University of North Carolina Athletics
Charlotte Smith takes the shot (left) and celebrates (at far right)
50 Years: Charlotte Smith And The Shot Heard ‘Round The World
November 10, 2021 | Women's Basketball
by Dave Lohse, Associate Sports Information Director, Retired
It was the shot heard 'round the world.
Specifically, the women's basketball world. Not as politically consequential for democracy and American independence as the shots fired at Lexington and Concord on April 19, 1775, but a shot of enormous importance for the athletic program at the University of North Carolina and for the future of women's basketball at the collegiate level.
And as Carolina continues to celebrate 50 Years of women's athletics in Chapel Hill, this moment in history—Charlotte Smith's NCAA championship-winning, buzzer-beating three-pointer—is one that continues to resonate.
"Charlotte's shot remains one of the greatest game-winners in college sports history," said Dr. Beth Miller, former NCAA senior woman administrator at Carolina who oversaw women's basketball in 1994. "It all came together: the right person making the right play at the perfect time, lifting our Tar Heels to greatness and helping to elevate women's sports on a national stage. Her shot truly changed the trajectory of women's basketball."
The shot in question was launched and landed on April 3, 1994, lifting the Tar Heels to a 60-59 victory over Louisiana Tech in the NCAA Tournament championship. The national championship game featured a filled to capacity crowd at the Richmond Coliseum with 11,966 spectators on hand.
Smith, who had only made eight of 31 three-point shots in her career, took an inbounds pass from Stephanie Lawrence with .07 seconds left in the game on the right wing and, in one fluid motion found nothing but net, setting off a delirious celebration by the Tar Heel faithful in the aging downtown Richmond arena.
The shot was Smith's first three-pointer of the season.
The game itself was unforgettable. It was a nervous, tension-filled affair throughout that capped an amazing 1993-94 campaign for the Tar Heels.
UNC finished 33-2 in '94, with only two regular-season losses to Virginia marring an otherwise perfect record. The Tar Heels had a solid bench of role players, but for the most part, Carolina relied on an iron-woman outfit of five starters – senior center Sylvia Crawley, junior forwards Smith and Lawrence, senior guard Tonya Sampson and freshman point guard Marion Jones, who arrived at Carolina as a multi-sport star in track and basketball.
"Everything fell into place for us that year, especially the health of the team. We relied on our starting five and fortunately we went through 35 games with no major injuries," she said in a recent interview. "There were also no chemistry issues. We functioned as a team and, although some players were asked to play different roles than in previous years, they were all in. There were no ego problems."
Smith, an assistant coach at Carolina from 2002-11, and head coach at Elon for the past 10 years, says that head coach Sylvia Hatchell had a vision for that team that came together at the right time.
"After practice every day, Coach Hatchell gave us words of affirmation and asked us to make a commitment to be national championship caliber good," Smith said. "We would huddle as players post practice and chant 'National Champions' to end that huddle every single day."
The ACC Tournament was key to Carolina's post-season run in the NCAA affair as well. Carolina had lost to Virginia by two points at home on January 12 and it fell in Charlottesville by nine on February 9.
Arriving in Rock Hill, S.C. as the ACC's No. 2 seed, Carolina survived Clemson by a single point in the semifinals and then thrashed the top-seeded Cavaliers 77-60 in the championship game.
"The two regular-season losses to UVA gave us the determination and drive we needed to win the ACC Tournament," Smith said. "We wanted to prove what we could do against them in the conference final."
UNC was the ACC champion at 27-2, but when the NCAA announced the bracket, Carolina was seeded No. 3 behind Connecticut and Vanderbilt in the East Regional.
"To play the way we did and then be seeded where we were, honestly, we were highly offended" noted Smith. "We thought is showed a lack of respect for our program and the season we had."
That chip on the shoulder would power UNC through six post-season wins, beating Georgia Southern and Old Dominion at home.
