Some losses just sting worse than others, and when the Mississippi State University women’s basketball team fell short of taking home the NCAA national title on Sunday, it hurt — bad.

Going into halftime, the Lady Bulldogs had a healthy lead and everything was going our way.

The team was playing aggressively, and 6-foot-7 Teaira McCowan was a rebounding, record-breaking phenomenon.

It appeared that MSU was finally going to be taking home its first national championship.

But things changed when Notre Dame’s Arike Ogunbowle returned to the court in the third quarter.

The Fighting Irish came back fighting.

A game that I thought we had in the bag all of the sudden became a nail biter and with seconds left on the clock in the fourth quarter, the score was tied.

Best-case scenario would be to grab the ball and make two, which we tried to do, but the powers that be just didn’t let it fall through the hoops, and now the ball was in the hands of the opposing team.

The clock was ticking and it looked like the game would probably go into overtime.

That was until, Ogunbowle tossed in a 3-pointer to pull ahead of MSU.

The game was over and the Irish were celebrating.

However, technically there was still one millisecond left on the clock, and although several of the MSU players had already escaped to the locker room, they had to return to the court for the official end of game buzzer.

My heart was aching at the loss and it was especially grieving for the team and Coach Schaefer.

I knew if I was feeling the way I was feeling, there was no telling what was going on for the Lady Bulldogs.

For two years in a row, the MSU Women’s basketball team has been a hair’s breath away from the national title only to see their hopes dashed.

Last year, they stunned the nation when they beat the University of Connecticut during the final four.

I remember our sports guy, Ernest Bowker, telling me that there was no way MSU could take down that powerhouse to advance on to the finals, but they did!

And, oh, how I could not wait to get back to work and gloat about my Dawgs.

I had never been one to follow basketball in the past, but since my daughter has been on the MSU pom squad, Hubby and I have attended events to support her, and in the process I found myself getting caught up in the game.

Last year, I even had my picture taken standing beside McCowan during a pep rally. And I got her autograph.

The Lady Dawgs may not have brought home the championship title they were aiming for, but I dare say being part of this team may have been the more valuable win.

Hail State!

Terri Cowart Frazier is a staff writer for The Vicksburg Post. You may reach her at terri.frazier@vicksburgpost.com.