OKLAHOMA CITY -- In a game that featured two players that were 6 feet, 7 inches, it was the smallest kid on the court who stole the show.
Mississippi State junior point guard Morgan William -- listed generously at 5-5 -- led the No. 2 seed Bulldogs to an 94-85 upset of No. 1 seed Baylor in overtime Sunday in the Oklahoma City Regional final.
William scored 41 points -- going 6 of 8 from 3-point range -- and also had seven assists as she became her program's all-time assist leader.
Immediately after the game, William broke down in tears during an interview alongside coach Vic Schaefer, who said Saturday marked the three-year anniversary of her dad's passing.
"This is for my dad," said William, who lost her stepfather, Donnie Rory, at the age of 44 on March 25, 2014.
Added Schaefer, with his arm around William: "She is an unbelievable competitor. You can't do it without leadership. I got the best quarterback in the country right here."
Last year, there were two first-timers in the Women's Final Four. This season, there will be at least one, Mississippi State, with the possibility of two others joining the party on Monday night: Oregon, which faces UConn in the Bridgeport Regional final (ESPN/WatchESPN, 7:06 p.m. ET), and Florida State, which meets South Carolina in the Stockton Regional final (ESPN/WatchESPN, 9:05 p.m ET).
While the Bulldogs are going to the Final Four for the first time, it won't be all-new for Schaefer.
As an assistant coach to Gary Blair at Texas A&M, Schaefer helped lead the Aggies to the 2011 NCAA title. They beat Baylor in the Elite Eight that year, and although he's now with a different team, Schaefer has stymied the Lady Bears twice at the doorstep of the Final Four.
In fact, the Elite Eight has proved to be a big stumbling block in recent years for Baylor. The Lady Bears have won two NCAA titles (2005, 2012), but have lost in the Elite Eight now for four years in a row. They fell to Notre Dame in 2014 and '15, and to Oregon State in 2016. Sophomore Kalani Brown led Baylor with 27 points and nine rebounds Sunday. Seniors Nina Davis (18 points) and Alexis Jones (16) finished their Baylor careers.
Mississippi State returned to a similar starting lineup as the Bulldogs had used throughout the regular season, including having leading scorer Victoria Vivians back as a starter. The Bulldogs had used a different starting lineup for their first three NCAA tournament games. But William has been the one constant for them.
Baylor returned Jones to the starting lineup; she had been coming off the bench before in the NCAA tournament after being sidelined on Feb. 20 with a bone bruise.
Mississippi State led 43-40 at the break, despite the fact that Baylor shot 58.6 percent from the field in the first half and won the rebounding battle 21-13. Baylor's big problem was turnovers; the Lady Bears had nine in the first half, which led to 14 Mississippi State points. The Bulldogs had just one first-half turnover.
William fouled Jones on a 3-point attempt with 2 minutes, 17 seconds left and Baylor trailing by 3. Jones made all three free throws, and then drew a charge on the defensive end. That was followed by Kalani Brown's layup, putting Baylor up 75-73, and a travel by Mississippi State. But William tied the game with a layup, and it went to overtime at 75-75.
William had 12 points in the overtime period to send Mississippi State to Dallas.
Player of the game: William is used to being the smallest player on the floor, and to people adding an "s" to the end of her name. But it's just "William," although you could have added "S" for superwoman on Sunday. Along with her offensive output, she handled the ball the majority of time and had no turnovers.
Turning point: With the score 80-80 in overtime, William hit a long 2-pointer and then a 3-pointer, putting Mississippi State up 85-81. That gave the Bulldogs the momentum to bring home the victory.
How it was won: Mississippi State is known as a defensive team, but the Bulldogs have been very good offensively in the NCAA tournament. After scoring just 49 points in their SEC tournament final loss to South Carolina, Mississippi State has scored 110, 92, 75, and 94 in its NCAA tournament games.
X factor: Vivians, who has had her struggles in the last month or so, had 24 points, six rebounds and six assists for the Bulldogs.
Stat of the game: Turnovers were huge. Baylor had 17 to just four for Mississippi State. The Bulldogs scored 20 points off Baylor turnovers.
What's next: Mississippi State moves on to the Women's Final Four and will face the winner of Monday's UConn-Oregon game. Baylor ends its season at 33-4.