Published: February 29, 2008 01:17 pm         

Rayburn leads Lady Eagles at EKU

Sophomore nets double-double in MSU's 68-65 win

Sophomore Brandi Rayburn posted her second consecutive double-double with team highs of 21 points and 12 rebounds, and senior Tarah Combs broke the Morehead State single season record for three-pointers Tuesday night at Eastern Kentucky, but it was a 10-foot jumper in the lane with 1:05 left by freshman Candyce Flynn.

- MSU's only points off the bench all night - that proved to be the game-winner as the Eagles rallied from as many as eight down in the second half to defeat the Lady Colonels 68-65 and give MSU a season sweep of EKU for the second

straight season.

MSU is now 9-18 overall and 7-11 in the OVC.

With the win MSU helped itself in its bid for an Ohio Valley Conference tournament berth. Sitting in ninth place entering the night, the Eagles are now at seven league wins.

A Tennessee Tech loss to Murray State this Thursday assures MSU of a spot because the Eagles hold a head-to-head tiebreaker over TTU. The Eagles trailed by eight (55-47) with 8:26 left but kept the game within striking distance instead of letting it get out of hand. The Eagles whittled away at the lead and still trailed 65-61 with 2:01 remaining. But, with 1:36 left, senior guard Anitha Smith-Williams, who also had a game-high seven assists, backed up

her defender Ashley Cazee inside the three point line on the left side.

When Cazee backed up even more, Smith-Williams turned around, stepped back, and calmly drilled a three-pointer to bring MSU back to within 65-64.

The Lady Colonels then missed two straight jumpers on their end of the floor, setting the stage for Flynn's eventual game-winner. She got around her defender and pulled up in the lane, sinking her only basket of the evening to push the Eagles on top 66-65.

On the opposite end, MSU's Brittany Pittman blocked her third shot of the night, giving the Eagles a chance for insurance.

Freshman Chynna Bozeman ran the shot clock down to the end and sank a jumper in the lane. Cazee missed what have been a game-tying three-pointer at the buzzer.

Rayburn had another fantastic effort before fouling out with 4:09 left. She hit 6-of-13 from the field and also hit two three-pointers. For the second straight game, she also had three offensive boards and nine defensive caroms to tie a career high. Combs, meanwhile, hit five treys on the night and registered 15 points. She needed just three to break Sherita Joplin's season record of 80 and now has 83. Bozeman and Pittman also reached double figures in the scoring column with 12 and 10, respectively. Pittman pulled down nine rebounds.

Crystal Jones led the Lady Colonels with 23 points, including a 10-for-10 night at the free throw line. Cazee put in 12 points.

The Eagles won the battle on the glass, 36-33, and shot 81 percent at the free throw line. Morehead State used six

three-pointers in the first half to build as much as a 12-point lead at one point (25-13). EKU, however, chipped away at that lead and actually rallied back to take a 32-30 first half lead with 1:32 left. At the break though, MSU led 35-33.MSU shot 43 percent for the game and held EKU to just 33 percent, including only 4-of-22 from three-point range.