'It's been a long time coming.' Denise Curry celebrates UCLA's Final Four run

The giddy players took turns posing for photos with the regional championship trophy.

Some posed alone, some in groups, some with their parents.

Student managers, coaches and other staffers had done the same.Waiting for her turn as she stood on the confetti-strewn court inside Spokane Arena, Denise Curry was in no hurry after the UCLA womens basketball team had logged its most significant triumph since she starred for the Bruins more than 40 years ago.Its been a long time coming, Curry said, we can wait a little longer, right?As the Bruins prepared for their first trip to the Final Four of the NCAA tournament in the wake of a 72-65 triumph over Louisiana State on Sunday, Currys presence provided a bridge to their last golden era.

She was a freshman starter on the 1978 team that won the Assn.

of Intercollegiate Athletics for Women national title, four years before the NCAA became the governing body for womens collegiate sports.UCLA players celebrate with a trophy after defeating LSU to earn a spot in the Final Four Sunday in Spokane, Wash.

(Jenny Kane / Associated Press)As Curry spoke with a reporter Sunday afternoon, UCLA athletic director Martin Jarmond walked up and draped his arm around Currys shoulder.Set the foundation right here, Jarmond said.Scoring in double figures in all of her 130 games at UCLA, Curry averaged a double-double of 24.6 points and 10.1 rebounds.

She became the schools all-time leading scorer (3,198 points) and rebounder (1,310), leading the Bruins back to the semifinals of the AIAW tournament in 1979 before winning an Olympic gold medal in 1984.Anyone wondering about her influence only needs to glance toward the top of Pauley Pavilion, where Currys No.

12 jersey is retired alongside former teammate Ann Meyers.

They remain the only two womens basketball players to have their jerseys retired by the school.She made everything easy for me, Curry said of Meyers, who was a senior when Curry was a freshman.

I ended up leading the team in scoring and thats because Annie set me up so well.

She was one of those players who really doesnt care who gets the credit, its all about the team, its all about team success and what makes us better as a unit and I sincerely mean that.

She didnt care as long as we were doing what we needed to do as a team.File photograph of UCLA basketball player Denise Curry.

(UCLA Athletics)In that sense, Curry said it was similar to what shes seeing now from the current group of Bruins, who visited with Curry and other alumni during a dinner earlier this season before their Big Ten opener.Theres lots of depth, great players, great people, Curry said, and youve got kids who could start pretty much any place else in the country that have to come off the bench, but again, your contribution, whatever it is some days its going to be this, some days its going to be that, but youve got to be ready to go, and thats the strength of this team their selflessness and their depth and the way they come together.UCLA coach Cori Close said Meyers and Curry text her before almost every game, providing invaluable support for someone working for a breakthrough like this after her six previous trips to the second weekend of the NCAA tournament with the Bruins ended in defeat.We are so grateful for people like Annie and Denise, Close said.

They could have said, Oh my gosh, you guys are so spoiled, and you know, like, if you only knew what we had to do.' And that isnt the case.

They have celebrated every step, they have been behind us, they have donated, they have showed up, they have believed in our mission.And I dont appreciate them as much today as I do on the darkest days.

Thats when they showed up in the trenches with me and said, Hey, hang in there.

We believe in what youre doing and were behind you 100%.' Those are the times Ill never forget.Womens college basketball was a far different entity back in Currys day.

Before the Bruins broke through to win the 1978 title on their home court, the game was dominated by smaller schools.

The previous six titles had been won by Immaculata and Delta State.Read more:UCLA shines in critical moments to defeat LSU and reach Final Four for first timeUCLAs 90-74 victory over Maryland under coach Billie Moore was not shown on live television, NBC broadcasting a segment of the game a day later as part of its Sportsworld show.But there were already signs of growth in the game.

The Pauley Pavilion crowd of 9,351 that showed up to see UCLA beat the Terrapins was a record for the Bruins on their home court.

Curry played a critical role in that victory, making a 16-foot jumper late in the first half to end Marylands 12-0 run that had pulled the Terrapins to within a point.

She finished with 18 points, seven rebounds and two assists.Two days earlier, former NBA great Wilt Chamberlain had shown up to watch the semifinals inside Pauley Pavilion, signaling his appreciation for the womens game.These girls can play, Chamberlain told the Washington Posts Dave Kindred.

This is as good as watching the Lakers.

If Im going to watch the Lakers, Ill watch this.It could have been considered the start of an upward trajectory that led to more viewers for the womens national championship game a year ago than the mens title game.

Curry, 65, said shes grateful for the explosion in popularity of womens sports.Its phenomenal, Curry said.

I am so excited for whats happening now.

I mean, it took a long time coming I wish it had happened a little bit sooner, but Im so appreciative for whats happening now, so thankful for it, so happy that everybody else gets the benefit of it and I think its going to continue to grow.Read more:Plaschke: Cori Close forging a new UCLA legend with the lessons John Wooden taught herWere not at the top yet, and I love it for everybody and I love it for young boys and young men and older men too to be part of this and help push us forward because I think thats really important its not just girls and women, its everybody pushing this forward.A season ticket-holder who attends every home game, Curry said shes grateful that shes been allowed to travel with the team in recent postseasons.

She's also part of a group of contemporaries who are regulars at Pauley Pavilion that includes Debbie Willie Haliday, Mary Hegarty, Dora Dome and Meyers when her schedule allows.Currys schedule added a stop this week.

Shell be accompanying the Bruins to Tampa, Fla., for their first appearance in a national semifinal since Curry was a sophomore.Im just so proud, Curry said.

But mostly, Im just happy for them.

I know how much work it is, I know how hard it is to do something like this, and theyve done it and they have more to come, but theyve taken that big step.Get the best, most interesting and strangest stories of the day from the L.A.

sports scene and beyond from our newsletter The Sports Report.This story originally appeared in Los Angeles Times..

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