The 2017 NCAA Women's Championship Game has a different feel for the first time in five years, as the Mississippi State Bulldogs and South Carolina Gamecocks will battle it out with each program looking for its first national title.Mississippi State has already shocked the world by being here, ending Connecticut's 111-game winning streak in the Final Four. This year marked the first time the Bulldogs ever made it to the Elite Eight, so they are in uncharted territory.South Carolina wants to remind everyone it's still here because all of the headlines for the last 48 hours have been about what happened between Mississippi State and Connecticut. The Gamecocks outscored Stanford by 18 points in the second half of the Final Four en route to a 62-53 win.PredictionIf the best predictor of future results is past performance, South Carolina will be hoisting its first-ever national championship.The Gamecocks and Bulldogs know each other very well. The SEC rivals played twice during the season, with South Carolina winning both matchups, including a 59-49 victory in the conference tournament title game on March 5.Crunch time proved to be the difference for South Carolina that day. After falling behind 45-40 heading into the fourth quarter, the Gamecocks outscored Mississippi State 19-4 over the final 10 minutes."I think we really showed ourselves," South Carolina's A'ja Wilson told reporters after the SEC title game. "We showed a good picture of what we do, how we are here at South Carolina."Wilson's sizeshe's listed at 6'5" on South Carolina's athletic websiteproved to be a big problem for Mississippi State. She scored seven of her 15 points and grabbed eight rebounds in the decisive fourth quarter.Mississippi State doesn't lack for size.Teaira McCowan, who is listed 6'7", was a key piece of the Bulldogs' win over Connecticut with 10 points and eight rebounds, including three on the offensive glass.The Bulldogs beat UConn despite shooting just 37.3 percent from the field, including 6-of-22 from three-point range. However, they had 14 offensive rebounds to help create second-chance opportunities.In the two games against South Carolina, the Bulldogs shot a combined 37.6 percent (47-of-125). They were still a force on the offensive glass with 28 offensive rebounds in two games, including 19 on January 23, yet it wasn't enough for a win in either matchup.These two teams operate in similar fashion. They want to play slow and physical, gradually wearing their opponent down to pull away late. South Carolina has made it work to its advantage in the head-to-head games against Mississippi State.Morgan William has given Mississippi State a spark, going for 41 points in the Elite Eight against Baylor before her heroics at the end of overtime against Connecticut. She didn't play great overall in the Final Four, shooting 6-of-17 with 13 points.The best story would be Mississippi State capping of this run with a championship, but South Carolina is just the better team with more depth.South Carolina 68, Mississippi State 63
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