OKLAHOMA CITY -- In the exciting, emotional, immediate aftermath of making it to the Women's Final Four, Morgan William didn't quite realize the magnitude of her individual performance Sunday. That's not the way she's wired, though: She's a point guard who is used to taking on all the responsibility of what happens to her team without taking any of the credit.
Yet as much as Mississippi State's 94-85 overtime victory against No. 1 seed Baylor in the Oklahoma City Regional final was a great team accomplishment, it will be long remembered as the "Morgan William Show." At 5-foot-5 -- well, that's what her height is generously listed at, anyway -- she's an inspiration to the "vertically challenged" everywhere.
William had 41 points, seven assists and no turnovers. In a game in which there were so many other potential leading scorers on both sides, one of the most improbable players piled up the most points.
"I'm just so proud of her," Bulldogs teammate Dominique Dillingham said. "People doubt her as a point guard just because of how small she is. They're not valid in that. I love the way she plays."
So how did William's overall performance Sunday stack up against the greatest games all-time in the NCAA women's tournament? It's a very tough task, and sure to provoke debate. Also, such lists typically tend to skew toward the more recent. But we'll take a shot at ranking the best in the Big Dance, which for the women dates back to 1982.
1. Sheryl Swoopes, Texas Tech, forward: It still remains at the top. Swoopes, who would go on to professional and Olympic glory, scored 47 points in beating Ohio State 84-82 in the 1993 NCAA championship game. She was 16 of 24 from the field, 11 of 11 from the foul line and had five rebounds.
2. Charlotte Smith, North Carolina, forward: Everyone remembers "The Shot" -- Smith's 3-pointer with seven-tenths of a second left that lifted the Tar Heels to the 1994 NCAA final victory against Louisiana Tech, 60-59. But Smith also had a championship-game record 23 rebounds -- a mark that still stands -- and 20 points. She scored 19 of those in the second half.
3. Morgan William, Mississippi State, guard: Her 41 points Sunday were about 31 over her season average, and 12 more than her career high. William had scored just 11 points combined in the Bulldogs' three previous NCAA tournament games this year. William was 13 of 22 from the field -- 6 of 8 from 3-point range -- and 9 of 10 from the foul line. She also handled her point guard duties exceptionally well.
4. Cheryl Miller, Southern California, forward: She came to college in 1982-83 after high school stardom and instantly became the face of her sport. She delivered: As a freshman, Miller had 27 points and nine rebounds as USC beat defending national champion Louisiana Tech 69-67 in the 1983 NCAA final.
5. Jackie Stiles, Missouri State, guard: Like William, she scored 41 points to upset a No. 1 seed. For Stiles, it was in the 2001 Sweet 16 against Duke. That 81-71 win propelled the No. 5 seed Lady Bears into the regional final with Washington, which they also won. That advanced them to the program's second Women's Final Four, back home in Missouri, in St. Louis.
6. Ruth Riley, Notre Dame, center: In an all-Indiana battle with Purdue for the 2001 NCAA title, Riley had 28 points, 13 rebounds and seven blocked shots. She made 9 of 13 shots from the field and 10 of 14 from the line. Her last two free throws were the difference in a 68-66 victory.
7. Candice Wiggins, Stanford, guard: In 2008, it had been 11 years since the Cardinal had made it to the Final Four, a fact that weighed heavily on the program. But Wiggins, a senior, was determined to end that drought. She had 41 points -- making 16 of 19 free throws -- in a regional final as the No. 2 seed Cardinal upset No. 1 seed Maryland 98-87. Wiggins also scored 44 in the second round that year. Stanford went on to the NCAA final.
8. Diana Taurasi, UConn, guard: The season after playing with perhaps the greatest college team ever, the undefeated 2002 NCAA champions, Taurasi had to carry much of the load in 2002-03. Yet UConn still lost just one game. When it looked like the Huskies might lose another -- down as much as nine in the second half to Texas in the national semifinals -- Taurasi prevented that. She finished with 26 points in a 71-69 win over the Longhorns. Then she scored 28 in beating Tennessee for the championship.
9. Lorri Bauman, Drake, forward: The single-game scoring record for an NCAA tournament game -- 50 points -- was set the very first year of the event, 1982, and it still hasn't been broken. And this was before the 3-point shot was implemented. Bauman made 21 of 35 shots from the field and 8 of 11 free throws in an 89-78 regional final loss to Maryland. Bauman finished her college career in 1984 with 3,115 points.
10. Saudia Roundtree, Georgia, guard: In a 1996 regional final between two teams that both could have been No. 1 seeds, Roundtree had a career-high 37 points to lead the second-seeded Bulldogs over No. 1 seed Louisiana Tech, 90-76. Georgia went on to the national championship game.
Honorable mention: UConn's Tina Charles in 2009 national final (25 points, 19 rebounds); Maryland's Marissa Coleman in 2009 regional semifinals (42 points); Ohio State's Katie Smith in 1993 national final (28 points); Tennessee's Chamique Holdsclaw in 1997 national semifinals (31 points); Ohio State's Kelsey Mitchell in 2016 second round (45 points).