Bulldogs Hold Off Washington To Advance to Elite Eight

Friday, March 24

Oklahoma City, Okla. (Chesapeake Energy Arena)

6:00 PM

Mississippi State

32-4

#12 Washington

29-6

Washington

Mississippi State

Bulldogs Hold Off Washington To Advance to Elite Eight

March 24, 2017 | Women's Basketball

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OKLAHOMA CITY, Okla. – On this night, the Bulldogs were simply elite.

Behind a career night from sophomore center Teaira McCowan, the No. 2 seed Mississippi State women's basketball team is headed to the Elite Eight round of the NCAA Tournament for the first time in program history after recording a 75-64 victory over Washington at Chesapeake Energy Arena Friday night.

MSU (32-4) will face either No. 4 seed Louisville (29-7) or No. 1 seed Baylor (32-3) for a right to advance to the Final Four in a 6:30 p.m. CT start Sunday on ESPN. That contest will also be in Oklahoma City, Oklahoma.

"Awfully proud of my kids," MSU head coach Vic Schaefer said. "So proud they were able to take all of this in three days on defense. It wasn't rocket science but there were some things that we needed to do to be successful. Our kids were special today. No doubt about that. Dominique came in and did what she does best. There is a reason why she has been on the SEC's all-defensive team the last two years.

"Our press wore them down a little bit. Teaira was really special down the stretch. She had the look in her eye. She really wanted the ball and got to her spots."

McCowan scored a career-high 26 points and grabbed 12 rebounds as the Bulldogs used a dominant size advantage to outrebound the Huskies by 15. MSU rallied from a nine-point deficit with an 11-2 run early in the second quarter.

The Bulldogs then used another 11-2 run to build the lead to 38-29 at halftime. Washington had averaged 99.5 points in two NCAA Tournament games but were held to nine points in the second quarter by the Bulldogs.

Washington (29-6) put together some things in the third quarter and led 50-48 entering the final quarter. McCowan scored the final quarter's first seven points and the Bulldogs led the rest of the way.

Victoria Vivians added 13 points and Blair Schaefer added 10 points for the Bulldogs. McCowan's monster night included six blocked shots and a pair of assists.

Morgan William tied the program's record for career assists with six tonight, bringing her career total to 463.

For the contest, MSU hit 31 of 75 shots from the field (41.3 percent), 3 of 16 shots from 3-point range (18.8 percent) and 10 of 12 shots from the foul line (83.3 percent). Washington hit 24 of 62 shots from the field (38.7 percent), 8 of 22 shots from 3-point range (36.4 percent) and 8 of 11 shots from the foul line (72.7 percent).

MSU held a 49-34 rebounding advantage. The Bulldogs had 17 assists and seven turnovers, while the Huskies had eight assists and 10 turnovers.

Kelsey Plum, the nation's leading scorer, led Washington with 29 points. Chantel Osahor added 17 points and 11 rebounds for a double-double.