Vivians, William, Weatherspoon Named Gillom And Howell Trophy Finalists
February 26, 2017 | Women's Basketball
STARKVILLE, Miss. – Mississippi State has two of the three finalists for the 2017 CSpire Gillom Trophy, as well as Quinndary Weatherspoon for the Howell Trophy.
Victoria Vivians, the winner of the award the last two years, and Morgan William were named finalists for the award which will be presented March 6 at the Mississippi Sports Hall of Fame and Museum in Jackson.
Weatherspoon, a finalist a year ago as a freshman, has led the team in scoring averaging 16.5 points per game and 5.1 rebounds. He was recognized as SEC player of the week on January 16 after having a huge road win against Arkansas. In that game he had 25 points and 6 rebounds.
He currently ranks seventh in the SEC in scoring and just reached his 800th-career point.
A media vote comprises 90 percent of the tally, while a fan vote makes up the final 10 percent. Fans can begin voting Monday at 8:30 a.m. at www.csopavoting.com
Vivians and William have led Vic Schaefer's Mississippi State women's team to a 27-3 overall record and 13-3 SEC mark. State, which moved to No. 6 in this week's Associated Press Top 25, finished second in the SEC, matching last season's squad for the highest league finish in program annals.
Vivians, who can become the first three-time winner of the award, finished the regular season fifth in the SEC for scoring with a 17.2 average for the year. She also shined in SEC contests, knocking down 18.1 ppg. The Carthage, Miss., native ended the regular season averaging 23.3 ppg in her final three games.
She scored double figures in 24-straight games and 28 of the team's 30 contests this season. She also notched 10 games with 20-plus points, including 25 and 27 against Texas A&M and Kentucky, respectively.
Vivians, who passed 1,600-career points this season, shined against ranked foes, tallying 20.8 ppg on the year.
She also stepped up on the defensive end in SEC contests, tying for ninth in the league with 1.7 steals per contest.
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, Ala., 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 in State's Nov. 20 home win against then-No. 8 Texas.
William has been stellar on defense, drawing a team-high 21 charges on the year. She has also averaged an SEC 10th-most 1.7 steals per game.
William has distributed to her teammates, ranking second in the SEC in assists in league games (5.4 apg) and topping the conference in assist/turnover ratio with a 2.9 tally. Her 4.6 assists average for the year is third in the league, while her 2.2 cumulative assist/turnover ratio is fourth.
The junior William is also sixth in the league at the free-throw line, making 82.6 percent.
Brittany Dinkins of Southern Miss is the third finalist for the Gillom Trophy, while Sebastian Saiz of Ole Miss and Devin Schmidt of Delta State are the other two finalists for the Howell Trophy.
Victoria Vivians, the winner of the award the last two years, and Morgan William were named finalists for the award which will be presented March 6 at the Mississippi Sports Hall of Fame and Museum in Jackson.
Weatherspoon, a finalist a year ago as a freshman, has led the team in scoring averaging 16.5 points per game and 5.1 rebounds. He was recognized as SEC player of the week on January 16 after having a huge road win against Arkansas. In that game he had 25 points and 6 rebounds.
He currently ranks seventh in the SEC in scoring and just reached his 800th-career point.
A media vote comprises 90 percent of the tally, while a fan vote makes up the final 10 percent. Fans can begin voting Monday at 8:30 a.m. at www.csopavoting.com
Vivians and William have led Vic Schaefer's Mississippi State women's team to a 27-3 overall record and 13-3 SEC mark. State, which moved to No. 6 in this week's Associated Press Top 25, finished second in the SEC, matching last season's squad for the highest league finish in program annals.
Vivians, who can become the first three-time winner of the award, finished the regular season fifth in the SEC for scoring with a 17.2 average for the year. She also shined in SEC contests, knocking down 18.1 ppg. The Carthage, Miss., native ended the regular season averaging 23.3 ppg in her final three games.
She scored double figures in 24-straight games and 28 of the team's 30 contests this season. She also notched 10 games with 20-plus points, including 25 and 27 against Texas A&M and Kentucky, respectively.
Vivians, who passed 1,600-career points this season, shined against ranked foes, tallying 20.8 ppg on the year.
She also stepped up on the defensive end in SEC contests, tying for ninth in the league with 1.7 steals per contest.
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, Ala., 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 in State's Nov. 20 home win against then-No. 8 Texas.
William has been stellar on defense, drawing a team-high 21 charges on the year. She has also averaged an SEC 10th-most 1.7 steals per game.
William has distributed to her teammates, ranking second in the SEC in assists in league games (5.4 apg) and topping the conference in assist/turnover ratio with a 2.9 tally. Her 4.6 assists average for the year is third in the league, while her 2.2 cumulative assist/turnover ratio is fourth.
The junior William is also sixth in the league at the free-throw line, making 82.6 percent.
Brittany Dinkins of Southern Miss is the third finalist for the Gillom Trophy, while Sebastian Saiz of Ole Miss and Devin Schmidt of Delta State are the other two finalists for the Howell Trophy.
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