South Carolina now plays Mississippi State, but they loved the historic upset vs. UConn too

DALLAS — South Carolina’s A’ja Davis scrunched up her face and tilted her head like she had just smelled something vile. She was doing her best to reenact her reaction from last night when Mississippi State’s Morgan William hit a historic game-winning jumper to end UConn’s 111-game winning streak.

“That’s how,” she said, laughing. “Like, oh my goodness.”

South Carolina had begun Friday with a 62-53 victory against Stanford that required a thrilling second-half comeback. But little did they know their game was only an appetizer for an all-time classic, with Mississippi State downing college basketball’s greatest dynasty and their historic run in a game that will be remembered for a long time.

The game concluded on the shot from William, which immortalizes her in this incredible moment.

“That kid, she was a great story,” South Carolina guard Kaela Davis said. “She’s playing with a lot of heart.”

After watching the first half, South Carolina had returned to their hotel on Friday to catch the second half. Even though they’re now planning ahead to their national championship matchup against Mississippi State, the Gamecocks didn’t hold back from raving about game they had all witnessed the night before.

“As a basketball fan, it was great,” Davis said. “It’s not very often that you see women’s basketball being top SEC play, where you’re seeing it everywhere on social media. Trending on Twitter. As a female basketball player, seeing that, it was a lot of excitement for me, not just knowing I’m playing that team next, but excited just as a basketball fan.”

The players didn’t congregate at the hotel to watch the ending together, but Gamecocks guard Tyasha Harris told SB Nation that the team’s group chat was buzzing with messages like, “They’re making a run here,” or “UConn’s coming back,” or just, “Wow.”

“It was just great,” guard Allisha Gray said. “You like seeing games like that. Women’s basketball, like this whole NCAA tournament, has been full of surprises. You don’t always see that on the women’s side. It’s more on the men’s side. To see that, it’s just exciting being a basketball fan.”

Like A’ja Davis mentioned, the game took over social media feeds — whether it was photos of Mississippi State alum Dak Prescott freaking out in the stands, or just amazement from William’s moment. But Davis knows that it was a moment bigger than William, or that game, or even the NCAA tournament itself.

“Just seeing that especially as a woman, it was really encouraging,” she said. “I hope young girls that want to play this sport really watch that and just build their confidence to know they can be able to play on that level.”

Several South Carolina players found themselves hoping the Bulldogs would win, if only because Mississippi State is a fellow SEC school.

“How many times can you say, ‘Hey, there’s two SEC teams in the national championship game?’” Davis asked.

But the players mostly wanted to enjoy a great game. They got that. Gamecocks guard Bianca Cuevas-Moore even predicted to her freshman roommate how the game would end.

“I said, I feel like somebody’s going to hit a buzzer beater to win the game,” Cuevas-Moore said. “I called it.”

Still, besides the incredible finish, there was a more practical reason for wanting William to hit that shot.

“I was tired,” Gray laughed. “I was ready to go to bed.”