The NCAA regional was at Rutgers, and Carolina edged No. 2 seed Vanderbilt, 73-69. Two days later, the Tar Heels dominated Connecticut, 81-69, in the East Region final.
Carolina ventured to Richmond for its first-ever Final Four appearance, where the Tar Heels dominated Purdue 89-74 on April 2.
In those days, the Final Four games were played back-to-back. So, less than 24 hours later, Carolina was on the court to meet Louisiana Tech, winner over Alabama earlier Saturday, for all the marbles. Going into the championship game, Louisiana Tech had won 25 games in a row and the Tar Heels had won 13 in succession.
It may not have been the best played championship game, but it certainly was one of the most exciting. Neither team had any time to rest, and the tension of the game took its toll on tired bodies.
"It was a game in which neither team was able to pull away from the other," recalled Smith. "I was mentally uncomfortable and physically challenged and I clearly remember forcing myself to play for 40 minutes all-out, struggling the entire game."
Carolina and Louisiana Tech fought tooth and nail in the first half. Late in the half, Louisiana Tech took a five-point lead but a pair of layups in the last 33 seconds before intermission by Sampson sent the teams to halftime knotted up at 32 all.
"I dedicated myself to playing great defense," said Smith. "Tonya Sampson carried us in the first half and Marion Jones got in early foul trouble. I didn't score in the first half, but I hit the boards and played defense."
There were two scoring runs in the second half: Carolina went up 48-41, but the Lady Techsters responded with 12 points in a row to go up 53-48.
Carolina tied the game at 57-57 with 48 seconds left in the contest, but Pam Thomas hit a 16-foot jumper with 15.5 seconds left, putting the Lady Techsters up 59-57.
On the last possession of the game, Sampson missed a shot for the tie with four seconds left. The rebound fell to the floor, where Marion Jones and Kendra Neal fought for a possession that resulted in a held ball with just seven tenths of a second left.
Fortunately for Carolina, the whistle blew with just enough time left for one play and the Tar Heels had the possession arrow.
"I wanted to get it in there myself," Sampson said in the post-game interview. "I was going 'Please get it. Please get it.'' "
Smith recounted that the initial play coming out of the timeout was for Lawrence to lob the ball to the rim where Crawley would redirect it home to force overtime. It was a play that had worked previously for the Tar Heels.
Hatchell told Lawrence, "If it's not there, call timeout again."
The play wasn't there. Lawrence called timeout and the philosophy changed in the second timeout.
"The coaches huddled for quite a while, but Coach Hatchell broke their huddle, came into ours and said, 'We're going for the win' and the rest is history," Smith remembered.
There were three options on the play for Lawrence: the first two were decoys to Sampson and Crawley and the third, to Smith, was the preferred option.
"I never expected to be as wide open on the play as I was," she said.
Smith set a screen for Sampson and two Louisiana Tech players followed her.
"Lawrence's pass was not an easy one to make but she delivered it perfectly and my defender, a freshman subbed late in the game due to injury, lost track of me," Smith said. "I had no time to think. You have to rely on the way you've been coached to make sure you execute."
"I kept looking at the shot," Lawrence said after the game. "It seemed like an eternity."
"Once the ball was released all I remember is I was praying hard," said Smith. "Everything happened so fast, and you just react. It was all about instinct and saying that prayer that it went in."
Jones added, "From her release and her look of confidence, I knew it would go in."
Indeed, the shot went in.
Smith was named the Final Four Most Valuable Player, scoring 20 points and pulling down a Final Four-record 23 rebounds in the game.
Sampson scored 21 points for Carolina and had eight rebounds.
Crawley had 14 points for Carolina as the combination of Smith, Sampson and Crawley combined for 55 of UNC's 60 points.
Carolina's relentless work on the boards was a key to the victory. The Tar Heels shot only 34.4 percent for the game but still came away with the national championship.
