State Lands Two on Naismith Player of the Year Midseason Team
February 11, 2019 | Women's Basketball
by Brian Ogden, Assistant Coordinator/Communications
STARKVILLE – Teaira McCowan and Anriel Howard made Mississippi State one of just five teams in the country with multiple players selected to the Citizen Naismith Player of the Year Trophy midseason team.
McCowan and Howard have now both been selected to the watchlists for the Naismith, Wooden and Wade trophies this year.
McCowan leads MSU in scoring and rebounding, averaging 17.2 ppg and 13.7 rpg. She is one of two players in the SEC to be among the top 10 in the league in both categories. She is shooting at a 66.2 percent clip from the field, which leads the conference and is sixth nationally.
Defensively, the senior center averages 2.7 blocks per game, leading the league and ranking 10th in the country. She has swatted 61 shots so far this season, which already ranks eighth in MSU history. Last year, she finished with 81 to rank fifth all-time.
Howard is second on the team in scoring (15.5 ppg) and rebounding (8.0 rpg). She is fourth in the SEC in field goal percentage (52.0 percent) and seventh in the league in rebounding. Howard has turned in six games with 20 or more points and scored a career-high 30 at then-No. 7 Oregon.
The Bulldogs return to action on Thursday, Feb. 14 when they host Missouri at 8 p.m. CT on SEC Network.
STARKVILLE – Teaira McCowan and Anriel Howard made Mississippi State one of just five teams in the country with multiple players selected to the Citizen Naismith Player of the Year Trophy midseason team.
McCowan and Howard have now both been selected to the watchlists for the Naismith, Wooden and Wade trophies this year.
McCowan leads MSU in scoring and rebounding, averaging 17.2 ppg and 13.7 rpg. She is one of two players in the SEC to be among the top 10 in the league in both categories. She is shooting at a 66.2 percent clip from the field, which leads the conference and is sixth nationally.
Defensively, the senior center averages 2.7 blocks per game, leading the league and ranking 10th in the country. She has swatted 61 shots so far this season, which already ranks eighth in MSU history. Last year, she finished with 81 to rank fifth all-time.
Howard is second on the team in scoring (15.5 ppg) and rebounding (8.0 rpg). She is fourth in the SEC in field goal percentage (52.0 percent) and seventh in the league in rebounding. Howard has turned in six games with 20 or more points and scored a career-high 30 at then-No. 7 Oregon.
The Bulldogs return to action on Thursday, Feb. 14 when they host Missouri at 8 p.m. CT on SEC Network.
Players Mentioned
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