South Carolina Beats Mississippi State 67-55 For First Women’s Basketball National Championship

The South Carolina Gamecocks women’s basketball team defeated the Mississippi State Bulldogs 67-55 in an all-SEC final in Dallas on Sunday night to secure their first-ever national championship.

Women’s Basketball: South Carolina Beats Mississippi State For First National Title

Gamecocks coach Dawn Staley had waited her entire career to win a national championship, and as of Sunday, she is only the second African-American coach to win a title since the NCAA began sponsoring a women’s basketball tournament in 1982. (The first was Carolyn Peck, who coached Purdue to the 1999 championship.) The win is also significant because the University of Connecticut women’s basketball team were not in the final, after five straight years of winning the championship. The UConn Huskies lost to Mississippi State in overtime in Friday night’s semifinals, ending a 111-game-winning streak.

After Peck won her national title, she gave Staley a piece of the net Purdue cut down in celebration that night, telling her to return it once she won her own title. For years, Staley kept that strand of net in her wallet.

“I’m going to have to pass a piece of my net on to somebody else, so they can share it and hopefully accomplish something as big as this,” Staley said.

After Staley, a former point guard for Virginia, and her team lost to Stanford in the women’s national semifinals on April 4, 1992, she was crushed.

“I was exhausted, because I wanted it so much,” Staley said. “I put so much work and energy into being a national champion that the emotion was just to cry. To let it out. And 25 years later, no tears. Just going to enjoy it.”

The 46-year-old player-turned-coach thought that following that brutal loss in college, her playing career was over. Staley had reached the Final Four three times as a player at Virginia, the first two times being in 1990 and 1991. Staley had 28 points and 11 rebounds in that game and was named the Final Four’s most outstanding player — the only person who’s won that honor from a losing team in the history of the NCAA tournament.

“When I couldn’t get it done in college,” Staley said, “I thought that was it.”

But it wasn’t. Staley went on to win three Olympic gold medals, and also played in the WNBA. She was recently named the Olympic coach for the 2020 Tokyo Games.

Sunday’s win marked the third time South Carolina (33-4) defeated Mississippi State (33-5) this season.

The Gamecocks’ A’ja Wilson scored a game-high 23 points and added 10 rebounds, while guard Allisha Gray contributed 18 points and 10 rebounds. Kaela Davis also added 10 points. South Carolina dominated from tip-off, but then struggled after building a 14-point lead in the third quarter. In total, 42 of the Gamecocks’ points were scored in the lane.

Wilson was named Most Outstanding Player of the Final Four following the victory.

“To do this for Coach means something really special for me,” Wilson said. “I felt like she had everything on her résumé but a national championship. So to be a part of that, it’s just great.”

Several famous fans congratulated Staley and the Gamecocks following their national title victory:

The Gamecocks held the Bulldogs to just 34.5 percent shooting from the field and 2-of-12 from beyond the arc. However, Mississippi State coach Vic Schaefer took the blame for the loss, particularly the weak defensive performance from his team.

“I’m going to take responsibility for our poor defensive play today,” he said, per Will Sammon of the Clarion-Ledger.

Morgan William, the hero of Friday’s win over UConn, recorded just eight points and didn’t play in the fourth quarter.

Victoria Vivians led the way for Mississippi State with 12 points on 4-of-16 shooting.

South Carolina gained an early lead in the low-scoring first quarter with a 9-0 run.

Lindsay Jones of USA Today described the game’s action after one quarter of play:

Wilson also mentioned how much she hoped to win another title in 2018.

“Man, just be with us next year—we’re trying to be in this same spot next year,” Wilson said, per Doug Feinberg of the Associated Press. “We’re going to see how it goes.”

DALLAS, TX – APRIL 02: A’ja Wilson #22 and head coach Dawn Staley of the South Carolina Gamecocks hold the NCAA trophy and celebrates with their team after winning the championship game against the Mississippi State Lady Bulldogs of the 2017 NCAA Women’s Final Four at American Airlines Center on April 2, 2017 in Dallas, Texas. (Photo by Ron Jenkins/Getty Images)