Morgan William lost her father three years ago Saturday.

If that had any impact on her play Sunday night in the Elite Eight, it must have been a positive one, because she absolutely went off, scoring 41 points to lead Mississippi State to an overtime win over the #1 seed Baylor Bears.

The 5’5″ point guard made an impact far outweighing her size. She got her 41 via hyperefficient scoring, going 13-22 from the floor, 6-8 from three, and 9-10 from the free throw line. Throw in 7 assists, 3 rebounds, a block, and no turnovers, and you have yourself one hell of a performance.

And then, after the game, William gave this interview to ESPN, wherein she talked about what it meant to do it on this specific weekend:

That’s obviously amazing. Full credit to William for her performance on the court, and how well she handled the obviously difficult anniversary.

William will lead the Mississippi State Bulldogs to their first Final Four next weekend, where they’ll meet the winner of UConn/Oregon. So, they’ll meet UConn.

If their season ends in the semifinals, or with a loss in the championship game, or even with a national title, Morgan William will always have this game, and what she’ll always have what it so obviously meant to her.

About Jay Rigdon

Jay is a columnist at Awful Announcing. He is not a strong swimmer. He is probably talking to a dog in a silly voice at this very moment.