Marshall Henderson reacts during Saturday’s game. Photo: Tyler Jackson, The Daily Mississippian.
Reigning C Spire Howell Trophy winner Marshall Henderson is joined by teammate Jarvis Summers as finalists for this year’s edition of the award, which will be presented next Monday by the Mississippi Sports Hall of Fame.
The Howell Trophy, named for Bailey Howell, goes to the most outstanding men’s collegiate basketball player in Mississippi. The trophy will be presented Monday, March 3, at an 11:30 a.m. awards luncheon at the Mississippi Sports Hall of Fame and Museum. Joining Henderson and Summers as finalists is Neil Watson from Southern Miss.
The finalists were selected by a state-wide panel of media who cover college basketball in Mississippi. Final voting will take place this week. Fans will also be able to vote for this year’s winner beginning Tuesday morning at 9 a.m. until Sunday, March 2, at 5 p.m., by going to www.csopavoting.com. The fan vote will comprise 10 percent of the final total.
Henderson, a senior guard from Hurst, Texas, leads the SEC and ranks third in the nation in 3-pointers, making 4.5 per game. He has hit a 3-pointer in 60 consecutive games, which is tied with Pat Bradley for the SEC record.
Summers, a junior guard from Jackson, is one of the most improved players in the SEC, raising his scoring average (17.1 from 9.1), his field goal percentage (49.7 from 40.4) and his 3-point percentage (47.1 from 34.0) this season over last year’s totals. He is the only player in the SEC to rank in the top 10 in the league in scoring and field goal percentage and also in the top five in assists.
For ticket information, contact the Museum at 1-800-280-FAME (3263). All proceeds benefit the private, non-profit Mississippi Sports Hall of Fame and Museum.
Faleru finalist for Gillom Trophy
Ole Miss junior forward Tia Faleru has been named one of three finalists for the 2014 CSpire Wireless Gillom Trophy it was announced Monday (Feb. 24) by the Mississippi Sports Hall of Fame and Museum. Faleru is joined by Martha Alwal from Mississippi State and Jamierra Faulkner from Southern Miss.
The award, presented annually to the top female collegiate basketball player in Mississippi, is named after former Ole Miss great Peggie Gillom. Gillom is Ole Miss’ leading scorer and rebounder and served as an associate coach at Ole Miss for seven years. In addition, Gillom has spent time as an Olympic and WNBA coach.
Faleru has flourished throughout her junior season. The Ozark, Ala., native leads the Rebels in both rebounding and scoring averaging 17.0 points per game and 9.9 rebounds per game. She leads the SEC in rebounding and is ranked No. 3 in scoring. Faleru is the only player in the league ranked in the top three in both scoring and rebounding. The junior has tallied 15 double-doubles on the year and has reached double-figure rebounds in 16 games in 2013-14. She has tallied career highs in points (31 vs. Kentucky), rebounds (16 vs. Washington State and Kentucky) as well as free throws made (15 vs. Kentucky) this season. Faleru is also closing in on the 1,000 point mark and needs just 66 more points to become Ole Miss’ 26th 1,000-point scorer.
The trophy will be presented Monday, March 3, at an 11:30 a.m. Awards luncheon at the Mississippi Sports Hall of Fame and Museum. Richard Williams, who guided Mississippi State to the Final Four in 1996, will be the featured speaker. For tickets to the March 3 banquet, call 601 982-8264.
The finalists were selected by a state-wide panel of media who cover college basketball in Mississippi. The final vote will take place this week, a weighted vote (90 percent media, 10 percent fans). Fan voting, which is available for the award for the first time, will begin on Tuesday, Feb. 25 at 9 a.m. CST and end on Sunday, March 2 at 5 p.m. By visiting C Spire’s new fan voting website, www.csopavoting.com, fans can vote for their favorite college basketball player by simply providing an email address and name, or connecting through Facebook or Twitter. Once an account is created, the voting can begin and fans can choose their first, second and third place winners. Fans will be able to vote via Facebook, Twitter and text messaging and can submit up to three votes per day during the week-long voting period.
Ole Miss will close out the regular season this week. The Rebels will travel to Missouri on Thursday for a televised contest on Fox Sports Midwest that will air locally on Sports South. Tipoff is at 7 p.m. CT from Missouri’s Mizzou Arena. The Rebels return home on Sunday (March 2) to take on Auburn in the regular season finale. Ole Miss will honor seniors Valencia McFarland, Kenyotta Jenkins and Diara Moore. Tip is set for 2 p.m.
McFarland named Lieberman Award finalist.
SPRINGFIELD, Mass. – Ole Miss senior point guard Valencia McFarland has been named a finalist for the 2014 Nancy Lieberman Award it was announced by the Basketball Hall of Fame on Monday (Feb. 24). McFarland, who was one of four players from the SEC to be named to the watch list in January, is the lone SEC player to be named a finalist.
“This is such an honor,” said McFarland. “To be considered among many great players that are on this list, really is an accomplishment. I’d like to give credit to my coaches and teammates for helping me to achieve such recognition.”
The award sponsored by the Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame and named after the Hall of Famer Nancy Lieberman, recognizes the top point guard in women’s NCAA Division I college basketball. The original watch list of candidates was narrowed down to the below list of 22 by a nationally based committee and will be trimmed to five finalists in March. The Lieberman Award winner will be announced during Final Four weekend activities.
“We are honored to be recognizing these 22 athletes for their strengths, skills and commitment to the game of basketball and are excited to move forward in the selection process,” Lieberman said. “All of these young women deserve to be on the list for this well-respected award and deserve recognition for their determination.”
McFarland has etched her name in Ole Miss women’s basketball history. The Edwards, Miss., native became the 16th 1,000-point scorer during her junior year and currently has 1,568 career points. She currently ranks No. 6 on Ole Miss’ all-time scoring list. She is on her way to becoming one of just three players in school history with 1,000 points and 500 assists and is just 55 assists away from joining former Rebel greats Carol Ross and Glenda Springfield as the only players in program history to hit those marks.
Through her career, McFarland has dished out 445 assists and has topped 100 assists in each of her seasons in Oxford. For her career, she has posted seven games of double-figure assists and set a career-best with 12 assists against Baylor earlier this season. Not only does McFarland score and dish out assists, she is also poised to become just the second player in program history to lead her team in steals all four years, joining Ole Miss great Armintie Price-Herrington. To date, McFarland has 152 steals and has posted 48 steals this season to lead the Rebels.
Previous winners of the Nancy Lieberman Award include last year’s recipient Skylar Diggins (Notre Dame), Sue Bird (Connecticut), Renee Montgomery (Connecticut), Diana Taurasi (Connecticut), Lindsey Harding (Duke), Courtney Vandersloot (Gonzaga), Temeka Johnson (LSU), Kristi Toliver (Maryland), Ivory Latta (North Carolina), and Andrea Riley (Oklahoma State).
— Ole Miss Sports Information
