Cameo Tietje ’18
Sports Editor
Most high-ranking D1 colleges have a point guard with a height of 5’8” or more. It is surprising, to say the least, that at 5’5”, Morgan Williams, Mississippi State guard, scored the buzzer beater that took down the UCONN 111 streak empire. Mississippi State lost to UCONN by 60 points in their game prior to the NCAA semifinals. Thus, this game tells the tale of underdogs, in that both the team itself and a small guard in college basketball overcame the odds and came out on top. However, ‘the odds’ are subjective to some fans. UCONN had to lose a game at some point, right?
This win ended the Huskies’ run for a fifth consecutive NCAA championship and propelled Mississippi State as their replacement. It is with beautiful irony that Williams, the shortest player in the game, sunk her 15-foot buzzer beater jump shot and left the score at 66-64. Because UCONN had not lost a game since November 17, 2014, the sophomores and freshmen on the team had gone their college career without losing a single game, until now. Many members of the team had forgotten what defeat felt like until their loss, which brought tears to players’ eyes. The seniors ended their career with the most wins in a four-year span in NCAA history. The defeat brought the team back to the reality of college athletics and reminded them what it is like to lose. Hopefully, this loss will reignite the team’s drive to work hard and focus on the details in order to come back and try for the next NCAA championship. UCONN’s loss was bittersweet for coach Auriemma who told The New York Times that when Williams went up for the shot,“It was like ‘Of course, of course it’s going to go in.’ She’s had an amazing run so far.” If UCONN was going to lose eventually, at least both teams fought until the buzzer with the last shot in the air. With an amazing feat by Williams, who could be completely upset over the storybook ending? Williams and her teammates worked hard and went against the history of the two teams to come out on top. Following a play that will be remembered in years to come, can Williams and her teammates win against South Carolina in the NCAA Championship game?
