Morgan William and Mississippi State finally cut down the net.
William was not going to let MSU’s historic season end tonight. William, who was named Most Outstanding Player of the regional, scored 41 points and led the No. 2 Bulldogs over the No. 1 Baylor Bears 94-85 in overtime on to advance the Bulldogs to the program’s first Final Four appearance.
William shot 13-22 from the field, 6-8 from 3-point range, and 9-10 from the free throw line to lead the Bulldogs (33-4) in the upset victory. Her 41 points were the most in school history in a NCAA Tournament game.
William said she knew pregame she felt better shooting than she had in previous games. She said pregame shooting gave her the mindset to make any shot she took in the game.
“Just confidence,” William said. “I mean, I came out here early to shoot because I had issues the last couple games. I was feeling it. Coach let me make them. It opened shots for my teammates, too. When I was open, I knew I could knock down the shot. That really helped us from inside-out. It was just tough to guard us.”
Head Coach Vic Schaefer noticed she was shooting well from the beginning, and ran plays to get her to shoot as much as possible.
“I ran a couple of things for her, and just had to keep going back because they were having a hard time dealing with it and she was wanting the ball,” Schaefer said in the post-game press conference.
Vivians, the team’s leading scorer on the season, praised William in her post-game interview with ESPN.
“She was amazing,” Vivians told ESPN reporter Kaylee Hartung. “Look, she stepped up and she was a point guard. She put us on her back and I am very grateful for her.
To complement William, Vivians scored 24 points and Teaira McCowan scored 10 points. Both players were named to the Oklahoma City Regional All-Tournament Team.
Vivians scored 15 points in the first half and kept her team just a few steps ahead before William took over in the second half.
Down 61-60 to start the fourth quarter, both teams swapped leads until the game was tied at 73 with two minutes and 19 seconds left in regulation. Baylor took the 75-73 lead, but William laid in the ball with 22.6 seconds left to tie the game.
To start overtime, Vivians and William made shots to put the Bulldogs up 85-81. Free throws helped extend the lead, but Baylor fought back with a late 3-pointer to cut the lead to two. Soon after, William sealed the deal and hit seven to eight free throws down the stretch and extended the MSU lead to nine points. William scored 12 points in the overtime period. The game featured 24 lead changes, but MSU held on for the 94-85 victory over Baylor.
William said 24 lead changes are the reason she loves basketball. She knew once her team got just one stop, they would take control of the game.
“I mean, that’s why it’s a game of runs,” William said. “We live for moments like this, back-to-back lead changes. We just know we got to make a run when they make a run. Got to get stops in. Once we make our run, we got to get stops and keep running from there. I feel like we did that. We got a stop, and we kept executing. After that, we got a lead.”
Turnovers were a game-changer for MSU. While MSU committed just four turnovers in 45 total minutes, the Bulldogs forced 17 Baylor turnovers.
Although the Bulldogs were outrebounded by six rebounds, MSU grabbed 13 offensive rebounds and blocked three shots.
Coach Schaefer, a man who continuously praises the play of his girls on his team, said his team played with tremendous poise and they delivered a gut-wrenching performance.
“I’m so proud of my girls and my team,” Schaefer said after the game. “I thought my kids were unflappable. They showed tremendous toughness, a lot of character and their heart.”
The Bulldogs will travel to Dallas to play the winner of UConn/Oregon on Friday. UConn defeated MSU last season in the Sweet Sixteen.