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ON THIS DAY - March 26
1973 State runner up basketball.jpeg

As sports continue to await word about the possible lifting of suspended seasons, the Standard would like to debut a new web-only segment, "On This Day." We hope to update it daily, bringing you some of the biggest moments in Warren County sports history (focusing mainly on the last 51 years since the school consolidation and formation of Warren County Senior High), as well as some famous birthdays and big national stories.

The Lady Pioneer basketball team was dominant, even long before the group claimed the 1979 state title team. It was nearly a champion in 1973 as well, falling by two points in the championship game to Bradley County 45-43. Their narrow loss in the title tilt was captured in the March 26, 1973 edition of the Standard.

There’s still fans who wonder what would’ve happened if Kaye Bouldin wasn’t called for a charge in the final seconds, giving Bradley the ball back with just enough time to score and win.

Members of the 1973 state runner-up squad are Gwynn Taft, Pattie Davis, Betty Hardcastle, Barbara Biles, Lisa Powers, Kaye Bouldin, Roxie Martin, Gail Wilson, Brenda Garmon, Donna Stewart, Beverly Montgomery, Claudia Wilson, Jan Casey, Kathy Powell, Sherri Stewart, Marsha Argo, Kathy Gwynn, Bernie Womack and Mary Jane Prater.

1973 State runner up team.jpeg

Also on March 26, Taft, Bouldin and Womack were named to the all-tournament team (1973), Bobby Cox was catching for the WCSH Pioneers (1984), Bobby Priest was running wild for the junior high (1984), Angie Estes was hurling for the Lady Pioneers (1994), current WCMS coach Chad Young was earning a victory for the WCHS Pioneers (1997), WCHS soccer was taking down White County (2004), the WCHS tennis team was rolling (2010) and a celebration was held for the 25th anniversary of the 1992 state championship baseball team (2017).

Famous March 26 birthdays

1937 – Barbara Pearl Jones, Olympic gold medalist (1952, 60)

1960 – Marcus Allen, NFL Hall of Famer, Heisman Trophy (1981) and Super Bowl MVP (1984)

1962 – John Stockton, NBA Hall of Famer, all-time assists leader

1964 – Ulf Samuelsson, NFL defenseman

1973 – Marshall Faulk, NFL Hall of Famer

Marshall Faulk.jpg

1989 – Von Miller, NFL pro bowler

 

March 26 national headlines (AP)

 

1944 — St. John's, coached by Joe Lapchick, cruises by DePaul 47-39 to become the first back-to-back winner of the National Invitation Tournament.

1946 — Hank Iba's Oklahoma A&M Aggies beat North Carolina 43-40 for their second straight NCAA men's basketball title. Bob Kurland scores 23 points, including the first two dunks in NCAA tournament history.

1949 — Alex Groza leads Kentucky to a 46-36 victory over Oklahoma State for the NCAA championship.

1952 — Kansas' Clyde Lovelette scores 33 points to lead the Jayhawks to a 80-63 win over St. John's for the NCAA basketball title.

1972 — The Los Angeles Lakers beat Seattle 124-98 to finish the season at 69-13, the best record in NBA history, until the 1995-96 Chicago Bulls finish at 72-10.

1973 — Bill Walton scores 44 points to help UCLA win its record seventh NCAA basketball championship with an 87-66 triumph over Memphis State.

1974 — George Foreman knocks out Ken Norton in the second round in Caracas, Venezuela, to retain the world heavyweight title.

George Foreman.jpg

1974 — Rick Barry of the Golden State Warriors scores 64 points in a 143-120 victory over Portland.

1987 — Southern Mississippi defeats La Salle 84-80 in the championship of the 50th NIT.

1992 — Former heavyweight champion Mike Tyson is sentenced to six years in prison for rape.

1995 — Nanci Bowen wins the Dinah Shore, her first LPGA victory, by one stroke over Susie Redman.

1996 — Mario Lemieux scores five goals and two assists in his first head-to-head competition against Wayne Gretzky in more than three years to lead the Pittsburgh Penguins to an 8-4 victory over the St. Louis Blues.

2002 — Utah's John Stockton turns 40, becoming the 10th player in NBA history to play at that age. Stockton scores 20 points in the Jazz's 109-105 victory over Houston.

John Stockton.jpg

2004 — Ian Crocker closes out his career at Texas by setting a world record in the 100-meter butterfly at the NCAA men's swimming and diving championships, winning the event for the fourth straight year. Crocker wins in 49.07 seconds, joining Mark Spitz and Pablo Morales as the only swimmers to win the butterfly four times in NCAA championships history.

2005 — In the NCAA men's basketball regional finals, Louisville and Illinois make tremendous comebacks to force overtime and advance. Louisville, trailing by 20 to West Virginia, completes an amazing rally for a 93-85 win. Illinois, trailing by 15 with just four minutes to play, goes on a dazzling 20-5 run to send Arizona to a crushing 90-89 defeat.

2006 — George Mason stuns No. 1 seed Connecticut 86-84 in overtime to become the first No. 11 seed to reach the men's Final Four since LSU in 1986.

2009 — Evan Lysacek becomes the first American in 13 years to win the World Figure Skating Championship thanks to a spectacular free skate.

2010 — Gilbert Arenas is sentenced to 30 days in a halfway house for bringing guns into the Washington Wizards locker room. District of Columbia Superior Court Judge Robert E. Morin also adds a litany of conditions associated with the sentence — two years of probation, a $5,000 fine and 400 hours of community service.

2011 — Victoire Pisa, one of three horses from Japan running in the Dubai World Cup, delivered some rare good news to the country by winning the $10 million Dubai World Cup. The winner edged another Japanese horse, Transcend, at the wire by a half length in the world's richest horse race. Fans of Victoire Pisa were in tears as the national anthem played. Many of the Japanese teams wore black polo shirts with the word "hope" on the sleeve alongside Japan's flag. On the back was the March 11 date of the earthquake and tsunami.

2011 — Shelvin Mack scores 27 points, including five in overtime, as Butler returns to the Final Four with a 74-71 victory over Florida in the Southeast regional. Kemba Walker scores 20 points, freshman Jeremy Lamb adds 19 as Connecticut beats Arizona 65-63 to win the West regional.

2012 — Jaime Alas scores in stoppage time and El Salvador forges a 3-3 tie that ousts the United States from Olympic qualifying. The Americans miss the Olympics for the second time since 1976.