COLUMBUS, Ohio – Mississippi State’s Victoria Vivians and Teaira McCowan both earned a spot on the All-Tournament team as the Bulldogs finished as the national runner-up for the second straight season.
Vivians, a senior guard, scored 46 points in the Final Four and national championship game while McCowan averaged 19.5 points and 21 rebounds over that span.
Vivians finishes her tenure with 2,527 points, which ranks second all-time at MSU and 454 points shy of LaToya Thomas’ record. The Carthage native is also tied for 20th all-time nationally with 291 career points in the NCAA Tournament.
McCowan set an NCAA Tournament record with 109 rebounds, shattering the previous mark of 75. She also established a new rebounding record for the Final Four of 42 and is eighth all-time for boards in the NCAA Tournament for her career.
Joining Vivians and McCowan on the All-Tournament team were Notre Dame’s Arike Ogunbowale (Most Outstanding Player) and Jessica Shepard and Connecticut’s Naphessa Collier.
MCCOWAN TOP DEFENDER
McCowan was also named the Naismith National Defensive Player of the Year for her prowess on that end of the court.
The 6-foot-7 junior center finished the year averaging 13.2 rebounds per game and totaled 81 blocks and 32 steals. McCowan native also recorded 29 double-doubles on the year, which is a new Southeastern Conference benchmark.
McCowan also surpassed 1,000 rebounds during Sunday’s championship game and now has 1,015 for her career, second-most in MSU history. The native of Brenham, Texas trails Thomas by 93 in that category.
THREE-POINT QUARTER
MSU outscored the Fighting Irish 13-3 during the second quarter to take a 30-17 lead into halftime.
Notre Dame was only 1 of 9 shooting during that second quarter with its only basket coming on a 3-point play by Shepard at the 3:08 mark.
“We just really couldn’t get anything going in the second quarter,” said Notre Dame coach Muffet McGraw. “I think in the third quarter we definitely came out and were a little more focused.”
The three points were the lowest output in a quarter by a team in Final Four history and the 17 first half points were the second-fewest in an NCAA Championship game.
QUOTABLE
“We’ve got great kids coming and I’ve still got great kids in that locker room. But the integrity and the character of this (senior) group is something I’ve not seen. I’m so proud of them. I’m proud to be their coach and I’m proud of their fight. They’re going to be so successful in life because of their grit, determination and how they embrace the grind.” – MSU coach Vic Schaefer.