While the #5 Mississippi State Bulldogs are focused on winning a championship as a team, individual honors were presented to several key members of this year’s team.
Teaira McCowan has been the leader of the Bulldogs all season long and she has been named the SEC Player of the Year by the coaches and by the AP. McCowan was also named the SEC’s Defensive Player of the Year and a First Team All-SEC selection in the coaches’ voting.
She led the SEC in rebounding at 13.4 rpg this season and was fifth in the league in scoring at 17.3 points per game. The Brenham, Texas, native has broken MSU’s career records for rebounds (1,404) and double-doubles (63) this year. Her 65.4 percent field goal percentage is fifth in the nation.
Defensively, she is eighth nationally in blocks per game (2.4) and was second in the league in defensive rebounds (7.6 rpg). She totaled 25 steals and 71 blocks while averaging just 2.6 fouls per game.
For the second straight season, head coach Vic Schaefer was named the SEC Coach of the Year by the AP, and he was also named the SEC’s Co-Coach of the Year by the conference’s coaches.
Anriel Howard was also named First Team All-SEC. Howard is averaging 15.9 ppg and 8.4 rpg, making her and McCowan the only teammates to rank among the top 10 in the conference in both scoring and rebounding.
McCowan and Jazzmun Holmes were named to the SEC All-Defensive Team. Holmes recorded a team-high 58 steals and ranked fifth in steals per game (2.0) while leading the league’s No. 2 scoring defense (57.0 ppg).
MSU holds the No. 1 seed in this week’s SEC Tournament and will have a double-bye. They’ll face the winner of the Tennessee/LSU game on Friday at 11 a.m.