Twenty-seven years later, the shot heard 'round the world still resonates as one of the greatest moments in Carolina Athletics' history.
And it has permanently etched Smith's name in women's basketball, and women's sports, history.
It was the shot heard 'round the world.
Specifically, the women's basketball world. Not as politically consequential for democracy and American independence as the shots fired at Lexington and Concord on April 19, 1775, but a shot of enormous importance for the athletic program at the University of North Carolina and for the future of women's basketball at the collegiate level.
And as Carolina continues to celebrate 50 Years of women's athletics in Chapel Hill, this moment in history—Charlotte Smith's NCAA championship-winning, buzzer-beating three-pointer—is one that continues to resonate.
"Charlotte's shot remains one of the greatest game-winners in college sports history," said Dr. Beth Miller, former NCAA senior woman administrator at Carolina who oversaw women's basketball in 1994. "It all came together: the right person making the right play at the perfect time, lifting our Tar Heels to greatness and helping to elevate women's sports on a national stage. Her shot truly changed the trajectory of women's basketball."
The shot in question was launched and landed on April 3, 1994, lifting the Tar Heels to a 60-59 victory over Louisiana Tech in the NCAA Tournament championship. The national championship game featured a filled to capacity crowd at the Richmond Coliseum with 11,966 spectators on hand.
Smith, who had only made eight of 31 three-point shots in her career, took an inbounds pass from Stephanie Lawrence with .07 seconds left in the game on the right wing and, in one fluid motion found nothing but net, setting off a delirious celebration by the Tar Heel faithful in the aging downtown Richmond arena.
The shot was Smith's first three-pointer of the season.
The game itself was unforgettable. It was a nervous, tension-filled affair throughout that capped an amazing 1993-94 campaign for the Tar Heels.
UNC finished 33-2 in '94, with only two regular-season losses to Virginia marring an otherwise perfect record. The Tar Heels had a solid bench of role players, but for the most part, Carolina relied on an iron-woman outfit of five starters – senior center Sylvia Crawley, junior forwards Smith and Lawrence, senior guard Tonya Sampson and freshman point guard Marion Jones, who arrived at Carolina as a multi-sport star in track and basketball.
"Everything fell into place for us that year, especially the health of the team. We relied on our starting five and fortunately we went through 35 games with no major injuries," she said in a recent interview. "There were also no chemistry issues. We functioned as a team and, although some players were asked to play different roles than in previous years, they were all in. There were no ego problems."
Smith, an assistant coach at Carolina from 2002-11, and head coach at Elon for the past 10 years, says that head coach Sylvia Hatchell had a vision for that team that came together at the right time.
"After practice every day, Coach Hatchell gave us words of affirmation and asked us to make a commitment to be national championship caliber good," Smith said. "We would huddle as players post practice and chant 'National Champions' to end that huddle every single day."
The ACC Tournament was key to Carolina's post-season run in the NCAA affair as well. Carolina had lost to Virginia by two points at home on January 12 and it fell in Charlottesville by nine on February 9.
Arriving in Rock Hill, S.C. as the ACC's No. 2 seed, Carolina survived Clemson by a single point in the semifinals and then thrashed the top-seeded Cavaliers 77-60 in the championship game.
"The two regular-season losses to UVA gave us the determination and drive we needed to win the ACC Tournament," Smith said. "We wanted to prove what we could do against them in the conference final."
UNC was the ACC champion at 27-2, but when the NCAA announced the bracket, Carolina was seeded No. 3 behind Connecticut and Vanderbilt in the East Regional.
"To play the way we did and then be seeded where we were, honestly, we were highly offended" noted Smith. "We thought is showed a lack of respect for our program and the season we had."
That chip on the shoulder would power UNC through six post-season wins, beating Georgia Southern and Old Dominion at home.
The NCAA regional was at Rutgers, and Carolina edged No. 2 seed Vanderbilt, 73-69. Two days later, the Tar Heels dominated Connecticut, 81-69, in the East Region final.
