USC Women Learn Longhorns Can Play, 94-78

Annette Smith has a great disguise going. When the center for the University of Texas women’s basketball team lumbers down court with her left knee heavily wrapped, taped and braced, she looks like a mummy coming unraveled.

She’s 5-feet 11-inches and plows through other players like an aircraft carrier--full steam ahead. But she is quick, she can jump and she can score. This, nearly two years after her knee was left for dead on the floor of Texas’ Frank Erwin Center.

Smith and her surgeons rebuilt the knee, and she’s back with her No. 1-ranked team after a Rocky-like rehabilitation. And Tuesday night she showed just how far she has come back as she led Texas to a 94-78 win over USC.

“I felt like Christmas came early,” Texas Coach Jody Conradt said. “I said I wouldn’t ask for anything more than to beat USC and go into the Christmas break with a perfect record.”

The Lady Longhorns (5-0) lived up to their billing as an explosive, high-scoring team. The fourth-ranked Trojans (6-1) watched as Texas went to work on their weaknesses: rebounding and defense.

“It’s pretty obvious that Texas is the best team in the country,” USC Coach Linda Sharp said. “I can’t think of anything they did that showed a weakness. I thought we played pretty well outside of our low post defense and on the boards. You can’t beat layups and low post shots.”

Smith was effective inside. The senior was able to bull underneath, where she scored most of her 22 points. Smith set a Texas career scoring record, with 2,268 points. Smith drew the kamikaze assignment--hold Cheryl Miller to as few points and rebounds as possible. Smith was about as effective at stopping Miller as anyone has been this season--Miller led all scorers with 31 points.

“I thought I played well in the first half,” Miller said. Miller, who had been called everything from a Hollywood Hotdog to the Southern Cal Showboat in the Texas newspapers this week, was treated cordially by the noisy crowd 11,470.

“I may have not shot as much as I normally do, but Cynthia Cooper was picking up the slack.” Miller had only nine points in the first half.

Cooper was about the only bright spot for the Trojans in the first half. Possibly the Lady Longhorns, in their zeal to shut down Miller, overlooked Cooper. The capable 5-9 guard hit on 7 of 10 shots in the first half and finished with 23 points.

Still, Cooper was not pleased with her game. “I thought we needed rebounding and I didn’t fill that void well enough.”

A team full of Coopers couldn’t have done that. Conradt had foreseen a fight on the boards, and it came to pass, with a vengeance. Except the Trojans didn’t hold up their end of the battle.

The Lady Longhorns controled the boards at both ends, as they laid claim to the area around the basket. The Trojans were unable to penetrate in the first half, and their inability to follow shots cut drastically into their scoring ability.

Statistics tell the story: Texas had 20 rebounds in the first half, while USC had 8. Even though the Trojans picked it up in the second half, they were out-rebounded, 35-22

“I knew our weaknesses coming into this game,” Sharp said. “We gave them three and four chances (at shots) several times. You can’t do that against a team like Texas.”

Smith may be the best shooter on the Texas team. Her deceptive skills came out Tuesday night, much to her delight. Smith had played poorly in a tournament here last weekend. She scored only 12 points in one game and against Northeast Louisiana, for the first time in her college career, she was held scoreless.

“I was thinking about that game tonight,” Smith said. “I felt as if I had something to prove to myself. Tonight, I felt great. Cheryl really helped me get motivated to play my best.”

Trojan Notes Texas nearly didn’t sign Annette Smith. Smith was set to sign at Stephen F. Austin but happened to come to the Texas campus for a typing contest. Coach Jody Conradt grabbed her. . . . Conradt, who is 94-9 over the last three years, is extremely popular with the Austin community. An anonymous donor gave $25,000 to the Texas athletic department to establish a Jody Conradt Endowed Presidential Scholarship. . . . Sitting courtside were two notable Texas fans, former Texas congresswoman Barbara Jordan and former Texas football Coach Darrell Royal.