Buzzer-beater ends Huskies’ win streak
DALLAS — Connecticut's record 111-game winning streak came to a startling end Friday night when Mississippi State pulled off
perhaps the biggest upset in women's basketball history, shocking the Huskies 66-64 on Morgan William's overtime buzzer-beater in a national semifinal.
William hit a 15-footer to cap it, moments after a replay review awarded UConn two free throws for a flagrant 1 foul call that tied the score with 26.6 seconds left.
The Bulldogs (34-4) will play South Carolina for the national championship
Sunday night in a matchup of two Southeastern Conference teams.
Victoria Vivians led Mississippi State with 19 points and William added 13 — including the two biggest of the night.
Mississippi State and UConn met in the Sweet 16 last season and the Huskies won by 60 points — the biggest win in regional semifinals history. All season long the Bulldogs had that humiliating loss on their minds.
Now they've erased that defeat, beating UConn (36-1) — which had won the last four national championships and was making its 10th straight Final Four appearance — on the grandest stage in one of the sport's greatest games.
Gabby Williams led the Huskies with 21 points.
Family connection
UConn's Katie Lou Samuelson, who had 15 points against Mississippi State, was joined in the Final Four by her older sister, senior Karlie Samuelson of Stanford. Karlie suffered a sprained ankle during a 62- 53 loss to South Carolina in the first semifinal game and didn't score.
"It hurt really bad when it happened," said Karlie Samuelson, who was scoreless in 25 minutes. "I sprained my ankle and we just didn't get the win."