The Hardin-Simmons University Cowboy and Cowgirl basketball teams have always had a history of excellence. This year, with both teams competing in the ASC championship is a testament to this long standing-tradition. The Cowgirls will play in the first round NCAA tournament on Friday at 8 p.m.
Just like the Cowgirls last weekend, in March of 1998, the Cowgirl basketball team won the ASC championship. They played against the Mississippi College Choctaws and won in a major upset 81-69. The Cowgirls were not expected to win that game because during a game earlier in the season, the Choctaws defeated HSU 71-58.
“We’re really proud that we won conference,” Pam Horton, a junior in 1998, said. “Towards the end of the season, we thought we wouldn’t have a chance to win conference. Now that we’ve done it, we’re really excited.”
In 1998, the Cowgirls were not able to play in the southern region of the NCAA division III basketball tournament, because they failed to be voted in as one of the top six teams in that region.
“We played a strong season,” Julie Goodenough, head coach of the 1998 Cowgirls basketball team, said. “We had a great last game.”
The 1970-71 season was going to be a challenge for the Cowboys. The first game of their season was against the Dallas Baptist College Indians, followed by a home game with the University of Arkansas Razorbacks.
Coach Glen Whitis, who coached during that season, and his staff viewed these games as a formidable challenge for the Cowboys. "The game experience concerns head coach Whitis and his staff as they prepare to send forth a group of eager, but young, Cowboys."
The Cowboys won against Dallas Baptist with a score of 83-72 and demolished Arkansas with a score of 112-16.
"I was really pleased with the turnout and the response of the crowd Saturday night," Coach Whitis said. "I especially like how our students backed the team. Such support helps more than the average fan knows. I hope the team continues to deserve this kind of support."
The HSU Brand (Abilene, Tex.), Vol. 56, No. 25, Ed. 1, Tuesday, December 1, 1970, newspaper, December 1, 1970; Abilene, Texas. (https://texashistory.unt.edu/ark:/67531/metapth98767/m1/1/?q=basketball: accessed February 23, 2024), University of North Texas Libraries, The Portal to Texas History, https://texashistory.unt.edu; crediting Hardin-Simmons University Library.
The HSU Brand (Abilene, Tex.), Vol. 56, No. 27, Ed. 1, Tuesday, December 8, 1970, newspaper, December 8, 1970; Abilene, Texas. (https://texashistory.unt.edu/ark:/67531/metapth98769/m1/4/: accessed February 23, 2024), University of North Texas Libraries, The Portal to Texas History, https://texashistory.unt.edu; crediting Hardin-Simmons University Library.
Meyer, Foy. “The Brand (Abilene, Tex.), Vol. 84, No. 14, Ed. 1, Tuesday, March 10, 1998.” The Portal to Texas History, Hardin-Simmons University, 25 June 2010, texashistory.unt.edu/ark:/67531/metapth97666/m1/11/?q=%22cowgirl%2Bbasketball%22%2Bchampionship.