Mississippi State graduate student center Jessika Carter won the 2024 Gillom Trophy on Monday, an award given to the best women’s college basketball player in the state by the Mississippi Sports Hall of Fame.
Carter, who averaged 14.7 points and 10.1 rebounds per game during the regular season and Southeastern Conference Tournament, beat out Marquesha Davis of Ole Miss and Domonique Davis of Southern Miss for the award. She recorded 13 double-doubles this year and is one of three players in program history to reach 1,500 career points and 1,000 career rebounds.
With senior guard Jerkaila Jordan playing through an illness for much of February, Carter became the focal point of the Bulldogs’ offense. She put up 20 points and 20 boards against Kentucky on Feb. 22, then had 18 points and 14 rebounds three days later at Alabama.
After missing three games with an injury in late November and early December, Carter returned with a vengeance during a three-game stretch from Dec. 11 to Dec. 17, scoring 31 points against Kennesaw State and 17 each against Jackson State and Memphis. She also had at least 13 rebounds in each game and earned SEC Player of the Week honors. Carter won that honor again after leading MSU to wins over Arkansas and Ole Miss in January.
With Bulldogs freshman guard Josh Hubbard winning the Bailey Howell Trophy for the best men’s college basketball player in Mississippi, MSU swept the awards for the sixth time and the first since 2020.
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