BOULDER, Colo. -- In the locker room at halftime of Thursday's second Midwest semifinal, Mississippi's Charlotte Banks, Jackie Martin and Kim Gilchrist never gave a thought to their combined 0-for-6 first-half shooting from 3-point land.

But Coach Rene Portland did. She made sure to share it, too.

"Martin in the first half had zero points," Portland said. "She's a senior. We knew she was going to come out letting it fly. And we told the kids that Banks is someone who can shoot the 3-pointer. And certainly Gilchrist -- the whole nation knows she can shoot the 3-pointer."

Still, the Lady Lions managed to forget about all three Lady Rebels at some point in the second half. When the game was on the line, Banks, Martin and Gilchrist were left alone behind one -- the 3-point line.

From there, the Ole Miss trio woke Penn State from its year-long dream for a Final Four berth.

Banks, Martin and Gilchrist hit on a combined 5-for-9 from behind the 3-point arc in the second half, including two bombs in the last 1:13 that wiped out a five-point Lady Lion lead. The Lady Rebels went on to a 75-72 victory at the Coors Events Center.

"I'm not going to give any reasons (why we didn't cover the 3-point shooters)," forward Lynn Dougherty said. "It was just the situation -- at the time, we didn't get out there."

Martin began the 3-point barrage by knocking down back-to-back treys that brought Mississippi to within a point at the 13:12 mark. But it wasn't until the final 73 seconds that Mississippi really let it rip.

With Penn State ahead, 72-67, after Dana Eikenberg's off-balance 10-footer, Banks, a 5-foot-10-inch senior, buried a trey from well beyond the 3-point stripe with 1:13 left in regulation.

The Lady Lions couldn't help but think they had seen a replay. Just 1:32 earlier, Banks bottomed a 3-pointer from about the same spot to cut into another five-point deficit.

All this from a center who shot 3-for-10 before the intermission, including 0-for-3 from long distance.

"To be honest, I was praying the whole time," Banks said. "I just shot really bad and couldn't get anything to fall. I guess if you shoot long enough, something's gonna fall for you. It just happened to be those at the end."

Gilchrist, whose 53.2 field-goal percentage from the 3-point stripe is second in the country, hit just one trey in the second half. Like Banks, Gilchrist saved hers for the end.

With Ole Miss trailing by a point, Gilchrist dribbled upcourt, pulled up from 20 feet and buried the shot with 31 seconds left that sent the Lady Rebels to the Midwest final and Penn State home. The 3-pointer was Gilchrist's only field goal of the game.

"I didn't even think about it, I just shot it," Gilchrist said. "I was open and it was going up. I was hoping it would finally fall."