Robby’s Recap: Mississippi State’s Storybook Season Falls Short of National Title Trophy Finish

DALLAS (WCBI/MSU Athletics) – Mississippi State’s best was not good enough for a national championship.

Playing two days after shocking the women’s basketball world by knocking off top-ranked and four-time reigning national champion Connecticut, MSU had no magic left, falling 67-55 to South Carolina in the championship game of the NCAA Women’s Basketball Tournament played before a sellout crowd of 19,229 at American Airlines Arena.

With a pro-MSU crowd in attendance, millions watching nationally and a watch party at Humphrey Coliseum, the Bulldogs saw their best season in program history end in the title tilt.

MSU finished the season with a school-record 34 victories and a 34-5 overall record. Coach Vic Schaefer has taken the Bulldogs to three NCAA tournament appearances in five seasons as head coach. This season, the Bulldogs played in a program first Elite Eight and Final Four, while the four-member MSU senior class posted a school-record 111 victories.

A 66-64 overtime win against UConn Friday night snapped the Huskies’ 111-game win streak and propelled the Bulldogs into the national title game.

Sunday, the South Carolina duo of A’Ja Wilson (23 points, 10 rebounds) and Allisha Gray (18 points, 10 rebounds) proved too much for MSU to overcome. Wilson was named Final Four Most Outstanding Player, while Morgan William and Victoria Vivians were named to the All-Final Four team.

The Gamecocks (33-4) won their first-ever national title in women’s basketball by beating the Bulldogs for a third time this season. Each time, the Gamecocks held the Bulldogs in check offensively, allowing 61, 48 and 55 points.

It was the third time that two SEC schools played for the national championship. The Gamecocks were also in their first appearance in the national finals.

Victoria Vivians led the Bulldogs with 12 points, while Dominique Dillingham had 11 points in her final game with MSU. Teaira McCowan had a team-high 10 rebounds.

“(South Carolina) certainly was in attack mode,” Schaefer said. “I’m going to take a lot of the responsibility for our poor defensive play today. We really feed off whoever’s on the ball. I just didn’t have a really good matchup on the ball today. I think when you’re soft on the ball, it’s always been my philosophy, if you got somebody soft on the ball, it’s hard to get four behind you to play really hard.”

The Bulldogs started strong, quickly building a 7-1 lead with five points from Vivians. The Gamecocks battled back to tie and scored the first quarter’s final five points for an 18-14 lead.

The Bulldogs went better than 10 minutes with only one field goal as the Gamecocks surged ahead for good. A 19-4 run lifted the Gamecocks to a 31-18 lead with 3:39 left in the half en route to a 36-26 advantage at the break.

The Bulldogs returned to form on the defensive end and battled back into the contest in the third quarter. Down by 14 twice, the Bulldogs forced three turnovers and scored nine straight points to pull within 45-40 on a Ketara Chapel basket with 3:37 left in the third.

Two free throws by McCowan brought the Bulldogs within four at 48-44. Again, the Gamecocks scored four-straight points for a 52-44 lead going into the final frame.

A basket by Jazzmun Holmes again brought the Bulldogs within four at 54-50 with 6:52 left. A 3-pointer by Vivians misfired, and the Gamecocks responded with a 10-2 run to seal the victory.

“It was a great season. We had our highs and our lows,” William said. “Just in those game that were most important for us, we couldn’t get over the hump.”

For the contest, MSU hit 19 of 55 shots from the field (34.5 percent), 2 of 12 shots from 3-point range (16.7 percent) and 15 of 18 shots from the foul line (83.3 percent). South Carolina hit 25 of 55 shots from the field (45.5 percent), 0 of 3 shots from 3-point range (0 percent) and 17 of 22 shots from the foul line (77.3 percent).

South Carolina held a 40-27 rebounding advantage. The Bulldogs had eight assists and 10 turnovers, while the Gamecocks had seven assists and 11 turnovers.

South Carolina joined Tennessee as the only SEC teams to win a national championship. Texas A&M was a member of the Big 12 when it won in 2011.