Mississippi State center Teaira McCowan, front, goes to the floor while covered by North Carolina State center Akela Maize (32) during the first half of a women’s NCAA college basketball tournament regional semifinal game, Friday, March 23, 2018, in Kansas City, Mo. (AP Photo/Orlin Wagner)KANSAS CITY, Mo. – North Carolina State tried to push Teaira McCowan off the block, then attempted double-teaming the Mississippi State star before ultimately endeavoring to deny her the basketball altogether.
None of it worked.
McCowan still scored 24 points on perfect shooting, pulled down 15 rebounds and generally made life miserable for the fourth-seeded Wolfpack in an NCAA tournament regional semifinal Friday night. All of that helped the top-seeded Bulldogs breeze to a 71-57 win and earn a spot in the Elite Eight for the second straight season.
“You don’t see 6-foot-7 every day,” said Wolfpack coach Wes Moore, the former University of Tennessee at Chattanooga coach. “When they’re just lobbing it up to her, there’s not a whole lot you can do at times. You feel pretty helpless.”
The junior center wasn’t alone, though. Victoria Vivians added 14 points, Morgan William had 13 and Roshunda Johnson finished with 12, helping the Bulldogs (35-1) break their program record for wins in a season. They’ll have a chance to add to it Sunday, when they face No. 2 seed UCLA or No. 3 seed Texas for a second straight Final Four bid.