Mississippi State Lady Bulldogs win against Louisville, advance to national championship game

Published 9:14 pm Friday, March 30, 2018

(AP) — The team that pulled off the big upset in last year’s women’s Final Four is headed to the title game again.

Roshunda Johnson hit a 3-pointer with 5.7 seconds left in the fourth quarter to tie it at 59, and Mississippi State pulled away in overtime for a 73-63 victory over Louisville on Friday night in a semifinal.

The Bulldogs ended UConn’s 111-game winning streak last year before losing to South Carolina in the title game. UConn and Notre Dame play in the other semifinal.

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Victoria Vivians led the Bulldogs with 25 points. Teaira McCown had 21 points and 25 of Mississippi State’s 46 rebounds, setting the rebound record for a Final Four. McCowan set the Final Four record for rebounds, besting Charlotte Smith’s previous record of 23 set in 1994 while playing for North Carolina.

Louisville had a chance to win it in the closing seconds of regulation, but Jazmine Jones’ layup attempt rolled off the rim at the buzzer.