but fell in a 75-72 thriller. The three-peat bid fell short by a small margin. The Trojans did at least give it a go. Merely having the chance to win three straight titles is a unique achievement and thrill, defining the greatest era of USC women’s basketball to date.
This article originally appeared on Trojans Wire: USC women’s basketball bid for 3-peat national title ended in 1985
