ASSEMBLING THE QUARTET
Louisville, a top seed, dismantles Oregon State to become the first women’s team in the Final Four. Another top seed, Mississippi State, advances over third-seeded UCLA.
KANSAS CITY, Mo. — Mississippi State’s Vic Schaefer was in no hurry to talk about returning to the Final Four, instead spending the first few minutes on the dais circling the highlights on the box score. And there were plenty. Teaira McCowan had 23 points and 21 rebounds, Victoria Vivans added 24 points, and top-seeded Mississippi State held on after blowing most of its big lead to beat third-seeded UCLA 89-73 on Sunday night and earn a repeat trip to the semifinals of the NCAA Tournament.
The Bulldogs will meet another No. 1 seed in Louisville on Friday night at Columbus, Ohio.
“They’ve lived all year with a bulls-eye on their backs. That’s hard to do, y’all,” said Schaefer, who arrived at the postgame news conference with the net draped around his neck. “These kids are special.”
Exuding confidence
Morgan William added 17 points and Roshunda Johnson had 12 for Mississippi State (36-1), which extended its school record for wins in a season. Now, the task is to go one step further than the Bulldogs did last year when they fell to South Carolina in the national title game.
“I just had a real confidence today,” Schaefer said. “The TV crew made a comment, ‘Coach, this is the most chill I’ve seen you.’ I just had a real confidence.”
Jordin Canada led the Bruins (27-8) with 23 points, eight rebounds and five assists, despite playing much of the game with a sprained elbow. Japreece Dean had 16 points, and Monique Billings and Kennedy Burke had 12 apiece, most of it as UCLA rallied from a 50-32 hole.
The Bruins closed within 74-68 on Dean’s 3-pointer with 2:53 left, but they couldn’t get a stop on the defensive end. Instead, the two teams traded basket for basket down the stretch.
Mississippi State pulled away from the foul line in the final minute.
“I wanted to have a chance to coach this group for another day, but the reality is they’ve had a historic season,” UCLA coach Cori Close said. “I love them. I’m proud of them, and there is nothing that could happen today that would change that.”
Utilize the 6-7 center
Early on, the Bulldogs followed the same formula they used in routing North Carolina State, dumping it into the much larger McCowan for easy baskets. The 6-7 center, who had 24 points in that regional semifinal, scored six during an 11-0 run that gave her team the lead.
Vivians gave Mississippi State control. The senior forward from Carthage, Miss., converted a threepoint play to begin the second period and then added eight later in the quarter. She finished with 16 points in the first half, and her spinning, driving layup helped the Bulldogs take a 42-26 lead at the half.
The only offense the Bruins could muster came from Canada, and most of that was at the foul line.
“Mississippi State’s game plan was to pressure us and try to get the ball out of my hands,” Canada said, “so I thought in the beginning of the game we had a lull where we couldn’t run anything.”
Mississippi State kept finding answers until putting the game away.