McCowan Named Defensive Player of the Year Semifinalist

STARKVILLE – Teaira McCowan is once again being recognized for her defensive play. Mississippi State's senior center has been named a semifinalist for the Naismith Women's Defensive Player of the Year Award presented by Bona, the Atlanta Tipoff Club announced on Tuesday.

After winning the inaugural award last year, the Brenham, Texas, native is one of two SEC players in the running for this year's honor. She has blocked shots at a rate of 2.6 bpg, the highest of her career, this year. According to HerHoopStats.com, McCowan blocks 9.0 percent of her opponents' field goal attempts inside the arc, which puts her in the top three percent of the nation.

McCowan grabs the rebound on 26.3 percent of her opportunities, the nation's best rate. She is second in the nation and leads the SEC in rebounding (13.6 rpg). She has also added 20 steals this season.

She is third among active players in Division I with 1,354 career rebounds which leads the SEC and is an MSU record. Her 248 blocks rank second among active SEC players.

The Bulldogs fell one spot in both the Associated Press Top 25 and USA Today Coaches' Poll this week to No. 6. MSU returns to the court on Thursday, Feb. 21 at Ole Miss. Tipoff in Oxford, Mississippi, is set for 7 p.m. CT on SEC Network+.

Associated Press Top 25 – February 18

Rk.	School	Rcd.	Pts.	Pvs.
1	Baylor (26)	23-1	698	1
2	Oregon (2)	24-1	672	3
3	Connecticut	23-2	638	4
4	Louisville	23-2	610	2
5	Notre Dame	23-3	596	6
6	Mississippi State	23-2	555	5
7	Stanford	21-4	475	10
8	Maryland	23-3	458	7
9	North Carolina State	22-2	455	12
10	Iowa	21-5	439	14
11	Marquette	22-4	437	8
12	Oregon State	20-5	413	9
13	South Carolina	19-6	398	11
14	Miami (Fla.)	22-5	350	20
15	Gonzaga	23-3	275	13
16	Kentucky	21-5	261	17
17	Arizona State	18-6	247	19
18	Syracuse	19-6	232	16
19	Texas	20-6	225	15
20	Iowa State	19-6	155	18
21	Texas A&M	19-6	117	22
22	Florida State	21-5	106	21
23	South Dakota	23-3	90	25
24	Drake	19-5	40	NR
25	Rice	22-3	30	NR

USA Today Coaches' Poll – February 19

Rk.	School	Rcd.	Pts.	Pvs.
1	Baylor (32)	23-1	800	1
2	Connecticut	23-2	750	4
3	Oregon	24-2	714	3
4	Louisville	23-2	697	2
	Notre Dame	24-3	697	6
6	Mississippi State	23-2	637	5
7	Stanford	21-4	568	10
8	Oregon State	21-5	561	9
9	Maryland	23-3	526	8
10	Iowa	21-5	513	13
11	Marquette	22-4	456	7
12	North Carolina State	22-3	448	11
13	South Carolina	19-6	403	14
14	Miami-Florida	22-5	392	20
15	Arizona State	18-6	337	17
16	Gonzaga	23-3	318	12
17	Kentucky	21-5	307	18
18	Syracuse	19-6	272	16
19	Texas	20-6	225	15
20	Florida State	21-5	170	19
21	Iowa State	19-6	138	21
22	Texas A&M	19-6	136	23
23	South Dakota	23-3	120	25
24	Drake	19-5	58	NR
25	Missouri	19-8	54	NR

Mississippi State University Athletics

McCowan Named Defensive Player of the Year Semifinalist

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