McCowan Named SEC Player Of The Week; Bulldogs No. 3 In Coaches Poll
November 21, 2017 | Women's Basketball
STARKVILLE, Miss. – After two big wins against Georgia State and Southern Miss, the Mississippi State women's basketball team moved up to No. 3 in the USA Today Coaches Poll while junior center Teaira McCowan was named SEC Player of the Week.
McCowan averaged 18.0 points, 7.5 rebounds and 2.5 blocks in the Bulldogs' victories, knocking down shots at a 78.9 percent rate.
This is the first weekly conference honor for McCowan since being named Freshman of the Week on Dec. 1, 2015, and the last Bulldog to earn the accolade was Morgan William on Nov. 22, 2016.
The preseason Second Team All-SEC selection is currently scoring a team second-best 14.3 points per game, behind a 62.1 percent effort from the field. Her 54.2 percent career field goal percentage ranks second in State's record books.
McCowan hit 9 of 10 shots against Georgia State, her highest percentage since shooting a school-record 92.3 percent on 12 of 13 from the field against Florida last season.
In Sunday's contest against Southern Miss, McCowan recorded her 11th-career double-double, four more than her next closest teammate. Her three blocked shots against the Lady Eagles moved her into fourth place in MSU history with 110-career blocks.
As a crucial piece of the Bulldogs' starting five, McCowan was recently named to the Lisa Leslie Award Watch List for the nation's top center after earning last season's SEC Sixth Woman of the Year award.
State was previously ranked No. 4 in the poll but is now scoring 88.3 points per game this season, topping the conference and ranking 22nd in the country. It also leads the conference in scoring margin, rebounding defense, assists per game, turnovers forced per game and turnover margin.
The Bulldogs are 3-0 heading to Mexico for the Cancun Challenge, where they will compete against No. 24/RV Arizona State, Columbia and Green Bay beginning on Thursday. All three contests will be live-streamed.
MSU returns to the "Magnolia State" on Nov. 29th when they venture to the Mississippi Coliseum in Jackson to face Louisiana at 7 p.m. Tickets for that game are on sale now at ticketmaster.com or by calling the Mississippi Coliseum box office.
USA Today Coaches Poll - 11/21/17
McCowan averaged 18.0 points, 7.5 rebounds and 2.5 blocks in the Bulldogs' victories, knocking down shots at a 78.9 percent rate.
This is the first weekly conference honor for McCowan since being named Freshman of the Week on Dec. 1, 2015, and the last Bulldog to earn the accolade was Morgan William on Nov. 22, 2016.
The preseason Second Team All-SEC selection is currently scoring a team second-best 14.3 points per game, behind a 62.1 percent effort from the field. Her 54.2 percent career field goal percentage ranks second in State's record books.
McCowan hit 9 of 10 shots against Georgia State, her highest percentage since shooting a school-record 92.3 percent on 12 of 13 from the field against Florida last season.
In Sunday's contest against Southern Miss, McCowan recorded her 11th-career double-double, four more than her next closest teammate. Her three blocked shots against the Lady Eagles moved her into fourth place in MSU history with 110-career blocks.
As a crucial piece of the Bulldogs' starting five, McCowan was recently named to the Lisa Leslie Award Watch List for the nation's top center after earning last season's SEC Sixth Woman of the Year award.
State was previously ranked No. 4 in the poll but is now scoring 88.3 points per game this season, topping the conference and ranking 22nd in the country. It also leads the conference in scoring margin, rebounding defense, assists per game, turnovers forced per game and turnover margin.
The Bulldogs are 3-0 heading to Mexico for the Cancun Challenge, where they will compete against No. 24/RV Arizona State, Columbia and Green Bay beginning on Thursday. All three contests will be live-streamed.
MSU returns to the "Magnolia State" on Nov. 29th when they venture to the Mississippi Coliseum in Jackson to face Louisiana at 7 p.m. Tickets for that game are on sale now at ticketmaster.com or by calling the Mississippi Coliseum box office.
USA Today Coaches Poll - 11/21/17
| RK | TEAM | RECORD | PTS |
| 1 | Connecticut (32) | 3-0 | 800 |
| 2 | South Carolina | 4-0 | 758 |
| 3 | Mississippi State | 3-0 | 678 |
| 4 | Texas | 3-0 | 668 |
| 4 | UCLA | 3-0 | 668 |
| 6 | Notre Dame | 3-0 | 665 |
| 7 | Louisville | 5-0 | 652 |
| 8 | Ohio State | 4-1 | 561 |
| 9 | Baylor | 3-1 | 560 |
| 10 | Oregon | 3-1 | 464 |
| 11 | Florida State | 4-0 | 440 |
| 12 | Stanford | 2-2 | 412 |
| 13 | West Virginia | 3-0 | 405 |
| 14 | Tennessee | 3-0 | 358 |
| 15 | Maryland | 2-2 | 355 |
| 16 | South Florida | 4-0 | 280 |
| 17 | Duke | 2-1 | 261 |
| 18 | Oregon State | 2-1 | 252 |
| 19 | Missouri | 3-1 | 142 |
| 20 | Marquette | 1-1 | 115 |
| 21 | Depaul | 3-1 | 100 |
| 22 | Michigan | 2-1 | 90 |
| 23 | California | 2-1 | 81 |
| 23 | NC State | 5-0 | 81 |
| 25 | Texas A&M | 2-1 | 78 |
Players Mentioned
C
/ Women's Basketball
G
/ Women's BasketballWOMEN'S BASKETBALL | Sam Purcell, Favour Nwaedozi vs Florida - 3/4/26
Wednesday, March 04
WOMEN'S BASKETBALL | Sam Purcell Media Session - 2/24/26
Tuesday, February 24
WOMEN'S BASKETBALL | Sam Purcell Media Session - 2/18/26
Wednesday, February 18
WOMEN'S BASKETBALL | Highlights at Arkansas - 2/16/26
Tuesday, February 17