Last fall, Victoria Vivians made a small joke in passing to a friend. They had been talking about the newly-elected 2016 Homecoming Queen when Vivians said, you know what, she’d like try for that next year. Why not?
The thought faded soon as the hoops star turned her focus to the upcoming basketball season. That junior campaign turned out to be not only the best of Vivians’ career, but the best in the history of Mississippi State women’s basketball. In fact, it was the best in the history of all MSU sports, as Vivians and her teammates raced out to a record-breaking start and wound their way to the National Championship Game in Dallas this April, securing that appearance by pulling off one of the biggest upsets in basketball history as they ended UConn’s 111-game winning streak.