Mississippi State outlasts Louisville in OT to advance to national championship

Mississippi State is back in the championship game for a second straight season.

Teaira McCowan scored 21 points and grabbed 25 rebounds and Victoria Vivians had 25 points and made big plays in overtime as the Bulldogs outlasted Louisville 73-63 Friday in a Final Four thriller in the women’s NCAA Tournament at Nationwide Arena in Columbus, Ohio.

Mississippi State stunned UConn last year to get to the championship game, where it ultimately fell to South Carolina.

The Bulldogs will face the UConn-Notre Dame winner Sunday in this year’s title game.

Arica Carter hit a tough, driving layup to give the Cardinals a 57-56 lead with a minute play in regulation. Myisha Hines-Allen followed with a layup that gave Louisville a three-point lead with 11.3 seconds left.

The Cardinals chose not to foul on Mississipi State’s next possession and paid for it when Roshunda Johnson hit a tying 3-pointer from the left wing. Hines-Allen raced back down the court but missed a contested layup, and Jazmine Jones couldn’t hit a follow-up attempt, sending the game into overtime tied 59-59.

Vivians scored the first five points of overtime before fouling out, and McCowan had a clinching three-point play in the final seconds off of her 13th offensive rebound of the game.

McCowan has an NCAA Tournament-record 92 rebounds with still a game to go.

Asia Durr, the ACC player of the year, had 18 points and Jones added 15 points for the Cardinals, who had a seven-point lead in the fourth quarter but couldn’t hold on.

Mississippi State led 31-30 after a back-and-forth first half featuring five lead changes. Jones hit a layup that put Louisville up 29-24 with 2:16 left in the second quarter. The Bulldogs responded with a 7-1 run, capped by a pretty back-door cut and layup by Vivians that sent Mississippi State into the locker room with a one-point lead.

Vivians led all scorers with 11 points the first half. Jones and Dana Evans each had nine points to lead Louisville in the first half.

–Field Level Media