DALLAS _ The ball floated through the air and settled into the net as the buzzer sounded.
After 111 victories, after a season of exceeding expectation, it was over. As the Mississippi State players celebrated, the UConn Huskies walked off the court.
For first time since November 2014, the Huskies lost.
Final in overtime: Mississippi State 66, UConn 64.
Morgan William drove through the lane and tossed a running jump shot to win national semifinal game. The Bulldogs are on to the NCAA title game, facing South Carolina.
The Huskies are going home. The four-time defending national champions were eliminated.
UConn (36-1) trailed by 14 points in the first half and climbed back against a tough, tenacious team. But they could not finish.
The Huskies trailed 62-60 late in the five-minute overtime, after missing their first six shots of the extra period. With 1:35 left, Katie Lou Samuelson hit a game-tying jumper.
Mississippi State had one final possession in regulation, but William (13 points) missed a jumper off a drive and it was tied as the horn sounded.
The Bulldogs seized control of the game early and kept a tight grip for much of the first half. They started with a 3-pointer by Victoria Vivians and fans roared, a sign the Bulldogs had the capacity crowd behind them.
The next two Mississippi State baskets came from the 6-foot-7 McCown, who towered over UConn's smaller front line. Feeding the ball to McCown figured to be part of Mississippi State coach Vic Schaefer's game plan, so it was a good sign for UConn with the center picking up two early fouls.
She left the game after the second foul, just 2:47 after the tip. With McCown out, Gabby Williams seemingly had room to maneuver in the paint.
And she did, driving and slashing through the lane in the first quarter. The problem was, Williams (21 points, eight rebounds) was the only UConn player displaying consistent energy through the early moments.
Meanwhile, Mississippi State was making shots. A 3-pointer by Roshunda Johnson made it 10-5 and the Bulldogs later boosted the lead to 15-2 on a 3-pointers by Morgan William.
A jumper by Williams and 3-pointer by Collier cut the lead to two, but Mississippi State reeled off seven unanswered points to finished the first quarter with a 22-13 lead.
The Bulldogs had a 14-5 rebounding edge and had 10 points on second chances. UConn? No second-chance baskets.
And when Schaefer's team began the second quarter with another 7-0 run, UConn was in a 14-point hole. The crowd loved it, erupting after Vivians scored off a steal.
But the Huskies gathered themselves. A drive and basket by Samuelson ended the Mississippi State run before Crystal Dangerfield hit a free throw.
There was another basket by Williams and Saniya Chong stepped with seven points in a row. Chong drove for a basket, converted a pair of free throws and hit a 3-pointers.
Just like that, UConn had a 12-0 run and it was a four-point game.
But any chance of maintaining that tempo ended when Vivians hit a jumper. And after a free throw by Williams, Vivians connected on a 3-pointer and followed with two free throws to bring the lead back to 10.
It was 36-28 at half and UConn was fortunate to only trail by eight.
It was just the second time all season that UConn trailed at the half. The Huskies trailed Florida State 34-30 at halftime in the first game of the season.
The young Huskies had passed tests all season, beating ranked teams early and winning in hostile environments. But Auriemma cautioned that the Final Four was a different animal and this team had little experience on this stage.
Nurse started on two title teams. Samuelson gained tournament experience as a freshman and Williams was a reserve on championship teams.
Otherwise, UConn was not an experienced Final Four team. The program is making its 10th consecutive Final Four appearance, so Auriemma and his coaches know the environment well.
The players are another matter.
"Going into this weekend, how are they going to handle this situation that they're in right now?" Auriemma said Thursday. "I have no idea. But it's not going to be that much different than, 'How is Mississippi State going to handle their first Final Four? How are those kids going to handle being here for the very first time?' We all have the same issues. This is not an easy environment to play in. Both teams I think are going to see the effects of that."
And through the first 20 minutes, it was Mississippi State that handled the pressure well while UConn sputtered.
But it began to shift in the second half. After Mississippi State opened the half with a basket, Williams scored on a drive and Collier converted off a pass from Chong.
When Samuelson lofted a 3-pointer from the right corner, it was a three-point game just 2:10 into the second half.
