When Is the Last Time the USC Trojans Won the Women’s NCAA Tournament?

The USC Trojans women’s basketball team is one of the best in the nation, led by a star player who will likely be the No. 1 overall selection in the WNBA draft when she becomes eligible.

It’s been nearly 40 years since the Trojans have played elite-level basketball. But there was a time when USC, led by Cheryl Miller, was the premier women’s basketball program in the country.

Those seasons are the ones we’ll be revisiting today: When the Trojans won back-to-back championships and appeared in three finals in four years. When the program’s legacy was cemented in the annals of collegiate basketball.

When Did the USC Trojans Last Win the Women’s NCAA Tournament?

USC’s last national championship came in 1984. It was the second in a row for the Trojans, who were led by head coach Linda Sharp and the greatest women’s basketball player in the world at the time, Miller.

Trying to provide a proper perspective on Miller’s greatness is difficult. Her dominance in high school and college remains sort of mind-boggling.

Cheryl’s younger brother,Reggie, would go on to become a Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame inductee in 2012, but in the early 1980s, people weren’t talking about him.

They were talking about Cheryl.

A four-year letter winner at Riverside Polytechnic High School from 1978–82, Cheryl Miller led the team to a combined record of 132–4. Parade magazine named her an All-American four times, something the publication had never done before—for male or female players.

Miller dropped 105 points in a game as a senior and set the then-California state record for points scored in a high school career with 3,405.

At USC, her dominance continued.

As a freshman in the 1982–83 season, Miller averaged 20.4 points, 9.7 rebounds and 3.5 assists per game, leading the Trojans to a 31–2 record and a national championship. In the Final Four, USC blew out Georgia by 24 points. In the title game, the Trojans dispatched the defending champions, Louisiana Tech, in a 69–67 thriller. Miller was named Most Outstanding Player.

The following season was just as sweet for the Trojans. Miller averaged 22 points, 10.6 rebounds and 3.6 assists and USC finished 29–4, winning a second championship.

The Trojans met Louisiana Tech in the Final Four, in a highly anticipated rematch. USC prevailed 62–57. Miller went on a 5–0 run with the game tied at 57 to win it for the Trojans.

In the national championship game, USC squared off with Tennessee. The Lady Volunteers were led by head coach Pat Summitt, who was in her third season in Knoxville. Summitt would go on to become a five-time Naismith Coach of the Year award winner and an eight-time national champion.

But on this night, it was USC that took the glory. The Trojans defeated Tennessee 72–61 and Miller again won Most Outstanding Player.

USC would miss out on the title game in 1985 but made another Final Four run in 1986—Miller’s senior season. Unfortunately for the Trojans, they fell to Texas in the national championship game. The Longhorns finished the season with an unblemished 34–0 record.

Can USC Win the National Championship in 2025?

Currently, BetMGM has given USC +600 odds to win the national championship, tied for the fourth-best in the country (behind UConn, South Carolina and Notre Dame).

The Trojans are led by superstar JuJu Watkins, a sophomore guard who is averaging 24.6 points per game on 42.6 percent shooting. Watkins led all freshmen in scoring a season ago with 960 points and led USC to the Elite Eight, the deepest run for the Trojans in more than 25 years.

The good news for USC fans is that Watkins isn’t going anywhere anytime soon. The WNBA requires that players from the U.S. be at least 22-years-old to play. Watkins just turned 20 in July, so she won’t be eligible until 2027.

We’ll see if Watkins can bring the program to the top, 40 years after Miller did it.

Game odds refresh periodically and are subject to change.

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