Mississippi State guard’s 41 points take down Baylor

OKLAHOMA CITY — Morgan William gave her late stepfather the ultimate tribute.

The 5-foot-5-inch point guard scored a career-high 41 points as second-seeded Mississippi State upset top-seeded Baylor 94-85 in overtime Sunday to reach the Final Four for the first time.

WOMEN’S BASKETBALL

The win came three years and a day after William’s stepfather, Donnie Rory, passed away. After she was named Most Outstanding Player of the regional, she dedicated the victory 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, including 6 of 8 3-pointers. She also had seven assists and no turnovers.

Victoria Vivians scored 24 points and Teaira McCowan 10 for the Bulldogs (33-4) in a game that featured 24 lead changes.

Kalani Brown scored 27 points and Nina Davis 18 for the Lady Bears (334), who lost in the Elite Eight for the fourth consecutive year.

“At Baylor, we have expectations that are higher than an Elite Eight,” coach Kim 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 be 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,” Mississippi State coach Vic Schaefer said. “I thought our kids were unflappable.” LEXINGTON REGION

Stanford 76, Notre Dame 75 — At Lexington, Ky., Alanna Smith’s layup with 23 seconds left capped the Cardinal’s rally from a 16-point second half deficit, and Erica McCall blocked a last-second shot as Stanford (32-6) edged the top-seededed Fighting Irish (33-4).

Brittany McPhee scored 27 points for the second-seeded Cardinal, who won their eighth straight and advanced to their first Final Four since 2014.

Arike Ogunbowale scored 25 points and Marina Mabrey 20 for Notre Dame, which had won 17 straight and sought its sixth Final Four in seven seasons. Among those in the crowd at Rupp Arena was Jon Samuelson, whose daughter Karlie scored 15 for Stanford. A day earlier, he was at the Bridgeport Regional to see another daughter, Connecticut star Katie Lou Samuelson, help the Huskies win their 110th straight game.

After driving for a basket with 51 seconds left, Smith added her biggest shot for the go-ahead score.

Stanford then denied Notre Dame’s Lindsay Allen and Ogunbowale on successive attempts in the final 15 seconds to spark a wild celebration.