24 years has dulled your memory of that play. The shot came directly off an inbounds pass, there was no pass after the ball was touched inbounds. Time was also no issue as with 0.8 on the clock, the shot was released in a fraction under 0.8 after being first touched even though the clock started a tenth or two late. Current review rules would have upheld the good basket call.
Even not getting a travel call on the inbounds pass doesn't bother me now since I have heard officials explain that on a spot inbounds pass, the player has a box of about three feet and a travel shouldn't be called if the player stays within that box.
1994 just confirmed that Tech could not win a national championship without all three of Leon Barmore, Kim Mulkey, and Jennifer White being part of the program.
Good old Memorial Gym
Here it is from a North Carolina throwback celebration eyes...
https://youtu.be/s1zz5ku1KvU
The second video shows their season and the shot at about the 1:56 mark.
https://youtu.be/qJ_J4bQ37DM
That's correct. I'm not clear how but I think she got the shot off on time. She did, however, have her toes on the 3-pt line. Still, the problem with that game was that we gave it away in the last two minutes. Yet another example of our trying to slow a game down at the end and it costing us.
I remember reading somewhere that Smith tried to recreate the shot at some kind of celebration. They tried it 20 times and she didn't make it once. It was a heck of a lucky shot.
Why is that a "heck of a lucky shot?" It was a straight-forward set shot right at the arc. As easy as a 3-pointer gets....sans the time to do it. Smith was already in her shooting stance, caught the pass (which started the clock), and shot.
Bigger issue is why was she so wide opened? No defender near her, nothing to make her hesitate or change her shot.
My biggest issue with that shot was the inbounder. She was supposed to stay in place, but she actually "traveled" before throwing the ball to Smith.
Apparently no one was assigned to Smith.
Seriously, it is possible it was a screw-up and two Techsters double-teamed a player, leaving Smith open. A missed assignment. And yes, if you're thinking R U KIDDIN' ME!? with the frickin' National Championship on the line, our coaches/players couldn't get that right!? Well, in the hectic moment of that final time out huddle...we had some starters who had fouled out...the back-ups could have gotten confused on who they were supposed to be guarding.
I know this....no one was guarding Smith.