C Spire Gillom and Howell Finalists Announced

Finalists for the 2020 C Spire Gillom and C Spire Howell Trophies have been announced.  The trophies, which go to the Most Outstanding Women’s and Men’s college basketball players in the state, will be presented at a luncheon held at the Mississippi Sports Hall of Fame on Monday, March 9^th.  Once again fans will have a chance to help select the winner through a fan vote sponsored by C Spire.  The fan vote counts for a weighted 10% of the final total.  To vote fans may go to http://howellgillomvoting.hscampaigns.com to cast votes for their favorites.  Statewide sports media select the finalists and account for the remaining votes for the winners.

The C Spire Gillom trophy, named in honor of Ole Miss alum, Peggie Gillom, has been dominated by Mississippi State in recent years.  Victoria Vivians won four straight during her career at Mississippi State and the 2019 winner was Teaira McCowan. The nationally ranked Lady Bulldogs once again lead the way with two finalists for this year’s award. Rickea Jackson and Jessika Carter of MSU and Quantesha Patterson of Delta State are the finalists. The 6’2” Jackson leads the 24-5 Bulldogs in scoring at 14.7 points per game but is followed closely by Carter who averages an even 14. Carter is the leading rebounder for the Lady Dogs and has blocked 54 shots. Patterson tops the Lady Statesmen in many categories including scoring (16.6 per game), rebounding (13.2 per game), and field goal percentage (64.4%). Delta State, coached by Craig Roden is 20-6 overall and 12-2 in conference.

The C Spire Howell trophy honors former MSU and NBA star, Bailey Howell. Three dynamic offensive players have been selected as finalists for this year’s award. Reggie Perry of Mississippi State, Breein Tyree of Ole Miss and Ledarius Woods of Tugaloo are the players chosen to represent their schools. Tyree was a finalist in 2019 when Quinndary Weatherspoon was selected the winner. Perry leads the Bulldogs in scoring with a 17.4 points per game, has 25 steals and 32 blocks for the 18-10 MSU squad. Breein Tyree a 6’2” guard out of Somerset, NJ tops the Rebels averaging just over 20 per game and Ledarius Woods, the first finalist from Tougaloo College, is the top player for Coach Thomas Billups. The Tougaloo Bulldogs are 22-6 on the season and 11-2 in the GCAC. Woods, from Tunica, MS averages 21 per game. All stats are through February 28, 2020.

Mississippi Sports Hall of Famer, Van Chancellor who has coached in high school, college and professional basketball will be the featured speaker at the banquet. Tickets are on sale below or at the Hall of Fame business office.