1982–83 Louisiana Tech Lady Techsters basketball team

The 1982–83 Louisiana Tech Lady Techsters basketball team represented Louisiana Tech University during the 1982–83 NCAA Division I women's basketball season. The team was led by co-head coaches Sonja Hogg and Leon Barmore, who guided the team to a 31–2 record and a runner-up finish at the 1983 NCAA tournament.^[1] This was the program's third consecutive appearance in the championship game, following an AIAW championship in 1981 and the first NCAA championship in 1982. The team played their home games for the inaugural season at the Thomas Assembly Center in Ruston, Louisiana as an NCAA independent.

1982–83 Louisiana Tech Lady Techsters basketball
NCAA tournament, Runner-Up
Conference	Independent
Ranking
AP	No. 1
Record	31–2
Head coach	Sonja Hogg (9th season) Leon Barmore (1st season)
Assistant coach	Gary Blair
Home arena	Thomas Assembly Center
Seasons ← 1981–82 1983–84 →

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.

Previous season

The Lady Techsters finished the 1981–82 season with a 35–1 record as an independent. They won the inaugural NCAA tournament championship over Cheney State, 76–62.^[3][4]

Roster

1982–83 Louisiana Tech Lady Techsters women's basketball team
Players	Coaches
Pos. # Name Height Year Hometown G 10 Julie Wilkerson 5 ft 8 in (1.73 m) Sr Tioga, Louisiana G 15 Jennifer White 5 ft 9 in (1.75 m) Sr Loretto, Tennessee G 20 Kim Mulkey 5 ft 4 in (1.63 m) Jr Hammond, Louisiana F 25 Lori Scott 5 ft 10 in (1.78 m) Sr Jackson, Mississippi G 34 Debbie Primeaux 5 ft 2 in (1.57 m) Jr Bell City, Louisiana F 44 Debra Rodman 6 ft 2 in (1.88 m) Jr Dallas, Texas C 51 Janice Lawrence 6 ft 3 in (1.91 m) Jr Lucedale, Mississippi	Head coach Sonja Hogg Leon Barmore Assistant coach(es) 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
NCAA tournament
Mar 25, 1983*	(1 MW) No. 1	vs. (5 MW) No. 14 Auburn Regional Semifinal – Sweet Sixteen	W 81–54	29–1	Thomas Assembly Center  Ruston, Louisiana
Mar 27, 1983*	(1 MW) No. 1	vs. (2 MW) No. 3 Texas Regional Final – Elite Eight	W 72–58	30–1	Thomas Assembly Center  Ruston, Louisiana
Apr 1, 1983*	(1 MW) No. 1	vs. (1 E) No. 4 Old Dominion National Semifinal – Final Four	W 71–55[5]	31–1	Norfolk Scope  Norfolk, Virginia
Apr 3, 1983*	(1 MW) No. 1	vs. (2 W) No. 2 USC National Championship	L 67–69[6]	31–2	Norfolk Scope (7,387) Norfolk, Virginia
*Non-conference game. #Rankings from AP Poll. (#) Tournament seedings in parentheses. MW=Midwest. All times are in Central.

Rankings

Main article: 1982–83 NCAA Division I women's basketball rankings

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

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