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A season for the ages for the Mississippi State University women’s basketball team just keeps getting better and better. The program reached the Sweet Sixteen for the second year in a row, but these Bulldogs didn’t want to go home in the first game of the second weekend.

MSU’s task in the Sweet Sixteen was to find a way to slow down http://www.espn.com/womens-college-basketball/recap?gameId=400947447">Kelsey Plum of the University of Washington, who happens to be the all-time leading scorer for women’s NCAA basketball and has set the single-season record for scoring.

The http://www.espn.com/womens-college-basketball/boxscore?gameId=400947447">Huskies star ended up scoring 29 points, but on 10-of-25 shooting and 3-for-8 from the three-point line. MSU harassed Plum all game long with a suffocating defense that rarely gave the guard open looks at the basket.

Even with the stellar defense on Plum, Washington stayed in the game until the fourth quarter. That is when http://hailstate.com/news/2017/3/24/womens-basketball-msu-vs-washington-recap.aspx">Bulldogs center Teaira McCowan put the team on her back and carried them.

In the first three quarters, McCowan scored six points before exploding for 20 points in the final quarter alone. No player was more dominant in the game than the Bulldogs center, who nabbed 12 rebounds and made a career-high six blocks.

Washington had no answer in the paint for McCowan, as she grabbed rebound after rebound and put missed shots back for easy buckets. A close game for three quarters saw the Bulldogs pull away in the 75-64 victory.

MSU used its depth to wear Huskies out, with http://www.espn.com/womens-college-basketball/boxscore?gameId=400947447">11 players getting into the game and seven playing double-digit minutes. Star guard Victoria Vivians came off the bench and scored 13 points, and rounds-one and -two leading scorer Blair Schaefer scored 10 points. Another impressive fact is that 10 of the 11 players who saw action scored at least two points.

The win propelled MSU to its first Elite Eight appearance in program history. But then Baylor University stood in the Bulldogs’ way of reach the Final Four, and the two teams put on a show on Sunday night.

During that game, each team seemed to battle back after the other made a run to either tie or take the lead. Just when it seemed like one team was about to put the other away, the game tightened up again.

It might not have been a masterpiece for every second, but it was two teams making big shot after big shot. The smallest Bulldog on the floor, http://hailstate.com/news/2017/3/26/womens-basketball-wbk-vs-baylor-recap.aspx">Morgan William, ended up taking and making most of those big shots for MSU.

William entered the game after scoring 11 points on 4-of-16 shooting in the team’s other three games during the NCAA Tournament. She exploded for http://www.espn.com/womens-college-basketball/boxscore?gameId=400948727">41 points on 13-of-22 shooting, 6-of-8 from three, and 9-of-10 from the free throw line, with seven assists and zero turnovers.

William hit shots no matter which Bear tried to guard her, and even hit deep three-point shots when Baylor tried to stop her from driving to the basket and played off of her. Each time MSU needed a spark or a run in a game that featured 12 ties and 25 lead changes, it was William who put the Bulldogs on her back.

The two teams played to a 75-75 stalemate in regular time and needed five minutes of overtime to decide who was going to the Final Four. William refused to let MSU lose, and she got plenty of help from star http://www.espn.com/womens-college-basketball/boxscore?gameId=400948727">Vivians, who played the full 45 minutes and scored 24 points.

In the end, Baylor couldn’t stop the William-Vivians combo, and the Bulldogs finally put the Bears away for the 94-85 victory. MSU went from its first Elite Eight appearance to its first Final Four appearance.

A visibly http://www.espn.com/womens-college-basketball/story/_/id/19012972/emotional-morgan-william-scores-41-lead-mississippi-state-first-final-four">emotional William spoke after the game with Head Coach Vic Schaefer by her side. The guard, whose nickname is “Itty Bitty,” openingly wept as she explained that she played for her father, whom she had lost nearly three years ago.

William’s performance saw her named Most Outstanding Player of the Regional. Vivians and McCowan ended up being named to the All-Regional team.

MSU awaits the winner of Connecticut and the University of Oregon. The game will be played on Monday, March 27, at 6 p.m., and ESPN will broadcast it.

The Huskies seem like the immovable object in this tournament.

On the other hand, the Bulldogs seem to be an irresistible force as they crash the Final Four. Nearly every step of the way, a different MSU play has stepped up to carry the team to the next step of this journey.

MSU still is waiting on a superstar performance by Vivians in this tournament. Instead Schaefer, McCowan and William have taken turns being the superstar that MSU needed to get next round.

If UConn awaits, MSU will need every player to play one of the best games of their lives to keep the magical ride going. The women’s basketball team will look to surpass what the men’s team did 21 years ago by winning a Final Four game.