The Final Four of the 2017 Women’s NCAA Tournament was officially set with the Sunday night game between No. 2 Mississippi State and No. 1 Baylor. The game went into overtime and was close throughout, but the Bulldogs ended up pulling out the victory, winning by a final score of 94-85 in overtime.
NCAA Women’s tournament 2017: Mississippi State beats Baylor 94-85 in overtime
The Bulldogs are headed to the Final Four.
Mark D. Smith-USA TODAY Sports
The Bulldogs led 43-40 at halftime, and the close margin held throughout the majority of the game. The third quarter finished with Baylor holding just a one-point lead, 61-60.
The end of the fourth quarter came down to the wire. With 22 seconds left, Mississippi State was able to tie it up at 75 on a layup from Morgan William. Baylor was unable to score on the ensuing possession, but a jump ball on the rebound gave the Bears the ball back with 3.4 seconds to go. The Bulldogs managed to get a steal, but didn’t have enough time to make a shot, sending it into overtime.
On the night, MSU’s offense was led by its three-point shots, shooting 50 percent from behind the arc, with 10 three-pointers made. The Bulldogs’ Morgan William was the star of the game. She had a new career-high 41 points, including two threes in overtime, her last one giving her team a four-point lead. MSU took a five-point, 87-82 lead with 1:37 left, but an Alexis Prince three pulled the Bears within two. From there, William made some clutch free throws to seal the Bulldogs’ victory. Baylor was unable to connect on its next two possessions, forcing the Bears to start fouling.
Baylor’s scoring effort was led by Kalani Brown, who had 27 points on the night. The Bulldogs finished with just four turnovers, a season-low against Baylor, as well.
Next up for Mississippi State is either the No. 1 UConn Huskies, or the No. 10 Oregon Ducks. The reigning national champion Huskies won their first two games of the tournament by a combined 91 points, beating No. 16 Albany and No. 8 Syracuse in the first two rounds. The Huskies beat the No. 4 UCLA Bruins 86-71 on Saturday afternoon to go to the Elite Eight.
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