MSU women close year with another loss

January 04, 2008 12:50 pm

— ATHENS, Ohio - Senior Tarah Combs moved into a tie for second place on the Morehead State career three-pointers made chart, senior Afton Perry posted her second double-double of the season, and sophomore Brandi Rayburn scored a season high 11 points, but MSU shot just 28 percent and fell to the host Ohio Bobcats, 76-54, last Sunday at the Convocation center.
The Eagles fell to 3-9 on the year, while Ohio moved to 6-6. Combs hit five three-pointers for the second straight game and led MSU with 15 - also the second straight game leading MSU with 15 points. She was 5-of-9 from beyond the arc and now has 173 career treys, moving her into a second place tie at Morehead State with Beth Ousley.
Perry posted 14 points and 11 rebounds, including seven offensive boards, for her second career double-double. She also added two blocked shots. Rayburn, who has only played sparingly this season, came off the bench and hit a trio of three-pointers to finish with 11 points. She also posted a season high six rebounds. The rest of the Eagles, however, suffered through a tough time shooting the ball. MSU hit just 7-of-31 in the first half and improved slightly to 33 percent in the final half. For the game, the Eagles hit just 28 percent (18-of-64).
Ohio got a team high 16 points from Simone Redd and 15 from Lauren Kohn. Chandra Myers had 11 and Jennifer Bushby put in 12 points. The Bobcats didn't have much trouble shooting on their home floor as MSU allowed a season high 51 percent. Ohio also out-rebounded MSU 46-34. OU had 20 assists but also 22 turnovers and eight blocks.
Ohio jumped out a 7-0 lead and led 18-8 at the 9:59 mark of the first half. A Combs' three-pointer brought MSU to within 23-19 with 3:16 left, and a free throw trimmed OU's lead to its lowest (23-20) with 1:18 left. But, two treys by the Bobcats resulted in the hosts leading 29-22 at the half.
MSU appeared to be out of the game quickly in the final half, trailing 37-24 with 17:19 left, but a fast 8-0 run highlighted by Rayburn's and Marceya Mingo's three-pointers had the Eagles sitting at just a 37-32 deficit with 15:42 left. A 16-3 run, however, by OU - capped by a Kohn shot at 10:20 - effectively put away MSU. The Eagles started the second half 4-of-7 from the field but were 0-of-8 in that stretch and could not recover. The largest lead proved to be the final margin.