The Lady Eagles’ senior point guard Jamierra Faulkner received the C Spire Gillom Trophy, given to the top women’s college basketball player in Mississippi.
The West Palm Beach, Fla., native became the first Southern Miss player to win the award, leading the Lady Eagles to the most wins since the 1993-94 season with 23. The Lady Eagles also set a school record for the most Conference USA wins with 12.
“We are excited for Jamierra and it is an honor that is well deserved,” said USM women’s head basketball coach Joye Lee-McNelis. “She has been the difference maker and the heart and soul of this team.”
McNelis also said without the stellar point guard, the program would not be as successful.
Faulkner leads the NCAA in assists, averaging 8.5 per game. She also set the record for the nation’s top single game performance in posting a career-high 17 assists, tying the C-USA record and breaking the Southern Miss single
game record.
The standout guard is the only player in Southern Miss history to dish out 800 or more assists and only the second player in Conference USA to accomplish this. In addition, Faulkner set a single season record with 238 assists and recorded double-digit points or assists in 26 of the 28 games this season.
“I am very honored to receive this award,” Faulkner said. “There was a lot of hard work that went into this.”
Selected by College Sports Madness, the Preseason All-Conference USA point guard sits third all-time in school history in points scored with 1,940 points and eighth all-time in Conference USA. She registered a career-high 39 points this season, which is the fourth-most ever in a Southern Miss game. She almost broke roughly a 16-year-old record for the most made three-point field goals in a game with eight against Old Dominion.
Defensively, Faulkner produced 348 steals and sits as the school’s all-time leader in steals and second in Conference USA.
Some of Faulkner’s recognition includes being a finalist for the prestigious 2014 Nancy Lieberman Point Guard of the Year, second consecutive Preseason All-Conference USA First Team by the league, College Sports Madness Mid-Major National Player of the Week and MVP of the Hampton Inn Thanksgiving Classic.
“I thank my coaches and teammates for help making me a better player,” Faulkner said. “All my hard work has paid off.”
Going into Wednesday night’s game, Faulkner is averaging 17.3 points per game, 8.5 assists, 3.2 rebounds and 3.1 steals for the season. She will look to lead the Lady Eagles to their ninth NCAA tournament appearance by winning the C-USA tournament.
