1981–82 Louisiana Tech Lady Techsters basketball team

The 1981–82 Louisiana Tech Lady Techsters basketball team represented Louisiana Tech University during the 1981–82 NCAA Division I women's basketball season. The team was led by eighth–year head coach Sonja Hogg, who guided the team to a 35–1 record and the 1982 NCAA Division I championship.^[1] This was the program's second consecutive championship, following an AIAW championship in 1981. The team played their home games for the final season at Memorial Gymnasium in Ruston, Louisiana as an NCAA independent.

1981–82 Louisiana Tech Lady Techsters basketball
NCAA tournament National Champions
Conference	Independent
Ranking
AP	No. 1
Record	35–1
Head coach	Sonja Hogg (8th season)
Associate head coach	Leon Barmore
Assistant coach	Gary Blair
Home arena	Memorial Gymnasium
Seasons ← 1980–81 1982–83 →

The Lady Techsters won their first 20 games of the season to extend the program's win streak to 54 games. Louisiana Tech lost at Old Dominion, 61–58,^[2] but re-focused to close the season with a 15-game win streak to capture the inaugural NCAA women's basketball championship.

In 2017, the Lady Techsters received their championship rings after 35 years.^[3]

Previous season

The Lady Techsters finished the 1980–81 season with a perfect 34–0 record as an independent. They won the final AIAW tournament championship over Tennessee, 79–59.^[4]

Roster

1981–82 Louisiana Tech Lady Techsters basketball team

1981–82 Louisiana Tech Lady Techsters women's basketball team
Players	Coaches
Pos. # Name Height Year Hometown G 5 Angela Turner 5 ft 8 in (1.73 m) Sr Saline, Louisiana G 10 Julie Wilkerson 5 ft 8 in (1.73 m) Jr Tioga, Louisiana G 15 Jennifer White 5 ft 9 in (1.75 m) Jr Loretto, Tennessee G 20 Kim Mulkey 5 ft 4 in (1.63 m) So Hammond, Louisiana F 25 Lori Scott 5 ft 10 in (1.78 m) Jr Jackson, Mississippi G 34 Debbie Primeaux 5 ft 2 in (1.57 m) So Bell City, Louisiana C 41 Pam Kelly 6 ft 0 in (1.83 m) Sr Columbia, Louisiana F 44 Debra Rodman 6 ft 2 in (1.88 m) So Dallas, Texas C 51 Janice Lawrence 6 ft 3 in (1.91 m) So Lucedale, Mississippi G 52 Rita Rust 5 ft 7 in (1.7 m) Sr Shreveport, Louisiana	Head coach Sonja Hogg Assistant coach(es) Leon Barmore Gary Blair Legend (C) Team captain (S) Suspended (I) Ineligible (W) Walk-on Injured Current redshirt

Schedule and results

Date time, TV	Rank#	Opponent#	Result	Record	Site (attendance) city, state
Regular season
Nov 26, 1981*	No. 1	vs. Illinois State Plainview Queens Classic	W 71–56[5]	1–0	Hutcherson Center (1,000) Plainview, Texas
Nov 27, 1981*	No. 1	vs. No. 18 Stephen F. Austin Plainview Queens Classic	W 97–59[6]	2–0	Hutcherson Center (1,000) Plainview, Texas
Nov 28, 1981*	No. 1	vs. No. 15 Kansas Plainview Queens Classic	W 70–39[7]	3–0	Hutcherson Center (2,400) Plainview, Texas
Dec 1, 1981*	No. 1	Mississippi College	W 100–55	4–0	Memorial Gymnasium (4,250) Ruston, Louisiana
Dec 4, 1981*	No. 1	at New Orleans	W 106–59	5–0	Human Performance Center (1,940) New Orleans, Louisiana
Dec 5, 1981*	No. 1	at McNeese State	W 80–38	6–0	(3,200) Lake Charles, Louisiana
Dec 10, 1981*	No. 1	at Valdosta State	W 97–54	7–0	Memorial Gymnasium (2,800) Ruston, Louisiana
Dec 11, 1981*	No. 1	at Tulane	W 103–50	8–0	Memorial Gymnasium (2,800) Ruston, Louisiana
Dec 12, 1981*	No. 1	at Illinois State	W 67–42	9–0	Memorial Gymnasium (4,200) Ruston, Louisiana
Dec 19, 1981*	No. 1	vs. No. 6 Rutgers Hanover Classic	W 83–73[8]	10–0	Madison Square Garden  New York, New York
Dec 20, 1981*	No. 1	vs. No. 3 Old Dominion Hanover Classic	W 68–51[9]	11–0	Madison Square Garden  New York, New York
Dec 27, 1981*	No. 1	Northeast Louisiana	W 102–47	12–0	Memorial Gymnasium  Ruston, Louisiana
Jan 29, 1982*	No. 1	at No. 7 Old Dominion	L 58–61[2]	20–1	Norfolk Scope  Norfolk, Virginia
Feb 22, 1982*	No. 1	UCLA	W 103–63	27–1	Memorial Gymnasium  Ruston, Louisiana
Feb 26, 1982*	No. 1	at Oklahoma	W 101–57	28–1	Lloyd Noble Center  Norman, Oklahoma
March 2, 1982*	No. 1	at Oral Roberts	W 89–51	29–1	Mabee Center  Tulsa, Oklahoma
March 5, 1982*	No. 1	at Mississippi College	W 94–52	30–1	A. E. Wood Coliseum  Clinton, Mississippi
NCAA tournament
Mar 12, 1982*	(1 MW) No. 1	(8 MW) Tennessee Tech Regional Semifinal – Sweet Sixteen	W 114–53	31–1	Memorial Gymnasium  Ruston, Louisiana
Mar 18, 1982*	(1 MW) No. 1	(4 MW) No. 17 Arizona State Regional Semifinal – Sweet Sixteen	W 92–54	32–1	Memorial Gymnasium  Ruston, Louisiana
Mar 21, 1982*	(1 MW) No. 1	(2 MW) No. 14 Kentucky Regional Final – Elite Eight	W 82–60[10]	33–1	Memorial Gymnasium  Ruston, Louisiana
Mar 26, 1982*	(1 MW) No. 1	vs. (2 ME) No. 8 Tennessee National Semifinal – Final Four	W 69–46	34–1	Norfolk Scope  Norfolk, Virginia
Mar 28, 1982*	(1 MW) No. 1	vs. (2 E) No. 2 Cheyney State National Championship	W 76–62[1][11]	35–1	Norfolk Scope  Norfolk, Virginia
*Non-conference game. #Rankings from AP Poll. (#) Tournament seedings in parentheses. MW=Midwest. All times are in Central.

Rankings

Main article: 1981–82 NCAA Division I women's basketball rankings

Ranking movements

	Week
Poll	1	2	3	4	5	6	7	8	9	10	11	12	13	14	15	16	17	Final
AP	1	1	1	1	1	1	1	1	1	1	1	1	1	1	1	1	1	1

Awards and honors

• Wade Trophy winner (Pam Kelly)^[12]