Teaira McCowan and the No. 2 Mississippi State Bulldogs made history last night with a 75-64 win over the No. 3 Washington Huskies in the Sweet Sixteen.
McCowan scored 20 points, grabbed seven rebounds, and swatted five blocks all down the stretch to help lead the Bulldogs into the Elite Eight for the first time in school history.
Washington forward Chantel Osahor said McCowan was the game-changer for the Bulldogs. She talked to the media after the game.
“She was the difference-maker,” Osahor said in the post-game press conference. “She had some big baskets at the end.”
Down 20-13 at the end of the first quarter, MSU outscored UW 25-9 in the second quarter to give themselves a 38-29 lead going into halftime. In the quarter, MSU went on two separate 11-2 runs to establish their lead.
The Huskies stormed back in the third quarter and took a 50-48 lead going into the final quarter. That is when McCowan took over. Her 20 fourth-quarter points helped the Bulldogs outscore the Huskies 27-14 and led the Bulldogs to their historic victory.
Head Coach Vic Schaefer told the media after the game that the second and fourth quarters were the changing point in both halves of the game.
“The second and fourth quarters were special offensively,” Coach Schaefer said. “We obviously got some things going on offense. You score 25-27 points in a quarter, you’re doing some good things offensively.”
Kelsey Plum, the nation’s leading scorer at 31.8 points per game, scored 29 points in the game and was held to nine points in the first half.
Dominique Dillingham, MSU’s best defender, guarded Plum during the game. She gave all the credit to her teammates in the post game conference.
“Plum is just an amazing player. It was a great battle all night long,” Dillingham said. “My teammates helped me out a lot. We were able to switch a lot of things, which helped me personally. My team just did a good job of sealing up the line. We had umbrella defense. Everybody was there to help. It was just a team effort, I think.”
Washington went 249-344-62 from the field and only hit 8 of 22 from three-point range. Plum was held to 10-25 from the field.
MSU also dominated on the boards in the game. The Bulldogs outrebounded the Huskies 49-34 in the game and won the turnover battle as well. The Bulldogs had 17 assists and seven turnovers on the game, and the Huskies has eight assists and 10 turnovers.
Victoria Vivians added 13 points and Blair Schaefer added 10 to help the Bulldogs to victory.
The Bulldogs (32-4) are still continuing their historic season. In a season that tallied the most wins ever in a season, a back-to-back Sweet Sixteen venture, and an Elite Eight appearance, Coach Schaefer said he is unbelievably proud of the women on this team.
“Awfully proud of my kids,” Schaefer said. “So proud they were able to take all of this in three days on defense. It wasn’t rocket science but there were some things that we needed to do to be successful. Our kids were special today. No doubt about that. Dominique came in and did what she does best. There is a reason why she has been on the SEC’s all-defensive team the last two years.         
The Bulldogs will take on the No. 1 Baylor Bears (33-3) on Sunday at 6:30 p.m. CT on ESPN. The winner will advance to the Final Four.