Schaefer named SEC Coach of the Year
Vic Schaefer
A perfect season led to numerous SEC honors for Vic Schaefer and his Mississippi State women's basketball team last Tuesday [Feb. 27].
Schaefer was named SEC Coach of the Year by fellow league coaches and Associated Press after guiding the Bulldogs to their first SEC regular-season title and the first undefeated regular season by a conference team since 1997-98.
It is the second time in four seasons Schaefer has garnered SEC Coach of the Year laurels, as he also received the accolades in 2014-15.
Teaira McCowan and Victoria Vivians received First Team All-SEC honors from both the coaches and AP. The duo were unanimous first-team selections by Associated Press.
McCowan was also tabbed SEC Co-Defensive Player of the Year, and she was named to the All-Defensive Team along with Blair Schaefer. Schaefer was one of three who garnered Scholar-Athlete of the Year accolades.
SEC coaches also tabbed Morgan William Second Team All-SEC.
The Bulldogs' eight honors were the most among the league teams.
State piled up the awards after capping the regular season 30-0, the second-most consecutive wins in SEC history, and registering a program-best 16-0 record in SEC play. MSU heads to this weekend's SEC Tournament one of two undefeated teams in NCAA Division I men's or women's basketball.
McCowan, last season's SEC Sixth Woman of the Year, landed the league honors a day after claiming a school-record fourth SEC Player of the Week award on Monday.
She is having the best season of her career, rating fourth in the SEC in scoring (18.7 ppg) and tops in rebounding (13.5 rpg). She also ranks first on the boards in league games (14.4 rpg) and seventh in scoring (17.7 ppg).
McCowan set the MSU single-season rebounding record with 405. She wrapped the regular season third nationally in rebounds (13.5 rpg), first in offensive boards (6.0 rpg) and fourth in double-doubles with an MSU-record 22. McCowan shot 60.8 percent from the field, the 12th-best total in Division I.
In addition to her 22 double-doubles, McCowan posted 27 games with 10-plus rebounds, including four times grabbing 20 boards. The Brenham, Texas, native also averaged a league fifth-best 2.0 blocks per game.
Vivians became the third MSU player to earn All-SEC laurels all four seasons. She earned a third-straight first-team selection following a career-best season in which she averaged an SEC third-best 19.7 ppg and 19.6 tally in league play.
The Carthage, Miss., native rates in the Top 15 in the league in field goal percentage and the Top 10 in both 3-point and free-throw percentage.
The third player in MSU history to reach 2,000-career points, Vivians has scored double figures in 29 of State's 30 games, including 14 20-point efforts and a pair of 30-point outings. She has also excelled on the defensive end as well, pulling down a personal-best 6.0 rpg, including 6.3 rpg against SEC foes, and ranking second on the team with 1.5 spg.
William garnered second team accolades for the second-straight year after wrapping the regular season second in the SEC in assists with 4.7 per game and No. 2 in the country in assist/turnover ratio with a 4.2 mark.
The Birmingham, Ala., native also finished the regular season second in the SEC in assists in league games, dishing 4.9 per game. She also committed just 21 turnovers in 16 conference contests for a 3.7 assist/turnover ratio.
William, State's career free-throw percentage leader, had another stellar year at the charity stripe, rating second in the league for the season at 84.4 percent and third in conference games with an 85.4 percent tally.
Blair Schaefer proved to be a valuable help-side defender for MSU this season, topping the team with 22 charges taken. She also shined as one of the conference's top 3-point shooters, knocking down a league-best 81 triples, the fifth-most in school history. She drained 2.7 3-pointers per game at a 41.8-percent clip that ranked fourth in the SEC.
The Starkville, Miss., native was more efficient in SEC contests, averaging a league-high 3.0 triples per game and making them at a 44-percent clip that ranked fifth in the conference.
A three-time SEC Community Service Team member, Blair Schaefer combined her success on the court with an outstanding career in the classroom as she compiled a 3.63 GPA in biological sciences with a minor in communication.
For more about Mississippi State athletics, please visit HailState.com.
