Lady Bears tumble in a dismal finish
William’s 41 carry Bulldogs into first Final Four
OKLAHOMA CITY — Morgan William gave her late stepfather the ultimate tribute.
The 5-5 point guard scored a career-high 41 points, and second-seeded Mississippi State upset top-seeded Baylor 94-85 in overtime Sunday night to reach the Final Four for the first time.
The victory came three years and a day after William’s stepfather, Donnie Rory, died. After she was named Most Outstanding Player of the Oklahoma City Regional, she dedicated the win and the performance to him.
“He’s the reason I am where I am today with basketball,” she said. “He just did so much for me, working out when I was younger. He had no doubt
because of my height. We put in so much work in the gym. For me to just come out here and do this, it’s amazing. I just wish he was here to see it.”
William scored 10 points in the fourth quarter and 12 in overtime to set school and Southeastern Conference records for most points in an NCAA Tournament game. She made 13 of 22 shots and was 6-of-8 on 3-pointers. She also had seven assists and no turnovers.
Victoria Vivians scored 24 points, and Teaira McCowan added 10 for the Bulldogs (33-4) in a game that featured 24 lead changes.
“I knew we were in trouble when they were hitting bank-shot 3s to start the game when the shot clock was winding down,” Baylor coach Kim Mulkey said. “What do you do?”
Kalani Brown scored 27 points, and Nina Davis had 18 for the Lady Bears (33-4), who lost in the Elite Eight for the fourth consecutive year.
“At Baylor, we have expectations that are higher than an Elite Eight,” Mulkey said. “Whether that’s egotistical, fair, whatever, it is what it is. We have to keep feeding that monster that we started 17 years ago.”
Davis, one of the most decorated players in school history, played in all four of those Elite Eight losses. She thought this one would turn out differently.
“Every time we would get the lead, they would come down and shoot a 3, we would foul, and could never get that one stop that we needed,” she said.
William’s layup with 22 seconds left in regulation forced overtime. Mississippi State outscored Baylor 19-10 in the extra period.
“It took a gut-check, gut-wrenching performance by our kids today and we delivered,” Bulldogs coach Vic Schaefer said. “I thought our kids were unflappable. I thought they were resilient. They showed tremendous toughness, a lot of character in their heart.”
Brown did all she could for the Lady Bears. The 6-7 sophomore center made 11 of 13 shots and had nine rebounds and five blocks.
Mississippi State overcame Baylor’s 53 percent shooting, in part by committing just four turnovers.
On the other end, the Bulldogs scored 20 points off 17 turnovers by Baylor.
“Seventeen turnovers to four, you shouldn’t even be in the ballgame, not at the Elite Eight level,” Mulkey said. “But we hung around and hung in there.”