Vivians Named Preseason First Team All-SEC By CSM
October 16, 2015 | Women's Basketball
STARKVILLE, Miss. – Victoria Vivians' resume grew a little longer Thursday as College Sports Madness named the Mississippi State sophomore guard to its Preseason All-SEC First Team.
The honor comes after a splendid freshman campaign in which she was named an Associated Press All-America Honorable Mention after earning second team All-SEC accolades by the Associated Press and the league coaches.
Vivians averaged 14.9 ppg as a freshman to lead the Bulldogs to the second round of the NCAA Tournament and to program marks for overall wins (27) and SEC victories (11).
Her scoring average ranked third in the SEC and fifth highest among freshmen in NCAA Division I.
In conference games, the Carthage, Miss., native was the top rookie and seventh overall with a 13.8 scoring average.
Vivians, who averaged 5.0 rebounds, 1.0 assists and 1.4 steals per game, made 69 3-pointers on the year, seventh most in school single-season history. Her 505 points were the fourth most by a Bulldog freshman.
An MSU freshman record 39 points Feb. 12 at Kentucky started a hot finish to the season for the Carthage, Miss., native as she scored double figures in seven of the year's final eight games, averaging 16.9 ppg in that stretch.
She capped her first MSU campaign with 15 points against No. 16 Duke, giving her a 17.5 scoring average against ranked foes.
A four-time SEC Freshman of the Week and MSU's first USBWA National Freshman of the Week, Vivians hit a number of clutch buckets for the Bulldogs, including the go-ahead 3-pointer in overtime against No. 13 Texas A&M and the decisive basket in the team's road victory at Alabama.
Vivians and the Bulldogs, ranked as high as No. 6 in the preseason, host Mississippi College in a Nov. 10 exhibition before beginning the season with a 5:15 p.m. tip at Humphrey Coliseum against Samford on Nov. 13.
Fans can buy season tickets online at www.hailstate.com/tickets or by calling 1-888-GO-DAWGS.
