Vivians and Westbrook earn SEC Weekly Awards
By Erica Ayala
The two undefeated teams in the SEC swept the most recent SEC weekly awards. Victoria Vivians of Mississippi State averaged 24.0 points, 7.5 rebounds, 2.5 assists and 3.0 steals to claim the Duel in the Desert Rebel Division.
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Against the UNLV Lady Rebels, Vivians dropped 15 first-quarter points en route to a season-high 36 points in the opening period. Her performance helped State tie the Cox Pavilion scoring record with 103 points. Vivians also got her teammates involved with 4 assists, and on the defensive end, she added 3 steals to go with 6 rebounds.
In the title game, Vivians posted 11 first-half points against then-unbeaten No. 22 Syracuse, to help MSU jump out to a 44-29 halftime lead. She also secured an individual feat, becoming the third player in school history to reach 2,000-career points (LaToya Thomas and Tan White). Vivians finished a rebound shy of a double-double in the Syracuse contest and added three steals.
Mississippi State is currently 13-0 and was ranked fifth in the latest Associated Press poll.
Freshman of the Week: Point guard Evina Westbrook was a key part of Tennessee’s 83-71 win over Stanford on Thursday night. She drained a career-high 17 points while collecting four rebounds, a block, and a steal. The victory marked the first at Maples Pavilion since Dec. 4, 2005. Westbrook was efficient, connecting on 6 of 9 shots from the field and going 5 of 6 from the charity stripe to finish as UT’s second-leading scorer. Three of her four free throws came during the final 2:11, helping UT hold on for the win.
The Lady Vols improved to 12-0 for the first time since the 2005-06 season and for only the fifth time in school history, while contributing, in-part, to the Cardinal missing the AP Poll for the first time since 2001.