Reigning Winner Victoria Vivians A Finalist For CSpire Gillom Trophy
February 29, 2016 | Women's Basketball
STARKVILLE, Miss. – A standout sophomore campaign for the No. 16 Mississippi State women's basketball team has given Victoria Vivians the opportunity to repeat as the Gillom Trophy winner.
Vivians was named a finalist for the 2016 Gillom Trophy on Monday, giving her the opportunity to become just the third back-to-back winner of the award after becoming the first freshman to win the trophy a year ago.
Bulldog fans can once again cast their votes for Vivians. Fan voting, which counts for 10 percent of the final tally, begins Tuesday, March 1, at 8:30 a.m. CST and ends on Sunday, March 6, at 8:30 a.m. CST.
Fans can vote for Vivians by visiting www.csopavoting.com, providing an email address and name, or connecting through Facebook or Twitter. Once an account is created, voting can begin and fans can choose their first, second and third place winners. Fans will be able to vote via Facebook, Twitter and text messaging and can submit up to three votes per day during the six-day voting period.
Vivians paces a Bulldog squad that won its final three games of the regular season to finish 24-6 overall and 11-5 in SEC play. MSU matched the program record for SEC wins and tied for second place, the best conference finish in program history, after being picked to finish third by media and fourth by league coaches in the preseason.
The Carthage, Mississippi, native enjoyed a stellar rookie season for Vic Schaefer, and her sophomore campaign has been even better as she ranks second in the SEC in scoring at 16.7 ppg and sixth in league play at 15.4 ppg.
Vivians has been named to the watch list for every player of the year award. Most recently she was one of only two SEC players named to the late season Top 20 for the John R. Wooden Award. She was also selected to the midseason watch lists for both the Naismith Trophy and the USBWA Ann Meyers Drysdale Award.
The sophomore standout has been outstanding down the stretch for MSU, averaging 17.3 ppg behind 50 percent shooting the last three games.
In Sunday's win against Alabama, Vivians became just the fifth Bulldog to reach 1,000-career points in two seasons.
Vivians recorded her second double-double of the season with 22 points and 10 rebounds at Ole Miss, and she followed it with 21 points on 9 of 14 shooting in MSU's road win at Vanderbilt.
She finished the regular season scoring double figures in 26 of the team's 30 games. Vivians tallied 20-plus points in 10 of those contests.
Vivians was named a finalist, along with Shandricka Sessom of Ole Miss and Chelsey Rhodes of Delta State.
The 2016 C Spire Howell and Gillom Trophies will be awarded during a March 7 luncheon program at the Mississippi Sports Hall of Fame and Museum in Jackson.
Tickets start at $40 each and are on sale at MSHOF offices and online. For more information, call 601.982.8264.
