The 1982 Cheyney State Lady Wolves are the first and only HBCU basketball program to compete in an NCAA Division I Final Four or national championship game.
More than 40 years later, that team from Cheyney, Pennsylvania, is celebrated with the team’s official nomination to the 2023 James Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame.
On Sunday, SportsCenter will be debuting a new SC Featured, “The Lone Wolves”, highlighting the team’s success.
Featuring interviews with Geno Auriemma, C. Vivian Stringer, Chris Dailey and members of the 1982 team, “The Lone Wolves” is produced by Temitayo Anjou with reporting by Scoop Jackson, will debut Sunday at 8 a.m. ET.
“I think this team showed what’s possible,” said Anjou. “Regardless of the circumstances and what one may or may not have if you’ve got dedicated players who want to compete, there’s always a chance.”
The significance of the 1982 run has not been lost on the group that was part of it all these years later.
“We realized we were the first HBCU to get there, you know,” Valerie Walker previously told the media. “It was very important for us to get there. We got there. We did great things and we created history.”
Yolanda Laney, who also played on that famous team, said she is proud to be part of HBCU basketball history. “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.
