Playing two days after shocking the women’s basketball world by knocking off top-ranked and four-time reigning national champion Connecticut, MSU had no magic left, falling 67-55 to SC in the championship game of the NCAA Women’s Basketball Tournament played before a sellout crowd of 19,229 at American Airlines Arena.
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But beyond talent and system – the latter of which has evolved from a defense-heavy 2015-16 season to an offense that ranks 19th in the country in points per possession this season – the max effort he gets out of William and the rest of his team is unquestionable. “They also have a lot of pride”. We agree. What a great way to get butts in the seats. William’s touching story, and her effectiveness despite being just 5-foot-5, had made her the breakout star of this women’s tournament. If you do the math, the Huskies have won 201 of their last 203 games. “Make no mistake we beat a heck of a basketball team”. But in an instant, their drive toward a fifth consecutive national championship had been blocked.
“They’re extremely tough”, Coach Schaefer said. We beat the greatest team, with the greatest streak in the history of sports. “We’re very proud of that”.
Mississippi State’s next game plan is likely to start with 6-foot-5 forward A’ja Wilson, who had 13 points, 19 rebounds and three blocks against the Cardinal. “I’m just shocked that it took this long to get here”.
“I feel like we earned respect”. The second part is you’ve got to get the rebound, and that’s what’s been hard for us at times. But it didn’t faze us. “Obviously, Davis is just playing with so much confidence right now”.
“I think the question isn’t about is it good or bad for the game”, Semrau said.
The Bulldogs and Huskies played Friday’s second semifinal, which tipped off at about 10 p.m.
At the start of the second half, it was a different ball game when the Huskies started scoring; taking the lead in what ended up being a shot-out between the two in the third quarter.
SC (33-4) turned a 10-point halftime lead into a 45-31 advantage midway through the third quarter before the Bulldogs rallied. That’s hard to do against a great team. “You know, people didn’t believe in us”, William said. When they needed a defensive stop, they got one.
William said she was ready to go back into the game the second coach Vic Schaefer called her name. Didn’t single out or name William, but I guess she was one of them since he was answering a question about her.
Zaire O’Neil scored 21 points and grabbed nine rebounds for Georgia Tech (22-15) but she fouled out with 3:36 left in regulation.
Dawn Staley hopes to pass along a piece of her first championship net to another aspiring African-American coach – the same as Carolyn Peck did for her years ago.
“We had to redeem ourselves from previous year, of course”, she added.
The ball was handed to Williams and the countdown to zero began just as Williams began to rush deep into Huskies territory. This team has depth and Vic Schaefer is still at the helm. “But did you see our fanbase out there tonight? When the Yankees dominated, when the Celtics dominated, they still lost games”.
It was the first title for the SEC since the second of two straight by Tennessee in 2008. “But it’s down to the two of us”. “They were the better team today”.
With McCowan’s plan, the Bulldogs will have to shoot well against the Gamecocks.
First-team All-Americans Katie Lou Samuelson and Napheesa Collier (Incarnate Word) will be juniors. UConn, coached by a Naismith Basketball Hall of Famer who is still racking up coach of the year honors.
“The excitement in Mississippi State’s locker room; we’ve been there”, Auriemma said.
“They deserved to win”, he said Friday night.
“They’re so familiar to us and we’re so familiar to them. I’m shy, I’m not just like social butterfly”, William said Saturday. “It came down to one play in that ballgame”. “That’s exactly what [Morgan] did”. And Mississippi State, they’re still the underdog going into this final game on Sunday night because they’ve lost the last 10 times that they’ve played against SC.
To be fair to the network, few thought Mississippi State would break UConn’s 111-game winning streak Friday night. The Bulldogs had already knocked off top-seed Baylor and UConn to get to the championship game. That dream ended when the Cardinal lost the first semifinal to SC 62-53.
Only a dozen fans – many of them alumni – waited outside Gampel Pavilion to greet the returning team. “Our kids, we know what’s coming down the pike”. “They’re committed. They want to win”. “You never can be relaxed, you have to find ways to stay engaged with her”. It allows them to be successful.
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But this was the case for the 2016-2017 NCAA women’s basketball season. “What a blessing. So, hey, I’m not trading ’em for anything”. Got the opportunity to play and we become national champions.
