30 years later, UNC great Smith’s iconic shot lives on
Few will argue women’s college basketball has ever been hotter, audiences tuning in for a product brimming with storied programs, transcendent coaches and a cache of emerging talent.
A basketball lifer, few are happier with the game’s progress than Charlotte Smith, who parlayed a stellar career at Shelby High into becoming one of the most decorated players in University of North Carolina women’s hoops history, playing at the professional level and eventually coaching.
“We’ve been overlooked for way too long,” said Smith, who currently serves as Elon women’s basketball coach. “You see the evolution of the game, the evolution of the players and the exciting brand of basketball now being played, it’s a fluid game. It kind of reflects the old school basketball; this credit is a long overdue honor and we’re here for it.”
Smith has a unique perspective on the matter, her last-second shot lifting UNC to a 60-59 win over Louisiana Tech and the 1994 NCAA title. Thursday marks the 30th anniversary of her buzzer beater, a story she reminisces on with regularity this time of year.
“To be honest, it doesn’t feel like 30 years,” Smith said. “Around time (of the NCAA Women’s Final Four) I’m constantly running into people who remember it and relive it, and it’s as if the moment will never die.”
Smith started at power forward for UNC during its 1994 title run, working alongside Sylvia Crawley, Stephanie Lawrence, Tonya Sampson and freshman dual-sport athlete Marion Jones to take a 27-2 record into the NCAA tournament. Regular-season losses to Virginia served as the team’s only blemishes.
“Sometimes I’m asked what I most remember about the moment, the game-winning shot, and the thing I remember most is the journey to get there,” Smith said. “It didn’t come down to that one single moment; rather it took months and months of commitment, hard work, focus and discipline.”
After claiming the ACC tournament title, UNC was tabbed as the No. 3 seed in the East regional, behind Vanderbilt and No. 1 Connecticut. After dispatching
Georgia Southern and Old Dominion to make the round of 16, the Tar Heels eliminated the region’s top two seeds to claim the program’s first Women’s Final Four appearance in Richmond.
In the national semifinal round, Smith and UNC made light work of Purdue for an 89-74 victory. The next day the Tar Heels would take on a Louisiana Tech team on a 25-game win streak. According to Smith, the game was one of the most demanding of her basketball career.
“That was probably one of the most uncomfortable games I can remember,” she said. “There was no breathing room for either team. The teams went back and forth; it was mentally exhausting.”
Particularly as the Tar Heels trailed 59-57 with less than a second remaining. During a timeout ahead of her game-winning shot, Smith said coach and Gastonia native Sylvia Hatchell initially drew up a play for the 6-foot-5 Crawley. “(Hatchell) Wanted us to lob it to her after the first timeout, but that wasn’t available as (Louisiana Tech) had most of its coverage in the paint, they weren’t expecting a 3-point shot. So we called another timeout and chose to go for the win rather than the tie.”
The rest was history, as Smith set a pick and rolled to a spot right in front of the UNC bench before lofting up the game-winning 3-pointer.
“To be honest, I was just praying for the best,” Smith said. “No one was anticipating the 3-pointer on their side. There was also a miscommunication on their part, partly because they had a freshman guarding me and she probably was confused by the switch, which left me open for the shot.”
It was Smith’s only made 3-pointer of the 1993-94 campaign. She finished the game with 23 rebounds and 20 points, leading to her being named the 1994 Women’s Final Four’s Most Outstanding Player.
Smith left Chapel Hill as a two-time all-ACC selection, as well as a consensus All-America pick and the national Player of the Year for the 1994-95 season. Earlier that season, she became the second woman to dunk in a college basketball game. Her jersey was retired in 1996, the first UNC women’s basketball player to receive the honor.
However, all pales in comparison to that April 1994 day in Richmond where Smith and her Tar Heel teammates became legendary. “You only get one shot to win a national championship, and we accomplished our primary goal,” she said.