March Madness. Moorhead got a taste of all things March Madness when the Lady Trojans found their way into the Region 23 Final Four last weekend. With an ever-increasing win total each time she’s put a team on the floor, Head Coach Tangela Banks found her 20th and 21st season wins but number 22 eluded her when the #2 team in the MACCC – Itawamba – ended the Cinderella run. It was the best season in quite some time as far as anyone could remember. Coach Buddy Walden revived the program back in the late ‘70s/early ‘80s. He put plenty of local talent in uniform and regularly got double digit win seasons. Burnadette McDonald followed him and did the same though neither could crack the Region 23 Final.
Now NCAA D1 March Madness is in full swing. Yes, as you read this, both of my brackets are probably busted. I usually pick with my heart and not my head and at least one bracket for men and women had my Rebels and Lady Rebels cutting down National Championship nets. It’s fun to dream. I’ve been up close and personal, at least on the women’s side, as I worked the Lady Rebels’ public address microphone, hosted The Van Chancellor Show, wrote for the Daily Mississippian and created sports stories for both the student TV and radio stations at Ole Miss. The Lady Rebels had so few losses in those days that you could keep up with them on one hand and rarely use all of your fingers to keep count. And two times we played in hostile territory – back then teams hosted regionals all the way up to the Final Four. We had to take on the Lady Hilltoppers of Western Kentucky after beating Tennessee. WKU took down the Lady Longhorns of Texas, who had been a perennial National Champ and #1 team back in the day. They battled WKU and lost 92-90 while we took down the Lady Vols, 63-60. I wasn’t looking ahead but the Final Four was just one game away. And in my best Allen Iverson voice we were playing the “Hilltoppers? We talkin’ Hilltoppers? Come on, man. Hilltoppers?” To this day I have no clue what a Hilltopper is but the mere mention takes me back to that dang arena and a four-point loss to those Kentucky hicks.
That was a hard loss but a little salve was put on the wound as the Lady Bulldogs of Georgia trounced them in the Final Four, 91-78. Then Georgia proceeded to lose to the old school powerhouse, Old Dominion.
The 1986 season was still one of promise and the Lady Rebels found their way to the final eight once again, but this time on the home floor of the Lady Longhorns in Austin. It was my second senior year at Ole Miss. I reckon I was cool before COVID gave everyone extra time in college. We powered past perennial powerhouse Auburn, 56-55, and again were just one game away from a Final Four. But in Austin, the Lady Longhorns beat their rival Oklahoma and the table was set. The game was tight throughout though I don’t remember much except the final score. We lost 66-63. Another Final Four slipped through our fingers like an errant pass on a fast break. But the Lady Longhorns did win the Natty that year in Lexington and got their revenge on the Lady Hilltoppers by shredding them, 90-65.
Even with the losses, these are memories I still cherish. It’s true the losses seem to be much more memorable than the wins. But I got to experience more wins than most in riding the wake of the Lady Rebels’ success. Now, if they’ll just go all the way and find a way to take down USC, all will be right in the world. Oh, and the Rebels need an answer to those surging Tarheels. I’m not holding my breath, but I am dancing in March with my favorite teams. March Madness, there’s nothing like it. And seriously, what’s a Hilltopper?
