Vivians, William, Dillingham, McCowan Earn SEC Honors
February 28, 2017 | Women's Basketball
Victoria Vivians was named First Team All-SEC for the second-straight year, while teammate Morgan William earned her first selection with a nod to the second team. Teaira McCowan claimed 6th Woman of the Year accolades, and Dominique Dillingham was tabbed to the All-Defensive Team for the second time in as many seasons.
The quartet led Vic Schaefer's team to a 27-3 overall record and 13-3 SEC mark. Sixth-ranked MSU finished second in the SEC, matching last season's squad for the highest league finish in program annals.
Vivians and William were named two of the three finalists for the Gillom Trophy, which is presented to Mississippi's top women's college basketball player, on Sunday.
Vivians 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.
She has also 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.
McCowan's 6th Woman of the Year title comes a year after she earned all-freshman team laurels. The Brenham, Texas, was stellar for MSU, coming off the bench in all 30 games to average 7.9 points and a team-best 6.5 rebounds per game. She also topped the squad and ranked ninth in the SEC with 1.3 blocks per game.
In SEC contests, McCowan scored 9.3 ppg while grabbing 7.2 rpg. She also swatted 1.4 shots per contest in conference play, the fourth-best average in the league.
The sophomore center ended the regular season with three double-doubles, two coming in the last five games. During that stretch she averaged a double-double with 10.6 points and 11.0 rebounds per game. McCowan notched 11 double-digit scoring games, nine in SEC contests, and five games with 10-plus rebounds.
McCowan grabbed a career-best 18 boards to go with 17 points in State's win at Ole Miss. Earlier in SEC play she tallied a personal-best 25 points against Florida, knocking down 12 of 13 shots for a school-record 92.3 field goal percentage that topped the SEC for the year.
Dillingham became a fan favorite for her hard-nosed play on the defensive end of the floor. Constantly tasked with defending the opponent's top perimeter player, Dillingham drew 19 charges to raise her career tally to 127.
The Spring, Texas, native registered 22 steals in a senior season that saw her miss six games with injury. In league contests, she registered 11 swipes while blocking a team second-most 12 shots.
Dillingham also stepped up on the offensive end of the floor, averaging 7.0 ppg while having the best shooting season of her career from the field, 3-point range and the free-throw line.
In SEC play, Dillingham scored at a 6.8 clip, including a career-best 24 points in State's win against Missouri.
The foursome leads Mississippi State to Greenville, S.C., this week for the SEC Tournament. The second-seeded Bulldogs face the winner of Thursday's game between seven-seed LSU and 10-seed Ole Miss in Friday's quarterfinals. Tip for MSU's tournament opener is set for 5 p.m. CT on the SEC Network.
2017 SOUTHEASTERN CONFERENCE HONORS
First Team All-SEC
Ronni Williams, Florida
Evelyn Akhator, Kentucky
???????Makayla Epps, Kentucky
Victoria Vivians, Mississppi State
Sophie Cunningham, Missouir
???????Alaina Coates, South Carolina
A'ja Wilson, South Carolina
Diamond DeShields, Tennessee
Second Team All-SEC
Katie Frerking, Auburn
???????Pachis Roberts, Georgia
???????Raigyne Moncrief, LSU
Morgan William, Mississippi State
Jaime Nared, Tennessee
Mercedes Russell, Tennessee
???????Khaalia Hillsman, Texas A&M
???????Curtyce Knox, Texas A&M
Danni Williams, Texas A&M
All-Freshman
Ashley Knight, Alabama
Jordan Lewis, Alabama
???????Jailyn Mason, Arkansas
???????Delicia Washington, Florida
Amber Smith, Missouri
???????Tyasha Harris, South Carolina
Kayla Overbeck, Vanderbilt
Erin Whalen, Vanderbilt
All-Defensive
Katie Frerking, Auburn
???????Caliya Robinson, Georgia
???????Raigyne Moncrief, LSU
Dominique Dillingham, Mississippi State
???????Alaina Coates, South Carolina
A'ja Wilson, South Carolina
Coach of the Year: Robin Pingeton, Missouri
Player of the Year: A'ja Wilson, South Carolina
Co-Freshmen of the Year: Delicia Washington, Florida / Amber Smith, Missouri
Defensive Player of the Year: Raigyne Moncrief, LSU
6th Woman of the Year: Teaira McCowan, Mississippi State
???????Scholar-Athlete of the Year: Katie Frerking, Auburn
