INDIANAPOLIS - A giddy victory celebration, an astonishing worst-to-first story, the second-biggest rout in women's NCAA championship history.

Yes, it took Baylor a long time to win a national title. But when the Bears finally claimed it Tuesday night, man, they did it up right.

They played suffocating defense, dominated on the boards and once they got rolling, scored pretty much whenever they wanted. The final: Baylor 84, Michigan State 62. And it didn't seem that close.

"I really think we put our eyes on the prize in the beginning, saying this is what we want to do," Baylor's Steffanie Blackmon said. "We set goals and we reached every single one of them."

One of those goals was to become a shining light for a university that had been stained by scandal and needed something to applaud. In the end, they were brilliant, the culmination of an incredibly fast ride to the top.

Five years ago, Baylor (33-3) went 7-20 and finished last in the Big 12. Then, coach Kim Mulkey-Robertson arrived from Louisiana Tech and immediately injected the program with the fiery disposition that had made her such a success as a player.

"Look up at these fans," Mulkey-Robertson said while being cheered by thousands who wore the Baylor green. "That's how we changed the Waco community. We're a positive in Waco and at Baylor University. There's a lot of good there, there's great programs, great coaches, and this is one of many more to come."

There's also some pretty good talent, starting with Sophia Young, voted the Final Four's most outstanding player.

Young scored 18 of her 26 points in the second half and added nine rebounds and four assists. Blackmon scored 14 in the second half to finish with 22 and grabbed seven rebounds. Emily Niemann hit five 3-pointers in the first half to help Baylor seize control early and wound up with 19 points.

"Basically, that's the story of the game - three players for them really doing outstanding work," Michigan State coach Joanne P. McCallie said.

McCallie also engineered a five-year turnaround, taking the Spartans from mediocrity to a Big Ten championship and earning a No. 1 seed in the NCAA tournament. Michigan State (33-4) reached the title game with unselfish play that epitomized team basketball, but guards Kristin Haynie and Lindsay Bowen had to do it almost by themselves in this one - and that was asking too much.

Bowen scored 20 points and Haynie 17, but Baylor negated Michigan State's two powerful inside players. Kelli Roehrig scored only 8 points and Liz Shimek had 7. Baylor also owned the boards, outrebounding Michigan State 45-22.

"Lindsay held her own, Kristin held her own. They did unbelievable, everything they could," Roehrig said. "There was a lack in the post area. We really didn't hold our own."

The margin was the second biggest in an NCAA championship game, trailing only Tennessee's 67-44 victory over Louisiana Tech in 1987.