CU Women’s Basketball: LSU upset the biggest in program history

JR Payne's current team in Boulder is reminiscent of a famed team from the past

Stephen R. Sylvanie-USA TODAY Sports

This year’s edition of the University of Colorado’s women’s basketball team is off to a resounding start. The season-opening victory over defending national champion LSU builds off last year’s strong run to the NCAA Sweet 16.

“It is without question, one of the great victories in program history,” offered someone who would know. Ceal Barry paced the Colorado sidelines for 22 seasons, won 427 games and earned conference “Coach of the Year” honors four times. Great coach and even better person. It was fun hosting the Kentucky native’s television show back in the days when KCNC-TV in Denver was “Home of the Buffs.” Ceal’s the real deal.

It took the current CU athletic administrator, present in Las Vegas for the take down of the Tigers, less than a nano second to fire off four others signature wins. A history starting with everyone, media included, calling teams the “Lady Buffs” in earlier years. “Louisiana Tech in ’89, same year in Big 8 title game double overtime win over Oklahoma State for 17 straight conference wins, Stanford in Western Regionals 1993 and 2002.” The Women’s Basketball Hall of Fame member knows the history of her beloved Buffs. It’s in her DNA.

We continued to chat about the 14-point win over the reigning national champion when your correspondent made an admission. “Ceal, for whatever reason, while watching the sheer joy on the faces of the Buffs? I thought back to 1995.” Again, without hesitation, a woman greatly admired over the years for articulate and thoughtful responses, wasted no time responding, “Mark, I still can’t talk about that.”

March 23, 1995: The Buffs lost a heartbreaking 82-79 tense battle to the Georgia Bulldogs in the NCAA Elite Eight in Des Moines. I’ll never forget that season. Barry’s 12th team at the university had talent, guts and depth. All American point guard Shelley Sheetz was the headliner and the unit was deep. The current CU assistant will talk about it, “There’s not a day pass where something doesn’t trigger a memory from that game.”

For a journalist covering the team, the plot lines could not have been better. “Our theme all year was Final Four by 40,” Sheetz mentioned. We had a good team, coach was turning forty and we just believed our destiny was the Final Four (CU has never appeared) and winning the darn thing.” Much like the current Buffs team, the 1994-95 squad had shooters, smarts, strong inside players and a belief anything is possible.

On that fateful night Colorado had a more athletically gifted Georgia team on the ropes late in the game but tired down the stretch. “One of the things that hurt us was losing Jen Terry to an injury earlier in the tournament. Her athleticism and defensive prowess would have helped against Georgia,” says the Iowa native. The school’s only Kodak All American had hundreds of family and friends in attendance and remembers the moment like it was yesterday.

Before the crushing conclusion the Buffs had a collective vision of the possibilities. Ya know, that ol’ if you can see it and believe it, you can achieve it. “We would have advanced to the Final Four to play Tennessee in the semi-finals. We had lost, and not played well, to the Vols earlier in the season in Boulder. That would have been the redemption game.”

The affable member of the school’s athletic Hall of Fame was just warming up. “If we get past Tennessee, then it would have been Connecticut for the national championship. They had the twin towers of Rebecca Logo and Kara Walters but we had (fellow CU Hall of Famer) Erin Scholz and Reagan Scott.”

In a long history of sports journalism, I’ve been in many a locker room after crushing loss. The spirit is heavy with disappointment. Dreams dashed. The wounds linger.

That’s what so beautiful about moments like Vegas. The thrill of victory, Unforgettable. Unfortunately, so to the agony of defeat. Who knows, maybe this year’s squad will be the first to advance to the final four. Coach JR Payne’s team could help ease the pain of women whose shoulders they stand on today.