Dominant Fourth Quarter Lifts #5 South Carolina Over #6 Bulldogs For SEC Tournament Crown

GREENVILLE, S.C. (WCBI/ Miss. St. Athletics) – A Southeastern Conference championship was not in the cards for the Mississippi State women’s basketball team this season.

A valiant effort came up short as No. 2 seed MSU dropped a 59-49 decision to top-seeded South Carolina in the tournament championship game played Sunday afternoon at Bon Secours Wellness Arena Center.

MSU lost for a third time in the conference tournament championship. South Carolina became the second school in league history to win three-straight tournament titles. South Carolina took a 64-61 victory when the teams met in the regular season and again this contest was decided in the final minutes.

Junior Morgan William entered MSU’s 1,000 Point Club with a 14-point effort tonight. The Birmingham native was also named to the SEC’s All-Tournament Team, along with South Carolina’s A’ja Wilson (MVP) and Kaela Davis as well as Kentucky’s Evelyn Akhator and Makayla Epps.

MSU will learn its postseason destination when the NCAA announced its women’s basketball selections Monday, March 13. With a school-record 29 overall wins already secured, the Bulldogs (29-4) will be headed to the NCAA tournament for a third straight season.

“We are disappointed today,” MSU head coach Vic Schaefer said. “We played really well for about 33-1/2 minutes. It was a heck of basketball game. We just felt like we didn’t execute down the stretch. Morgan (William) and Teaira (McCowan) really carried us offensively. They made some shots and competed.

“In a game like this, you really just want to go out there and lay it all on the line. I think our kids did just that.”

After committing only seven turnovers in a 66-50 semifinal round win over Texas A&M, MSU committed 14 in Sunday’s contest. The Bulldogs also did not make a 3-pointer in the game for the first time this season.

Still, MSU carried a 45-40 lead into the fourth quarter and only trailed 50-49 before not scoring over the final 4:42 of the contest.

Teaira McCowan had 15 points for the Bulldogs, while Morgan William added 14 points. McCowan had a double-double as she also pulled down a game-high 12 rebounds.

The Bulldogs started slow offensively and fell down 10-2. The Bulldogs were then down 14-5 before ending the first quarter on an 8-0 run to pull within 14-13.

A jumper by Jazzmun Holmes gave the Bulldogs a 15-14 lead. South Carolina would again regroup and again enjoy an 8-point lead at 25-17. Morgan William kept the Bulldogs going, though. A layup by William as the half expired brought the Bulldogs within 29-26 at halftime.

McCowan would then cap a 6-0 run to give the Bulldogs a 45-40 lead. The Gamecocks did not score the final 3:36 of the third quarter and the Bulldogs had the misfortune of not completing a couple of good looks inside as the quarter expired.

South Carolina opened the fourth quarter with an 8-0 run for a 48-45 lead. The Bulldogs would pull within 50-49 on a basket by Roshunda Johnson but did not score again.

For the contest, MSU hit 21 of 59 shots from the field (35.6 percent), 0 of 15 shots from 3-point range (0 percent) and 7 of 7 shots from the foul line (100 percent). South Carolina hit 23 of 48 shots from the field (47.9 percent), 4 of 8 shots from 3-point range (50.0 percent) and 9 of 11 shots from the foul line (81.8 percent).

South Carolina held a 29-28 rebounding advantage. The Bulldogs had seven assists and 14 turnovers, while the Gamecocks had 13 assists and 17 turnovers.

South Carolina (27-4) received 23 points from Kaela Davis and 15 points from A’ja Wilson.