COLUMBUS, Ohio — One day after Mississippi State women’s basketball coach Vic Schaefer was named United States Basketball Writers Association (USBWA) Coach of the Year, MSU earned three more awards.
Schaefer added to his haul when he was named the Werner Ladder Naismith National Coach of the Year. Senior Victoria Vivians won the Ann Meyers Drysdale Award for the nation’s top shooting guard, while junior center Teaira McCowan was named the inaugural recipient of the Naismith Defensive Player of the Year.
Schaefer also has been recognized as the Women’s Basketball Coaches Association (WBCA), College Sports Madness, and Southeastern Conference Coach of the Year.
MSU, which secured its first No. 1 seed in the NCAA tournament, has won a program-record 37 games and scored a program-record 3,106 points.
The Bulldogs won their first 32 games, which is the second-longest win streak in SEC history. MSU also went 30-0 in the regular season to become the first SEC team to accomplish that feat in 20 years.
Vivians’ honor comes after USA Today, The Associated Press, and the WBCA named her a first-team All-American. She also was a second team honoree by USBWA and a third-team selection by espnW.
The senior from Carthage has averaged a career-best 19.8 points per game. Her 752 points this season are third in MSU single-season history.
Vivians has enjoyed her most efficient season from the field, hitting 48.6 percent from the field, 41 percent from 3-point range, and 80.9 percent from the free-throw line.
McCowan was named the inaugural recipient of the Naismith Defensive Player of the Year after an All-America season that saw her average 18.2 points and 13.9 rebounds, which is second in the nation.
McCowan, the SEC’s co-Defensive Player of the Year, has a school-record 527 rebounds, which is the second-most in SEC history. McCowan claimed an SEC record for double-doubles in a season with 21 points and 25 rebounds Friday against Louisville.
The 25 rebounds were a Final Four record and the second most in NCAA tournament history.
Follow Dispatch sports editor Adam Minichino on Twitter @ctsportseditor
Adam Minichino is the former Sports Editor for The Commercial Dispatch.
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