Three Mississippi State players have been named finalists for the state of Mississippi’s highest basketball honors.
Juniors Victoria Vivians and Morgan William were named finalists for the C Spire Gillom Trophy, while sophomore Quinndary Weatherspoon was named a finalist for the C Spire Howell Trophy.
The awards will be presented at 11:30 a.m. March 6 at the Mississippi Sports Hall of Fame and Museum in Jackson.
Vivians and William have led Vic Schaefer’s MSU women’s team to a 27-3 record and 13-3 mark in the Southeastern Conference. MSU finished second in the SEC, matching last season’s squad for the highest league finish in program annals.
Vivians can become the first three-time winner of the award. She finished the regular season fifth in the SEC in scoring (17.2 points per game). She also shined in SEC games, scoring 18.1 ppg. The Carthage native ended the regular season averaging 23.3 ppg in her final three games.
Vivians has scored double figures in 24-straight games, and 28 of 30. She also had 10 games with 20-plus points, including 25 and 27 against Texas A&M and Kentucky, respectively.
William has enjoyed the best offensive season of her career, averaging 10.1 ppg. on 46.2-percent shooting from the field. She has scored at a 9.5 clip in SEC games, hitting 41.7 percent from the field.
The Birmingham, Alabama, native closed the regular season scoring double figures in three of her last four games, including 20 points at No. 22 Kentucky. William averaged 12.8 ppg against ranked foes, including a 23-point showing against then-No. 8 Texas on Nov. 20, 2016, in Starkville.
William has taken a team-high 21 charges. She is 10th in the SEC in steals (1.7 per game). She also is second in the SEC in assists in league games (5.4 apg.) and leads the conference in assist/turnover ratio with a 2.9 tally.
Weatherspoon leads coach Ben Howland’s MSU men’s team in scoring (14.9 ppg.), minutes (32.1), and steals (44). He also is averaging 5.1 rebounds and 1.9 assists per game.
Ole Miss senior forward Sebastian Saiz and Delta State Devin Schmitt are the other finalists for the Howell Trophy.
A native of Madrid Spain, Saiz leads the SEC, and ranks eighth in the nation, in rebounding (10.8 per game). The SEC’s active career rebounding leader, he recently moved past Reggie Buckner into third in Ole Miss history with 913 rebounds. Saiz has topped 1,000 points and 900 boards in his career. He joins Rebel great Murphy Holloway as the only players in school history with 1,000 points and 900 rebounds.
Ole Miss’ Stefan Moody took home the C Spire Howell Trophy each of the last two seasons. An Ole Miss player has won the award each of the last four seasons.
The trophy is named for the former MSU great Bailey Howell.
Southern Mississippi’s Brittany Dinkins is the third finalist for the Gillom Trophy, which is named for former Ole Miss great Peggie Gillom-Granderson.
Dinkins leads the Lady Eagles in scoring (18.4 ppg.) and assists (3.8). She leads Conference USA with 98 steals, which is good for fifth in the country.
A media vote makes up 90 percent of the tally, while a fan vote makes up the final 10 percent. Fans can begin voting at 8:30 a.m. today at 8:30 a.m. at www.csopavoting.com. Voting will continue through 5 p.m. Saturday.
Tickets for the luncheon are available at www.msfame.com, or at the Hall of Fame office at 1152 Lakeland Drive, Jackson.
You can help your community
Quality, in-depth journalism is essential to a healthy community. The Dispatch brings you the most complete reporting and insightful commentary in the Golden Triangle, but we need your help to continue our efforts. In the past week, our reporters have posted 36 articles to cdispatch.com. Please consider subscribing to our website for only $2.30 per week to help support local journalism and our community.