MSU's Vivians makes watch list for Drysdale

For Starkville Daily News

A day after Morgan William was placed to the watch list for the nation's top point guard, her Mississippi State teammate Victoria Vivians was selected to the Ann Meyers Drysdale Award Watch List for the country's premier shooting guard.

Vivians was one of 20 players chosen to Tuesday's list by the Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame. She joins LSU's Chloe Jackson and Texas A&M's Danni Williams as the Southeastern Conference selections. Mississippi State is one of five teams in the nation to have a representative on both the Ann Meyers Drysdale and Nancy Lieberman watch lists.

The Carthage native, earned the nod following a stellar junior season that saw her claim first team All-SEC and Associated Press third team All-America honors. Vivians averaged a team-best 16.2 points per game and tallied a career-high 18.1 points per game in SEC contests.

She recorded a personal-best 633 points last season, eighth-most in program history and third-most by a Bulldog junior. Vivians, who also averaged 4.2 rebounds per game, 1.5 assists per game and 1.4 steals per game, collected 35 double-figure scoring games a year ago, including 20-plus points 11 times.

Vivians was picked to the Oklahoma City AllRegion Team after averaging 18.5 points and five rebounds against Washington and Baylor, and she claimed All-Final Four Team accolades after 19 points against UConn and 12 in the national title game against South Carolina.

She enters her senior campaign with 1,754 career points, two back of tying Alexis Rack for third in program history.

Vic Schaefer's sixth Bulldog contingent opens the 2017-18 slate on Nov. 10 against Virginia in the second half of a Humphrey Coliseum doubleheader with the MSU men's team. The men host Alabama State at 5:30 p.m., with the women's contest following at 8 p.m.