Middle Tennessee State women's basketball was on the verge of getting blown out of Pete Maravich Assembly Center and headed to another first-round loss in March Madness.

And the Lady Raiders' star player had arguably the worst half of her five-year career.

But point guard Savannah Wheeler got hot, her team kept grinding, and the result was the third-largest comeback in NCAA tournament history.

Wheeler, the Conference USA Player of the Year, scored 20 of her 22 points in the second half to lead 11th-seeded MTSU (30-4) to a stunning 71-69 win over sixth-seeded Louisville (24-10) in Baton Rouge, Louisiana.

MTSU advances to face defending national champion and No. 3 seed LSU (29-5) on Sunday (2 p.m. CT, ABC).

"In the first half I missed a lot of baskets," said Wheeler, who was 0-for-6 from the field before scoring her first basket with just under a minute left before halftime. "I missed 3-4 layups in the first half. At halftime they kept telling me I have to hit those. I just told myself I have to stay aggressive."

MTSU trailed by 18 points in the second quarter before dominating the end of the first half and the entire third quarter. Wheeler was 5 of 7, including 3 of 5 from 3-point range, during the final 20 minutes.

"That doesn't surprise me," MTSU coach Rick Insell said of Wheeler's second-half performance. "That's why she's the player of the year in our conference. That right there. She's a scoring machine. Just when you think you've got her stopped, she slides in a 3, then another 3."

MTSU women's basketball didn't panic vs. Louisville

When MTSU got down by double digits early, there was no panic. It didn't waver while trailing by almost 20 points midway through the second quarter. A 7-0 run late in the quarter led to a 24-12 run in the third.

Just like that, the Lady Raiders were leading 51-50 entering the fourth. They built the lead to 62-54 with three minutes to go and never trailed again.

"Honestly, it's a blur," said MTSU guard Jalynn Gregory, who led all scorers with 24 points and kept her team afloat with 14 first-half points. "If I had to guess, I would say it was probably that we weren't going to lose the game. We had to step up and take control like we have this past year."

"Once one of us starts clicking, the others start clicking," Wheeler said.

A big blow for Louisville came when 6-foot-3 forward Olivia Cochran picked up her fourth foul with more than five minutes left in the third quarter. She had 11 points before hitting the bench.

"The thing we talked to players about . . . every possession this time of year, you have to play with urgency," Louisville coach Jeff Walz said. "Every single one. Unfortunately we didn't do a good job playing every possession with that type of urgency. Ton of credit to MTSU and Coach Insell and staff. Because they played a really good basketball game."

MTSU had not played many close games this season. During a 19-game winning streak against Conference USA teams, it had an average margin of victory of 24. An overtime win over Louisiana Tech to begin that streak was the only game in doubt in the fourth quarter.

"I don't think the halftime talk was anything except for the fact that we have to take care of business," said Insell, who has taken his team to the NCAA tournament in 12 of his 19 seasons but reached the second round for only the second time (2007). "I looked at all of them and said, 'We're not losing. Let's cut it in half.'

"Fortunately we took the lead, and the crowd got into it. The players realized this was a ballgame. We knew the fourth quarter, all year long, has been ours. We came out and did what we needed to do. Most teams quit out there tonight. We've seen it happen already in this tournament."

CUSA CHAMPS: MTSU women's basketball wins CUSA Tournament, returns to March Madness

This article originally appeared on Murfreesboro Daily News Journal: MTSU women's basketball comeback in March Madness among biggest ever