CHEYNEY, Pa. - Cheyney University's women's basketball team made history in 1982 when it made it to the NCAA Division I championship game.
Although the team lost to Louisiana Tech, they remain the only team from a historically Black college or university to play for an NCAA Division I basketball championship.
Cheyney University celebrated the team over the weekend with an event to honor the 40th anniversary of the historic game. The significance of the 1982 game is not lost on the team's former players, especially when the team was ranked second in the nation and had a 23 game winning streak. "We realized we were the first HBCU to get there, you know," Valerie Walker told FOX 29. "It was very important for us to get there.
We got there. We did great things and we created history." Former player Yolanda Laney says coming from Cheyney prepared them to feel no pressure as they made it to the championship. "Cheyney has a rich heritage. [It's] the first historically Black college or university as well as now the first and only women's basketball team to make it to a Final Four," she said.