Vivians Repeats As Gillom Trophy Recipient

STARKVILLE, Miss. (WCBI/MSU Athletics) – Victoria Vivians is once again Mississippi’s top female college basketball player.

The Mississippi State sophomore won her second-straight CSpire Gillom Trophy Monday afternoon in a ceremony at the Mississippi Sports Hall of Fame.

A year after becoming the first freshman to win the award, the Carthage, Mississippi, native became the third back-to-back winner of the award. She joins Alexis Rack as the two Bulldogs to hoist the trophy in back-to-back seasons.

Monday’s repeat is the fifth time a Mississippi State player has won the award in the nine seasons it has been given out. The Bulldogs have won it three times in Vic Schaefer’s four seasons.

Vivians ranked second in the SEC with a 17.2 scoring average, eclipsing her freshman season total with 567 points.

(Photo CC: MSU Athletics)

“It’s an honor to win this award and become the second Mississippi State player to win it two years in a row,” Vivians said. “I have to thank my teammates, my coaches and our fans, because without them this would not have been possible.”

She earned First Team All-SEC accolades last week after ranking sixth in scoring in conference play with 15.4 ppg.

Vivians’ stellar play led Mississippi State to a 26-7 record, the second-most wins in program history, and an 11-5 SEC mark. Schaefer’s squad matched last season’s school-record SEC wins total while claiming the best conference finish in program history with a tie for second.

Vivians guides Mississippi State into a second-straight NCAA Tournament berth fresh off claiming SEC All-Tournament Team honors after leading the Bulldogs to their second championship game appearance and first since 2000.

The sophomore averaged 22.0 ppg in the SEC Tournament, shooting 45.1 percent from the field and 40.9 percent from 3-point range in the three games.

Vivians scored 26 points in the final against No. 2 South Carolina, a night after dropping 30 points in State’s second win of the season and in school history against Tennessee.

Sunday’s total gave her a 16.2 scoring average against ranked foes and a 16.8 clip in 17 career games.

In State’s regular-season finale against Alabama, she became the fifth Bulldog to notch 1,000-career points in two seasons.

“I’m very proud of her. It’s harder to do it each year because she gets everyone’s best defender and best defensive game plan,” Schaefer said. “She gave our team credit and rightfully so because she couldn’t do it without her teammates. It’s a great award and we are so proud of Victoria and how she represents Mississippi State.”

The Wooden Award Late Season Top 20 selection finished ninth in the SEC in field goal percentage (38.9 percent) and third in both 3-point percentage (31.3 percent) and 3-pointers made (2.2).

Sunday’s 26-point effort was her 11th 20-point game of the season, while Saturday was her second contest with 30-plus points this season.

Vivians, who was also tabbed to the Naismith and Ann Meyers Drysdale midseason watch lists, has also stepped up on the defensive end, grabbing 5.9 rebounds per game this season, including 6.7 rpg in SEC play.

She also paces the Bulldogs with 1.7 steals per game for the season.

The other two finalists for the award were Shandricka Sessom of Ole Miss and Chelsey Rhodes of Delta State.