The 1977 Association for Intercollegiate Athletics for Women championship winning Lady Lions team returned to the university for their 40th anniversary. From the back left Pam Cook Forrest, Claudia Crosby, Sarah Williams, Queen Brumfield, Phoebe Trocana, Monica Harrison, Martha Vaughn, Janet Passman, Martha Beachem, Shari Smith and Delia Robinson.
Jonathan Rhodes/ The Lion's Roar
The Lady Lions women’s basketball team bounced back from their 69-53 loss to Texas A&M Corpus Christi by defeating University of New Orleans 85-70 in front of former alumni and the AIAW 1977 National Championship winning Lady Lion team.
Junior guard Taylin Underwood led the team with 30 points, followed by freshman guard Charliee Dugas with 21 points. This win breaks the four game losing streak the Lady Lions have been on, and it is the first time they have defeated UNO since 2014.
“I think when that national championship came in the locker room, that really inspired our girls,” said Head Coach Errol Gauff. “The energy, the camaraderie and the spirit coming from that national championship team in that locker room. We told our girls just come out and have the fun and the spirit they had and expressed in that locker room, and I think our young ladies did that from the very beginning.”
At halftime, former Lady Lion alumni were recognized for their time playing for the team. After the game, the 1977 championship winning team was honored by the entire Lady Lions team and President John L. Crain.
“It’s been very exciting working to get all of our players back from the national championship team,” said former Lady Lion Pam Cook Forrest, who is one of three Lady Lions to have her jersey retired. “We were just one big family. Just a bunch of country girls that started the first team here. We just liked to play and have fun and some of these players haven’t been back in forty years. So, it was really important for everyone to come back.”
The 1977 team was coached by Linda Puckett, who passed away in 1997 and by assistant coach Mary Ann Ellerman Deshamp, who could not make it to Alumni Day. The program was only three years old in 1977 as they finished the season with the best record in program history at 30-2 and set a record by averaging 99.1 points per game.
“The best thing was winning the championship and not giving up,” said Hall of Famer Queen Brumfield. “In spite of hurt and pain and a lot of injuries that we had during the season. But, to make it to that final day and none of us gave up that was the most beautiful and most important part of the whole thing.”
In the halftime of the game against Texas A&M Corpus Christi, 185 student athletes gathered together on the court as they were recognized for having a 3.0 or higher GPA.
“It’s amazing,” said Bailey Smith, a sophomore golf player. “Everyone, I guess, is doing well on the field and in the classroom. It proves any myth wrong about us everyone is doing well so it is amazing.”
The Lady Lions will travel this Thursday to Natchitoches to face Northwestern State at 5:15 p.m. After that game, they will come back to the University Center to face Stephen F. Austin on Saturday at 3 p.m.
“I think the young ladies, as each game gets here, they are ready to go,” said Gauff. “We just have to keep that up. They have shown great resilience and they are getting into that competitive spirit. I do think this win will help inspire them seeing some fruits of their hard earned labor and our young ladies work very hard.”
Freshman guard Charliee Dugas scored 21 points against UNO and shot 3-2 from three point range.
Jonathan Rhodes/ The Lion's Roar
Freshman guard Tyler Morrison, above middle, had eight rebounds against UNO and scored eight points against Texas A&M Corpus ChristiThe Lady Lions now have a home record of 4-6 and overall record of 5-19.
Jonathan Rhodes/ The Lion's Roar