More than a Game: The Legacy of the Women of Troy
By Clint Mintzer
Before I sat down to watch The Women of Troy documentary as a class, I assumed I was in for a story about a successful college basketball team. I expected a few cool highlights, lots of stats about the team, and a few interviews from players on the team.
What I didn’t expect after the documentary was finished was feeling inspired—not just as a sports lover, but as a person. The Women of Troy isn’t just a sports documentary, but a story about passion, hardships, and what it means to rise even when everything is trying to hold you down.
In 1983, the USC women's basketball team was known as the Women of Troy. They weren’t just a team full of star players, but a team full of trailblazers. These women played during a time when women's sports were on the rise, but not fully supported by everyone. Yet, they did not back down. They played hard, played fast—and they were good. The team won multiple championships and, most importantly, opened up a window for all athletes who weren’t being seen, heard, or celebrated the way they should have been.
Throughout the movie, the emotion that stood out to me the most was inspiration. Watching guard Cynthia Cooper’s story unfold was especially powerful. Growing up, Cooper didn’t always have the easiest life. Born in Chicago but raised in Watts, a neighborhood in southern Los Angeles, California, Cooper describes Watts as a place where drugs and gangs ruled the streets.
“It comes from the inner city, where the only option you have is to be successful,” Cooper said in Sports Illustrated. “If you’re not this, then you’re that. If you’re not successful and focused and driven then you can fall into drugs or gangs or fall into a path that you don’t want to go down.”
Life didn’t deal Cooper the easiest hand, except for her basketball talent. She played college basketball at USC before moving on to play professionally in Italy. Then when the WNBA was created, she became a member of the Houston Comets and is considered one of the greatest women’s basketball players of all time.
During her time at USC, her brother sadly passed. It was more than a loss for her; it was a moment that almost took her out of the game entirely. And for a while, it did. She stepped away from basketball, understandably heartbroken. But when she decided to come back, she came back with something that couldn't be coached or mentored: a fire inside of her. Cooper played with so much passion it jumped off the screen. Every move she made, you could tell she was playing for something much bigger than just herself.
This kind of strength hit me hard. I know what it feels like to lose someone so close to you and someone who you cared for so deeply. But Cooper taught me to keep fighting—and when the world crashes around you, you don’t give up. You keep fighting.
Then there was forward Cheryl Miller. You can’t talk about the Women of Troy without mentioning Miller. She was not just the MVP of that team but the best women's basketball player in the world. The things she did on the court were unreal. She could score, pass, rebound, and block shots that would feel like they would hit the moon. She was also a leader and someone her teammates looked up to.
A former USC teammate, Rhonda Windham, described Miller as an amazing player but a better person.
“She still won’t tell me when she’s won an award. I have to find out for myself,” Windham said in an interview with the LA Times. “She doesn’t want it to seem like she’s putting it in anyone’s face. A lot of others wouldn’t have handled (success) the same way. They might have thought they were the hottest thing since air conditioning. But she knows how to use it to her advantage and how not to make anyone feel less fortunate than her.”
When Miller got hurt playing a pickup game with some football players, you could hear the cry around the world. Her basketball career ended just like that. One freak accident, and the game she loved was gone.
This type of injury could have made someone bitter and angry, but not Miller. Instead of letting this injury define her, she reinvented herself. She became a sports commentator for TNT for 17 years. Now, she is the head coach of the women's basketball team at Cal State LA. Miller didn’t stop being great—she just changed the way she did it.
That’s what really stood out to me from the documentary. Every woman that they highlighted reminded me that life is tough for everyone and the most important thing is that you have to keep going no matter what life throws at you.
The Women of Troy weren’t just great basketball players—they were pioneers. They played before women’s games were on TV, before there were big sponsorships, and before the WNBA even existed. Because of the impact these players left, girls today can now dream of being professional basketball players.
Their story isn’t just for athletes. It’s for anyone who has ever felt ignored or felt less than. Watching the documentary Women of Troy showed me that success doesn’t always come in trophies, but from not giving up even when times get tough.
If you haven’t seen the documentary, I strongly suggest you do so. It is more than a sports story—it’s about determination, courage, and perseverance. You don’t even need to love basketball to watch it. The Women of Troydocumentary made me feel so empowered and inspired me to chase my dream, no matter what challenges I might face in my life.
It was pure art.