Mississippi State garners three of six finalists for 2020 C Spire Howell and Gillom Trophies

JACKSON, Miss., March 2, 2020 /PRNewswire/ -- Players from Mississippi State's men's and women's basketball programs claimed three of the six finalist spots for the 2020 C Spire Howell and Gillom Trophies, which are awarded annually to the best male and female college basketball players in the Magnolia state.

Two of the women's nominees are from Mississippi State's No.10 nationally ranked squad, and one of the three men's finalists is representing the resurgent Bulldogs, who are vying for an NCAA tournament bid and a 20-win season. This is third year in a row that MSU has garnered at least three of the six finalist slots.

Sophomore forward Jessika Carter and freshman forward Rickea Jackson of Mississippi State and Delta State senior forward Quantesha Patterson are the women finalists.  MSU sophomore forward Reggie Perry joins Ole Miss senior guard Breein Tyree, a 2019 finalist, and Tougaloo College senior forward Ledarius Woods vying for the men's award. 

Eight different men's players and eight different women's players received votes from sports media covering the teams.  MSU has won the men's award for the past two years while a Lady Bulldog has secured the women's award for the past five years.

Winners will be selected through a combination of another round of media votes and a fan vote conducted by C Spire.  Fans may vote for their favorite players at http://howellgillomvoting.hscampaigns.com/ starting today (Monday, March 2) at noon CT through Saturday, March 7 at noon CT. Each fan with a valid email address may vote up to three times daily. The fan vote counts for a weighted 10 percent of the final total and has helped decide the winner several times in recent years.

Tougaloo's Woods, the first finalist from his college, led the men in scoring with 21 points per game followed by Ole Miss' Tyree with a 20.1 points per game while MSU's Perry averaged 17.2 points. The ladies are led by Patterson's 16.6 points a game followed by Jackson's 14.7 points and Carter 's 14 points per game.

The Howell Trophy presented by C Spire is named after Bailey Howell, a two-time All American at Mississippi State University and a six-time NBA All-Star who played on Boston Celtics world championship teams in 1968 and 1969. Howell, a 1977 inductee to the Mississippi Sports Hall of Fame and the first male Mississippi player inducted in the National Basketball Hall of Fame, still holds nearly a dozen season and career records at Mississippi State University.

The Gillom Trophy presented by C Spire is named after Abbeville, Miss. native Peggie Gillom-Granderson, Ole Miss' all-time leading scorer and rebounder. She coached in the WNBA and the Olympics and retired after a seven-year stint as Associate Head Coach of the Lady Rebels basketball team at Ole Miss.

2020 marks the 25^th anniversary of the Outstanding Player Awards presentation.  C Spire has served as title sponsor for 23 of those years since 1998.  The Conerly Trophy in college football, the Howell Trophy in men's college basketball, the Gillom Trophy in women's college basketball and the Ferriss Trophy in college baseball comprise the four elements of the C Spire Outstanding Player Award series.

Tickets starting at $40 each are on sale for the March 9 awards luncheon at MSHOF offices and online.  For more information, call 601.982.8264.  Van Chancellor, former NCCA, WNBA, Ole Miss and Naismith, Women's and Mississippi Sports Hall of Fame coaching legend, will be the featured guest speaker.

About C Spire
C Spire is a leading technology company committed to transforming its service areas through the C Spire Tech Movement initiative, which includes broadband deployment, technology innovation and workforce development.  The company provides world-class, customer-inspired wireless communications, 1 Gigabit consumer Internet access as well as a full suite of dedicated Internet, wireless, IP Voice, data and cloud services for businesses.  This news release and other announcements are available at www.cspire.com/news. For more information about C Spire, visit www.cspire.com or follow us on Facebook at www.facebook.com/cspire or Twitter at www.twitter.com/cspire.

About The Mississippi Sports Hall of Fame
The Mississippi Sports Hall of Fame exists to promote, preserve and protect Mississippi's rich sports heritage for this and generations to come. The Museum serves as a destination for sports legends to live forever through interactive displays and exhibits where visitors can play, live and dream. The 501(c)(3) organization recognizes excellence in athletics and contributions to sports. For more information about the Mississippi Sports Hall of Fame & Museum, visit msfame.com or follow us on Facebook at www.facebook.com/mssportshofandmuseum or Twitter at www.twitter.com/mssportshof.

SOURCE C Spire

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