Carolina ventured to Richmond for its first-ever Final Four appearance, where the Tar Heels dominated Purdue 89-74 on April 2.
In those days, the Final Four games were played back-to-back. So, less than 24 hours later, Carolina was on the court to meet Louisiana Tech, winner over Alabama earlier Saturday, for all the marbles. Going into the championship game, Louisiana Tech had won 25 games in a row and the Tar Heels had won 13 in succession.
It may not have been the best played championship game, but it certainly was one of the most exciting. Neither team had any time to rest, and the tension of the game took its toll on tired bodies.
"It was a game in which neither team was able to pull away from the other," recalled Smith. "I was mentally uncomfortable and physically challenged and I clearly remember forcing myself to play for 40 minutes all-out, struggling the entire game."
Carolina and Louisiana Tech fought tooth and nail in the first half. Late in the half, Louisiana Tech took a five-point lead but a pair of layups in the last 33 seconds before intermission by Sampson sent the teams to halftime knotted up at 32 all.
"I dedicated myself to playing great defense," said Smith. "Tonya Sampson carried us in the first half and Marion Jones got in early foul trouble. I didn't score in the first half, but I hit the boards and played defense."
There were two scoring runs in the second half: Carolina went up 48-41, but the Lady Techsters responded with 12 points in a row to go up 53-48.
Carolina tied the game at 57-57 with 48 seconds left in the contest, but Pam Thomas hit a 16-foot jumper with 15.5 seconds left, putting the Lady Techsters up 59-57.
On the last possession of the game, Sampson missed a shot for the tie with four seconds left. The rebound fell to the floor, where Marion Jones and Kendra Neal fought for a possession that resulted in a held ball with just seven tenths of a second left.
Fortunately for Carolina, the whistle blew with just enough time left for one play and the Tar Heels had the possession arrow.
"I wanted to get it in there myself," Sampson said in the post-game interview. "I was going 'Please get it. Please get it.'' "
Smith recounted that the initial play coming out of the timeout was for Lawrence to lob the ball to the rim where Crawley would redirect it home to force overtime. It was a play that had worked previously for the Tar Heels.
Hatchell told Lawrence, "If it's not there, call timeout again."
The play wasn't there. Lawrence called timeout and the philosophy changed in the second timeout.
"The coaches huddled for quite a while, but Coach Hatchell broke their huddle, came into ours and said, 'We're going for the win' and the rest is history," Smith remembered.
There were three options on the play for Lawrence: the first two were decoys to Sampson and Crawley and the third, to Smith, was the preferred option.
"I never expected to be as wide open on the play as I was," she said.
Smith set a screen for Sampson and two Louisiana Tech players followed her.
"Lawrence's pass was not an easy one to make but she delivered it perfectly and my defender, a freshman subbed late in the game due to injury, lost track of me," Smith said. "I had no time to think. You have to rely on the way you've been coached to make sure you execute."
"I kept looking at the shot," Lawrence said after the game. "It seemed like an eternity."
"Once the ball was released all I remember is I was praying hard," said Smith. "Everything happened so fast, and you just react. It was all about instinct and saying that prayer that it went in."
Jones added, "From her release and her look of confidence, I knew it would go in."
Indeed, the shot went in.
Smith was named the Final Four Most Valuable Player, scoring 20 points and pulling down a Final Four-record 23 rebounds in the game.
Sampson scored 21 points for Carolina and had eight rebounds.
Crawley had 14 points for Carolina as the combination of Smith, Sampson and Crawley combined for 55 of UNC's 60 points.
Carolina's relentless work on the boards was a key to the victory. The Tar Heels shot only 34.4 percent for the game but still came away with the national championship.
Twenty-seven years later, the shot heard 'round the world still resonates as one of the greatest moments in Carolina Athletics' history.
And it has permanently etched Smith's name in women's basketball, and women's sports, history.
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