The awards for the best college basketball players in the Magnolia State were wrapped in maroon and white with Mississippi State standouts Josh Hubbard and Jessika Carter bringing home the Howell and Gillom trophies on Monday.
Carter, a three-time finalist for the award, finally broke the glass ceiling, earning the nod over Domonique Davis of Southern Miss and Marquesha Davis of Ole Miss.
The senior forward is currently posting a double-double average this season with 14.7 points and 10.1 rebounds. The 2024 second-team All-SEC selection has recorded 13 double-doubles this season, surpassing her previous season-best of 10 and standing as one of six players in the conference to reach the double-digit mark. Her 41 career double-doubles rank third in program history and second among active SEC players.
Carter became one of three players in MSU history to eclipse 1,500 career points and 1,000 career rebounds this season. Her now 1,700 points rank sixth, while 1,097 rebounds and 234 blocks are both third in the program’s record books.
Hubbard, a five-time SEC Freshman of the Week out of Madison, is the first of his class to receive the honor in the trophy’s history, winning it over Matthew Murrell of Ole Miss and Austin Crowley of Southern Miss.
The Bulldog point guard was the most prolific scorer on his team, logging 16.8 points per game and breaking the program record for most three-pointers in a single season, earning him a spot on the conference’s All-Freshman Team.
Also receiving a selection on the Second Team All-SEC roster, Hubbard set the Bulldogs’ freshmen single-season record with 521 points this year. He closed out the regular season with five consecutive games of 20-plus points, the longest run by a Mississippi State player since Jeff Malone accomplished the feat with 11 straight games in 1982-83.
State captures its sixth Howell/Gillom Trophy sweep 🤩
Congratulations Josh and Jessika!#HailState🐶 pic.twitter.com/qv9P1otAt5
— Mississippi State Athletics (@HailState) March 11, 2024
The Mississippi State men’s team (19-12, 8-10 SEC), sitting as a No. 11 seed in ESPN Joe Lunardi’s latest NCAA Tournament bracket, is currently on a four-game losing streak and will look to find a win against LSU on Thursday afternoon in the SEC Tournament. That game will tip off at noon central.
The Lady Bulldogs (21-11, 8-8 SEC), on the other hand, lost six of their last seven games and was a first-round exit from the SEC Tournament. The team will have its fate determined for them on Selection Sunday.
ABOUT THE TROPHIES
The Gillom Trophy is named after 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 women’s basketball team at Ole Miss.
The Howell Trophy is named after Bailey Howell, a two-time All-American at Mississippi State 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 records at Mississippi State.
