Brittany shooting a free throw earlier this season at Notre Dame
Brittany Rayburn and Drey Mingo led the Boilers to the opening round win today against Kansas State 53-45. They were led by impressive efforts of juniors Brittany Rayburn and Drey Mingo. Brittany finished the game with 21 points, and Drey finished with 16 points. They really picked up the scoring when nobody else seemed to want to score. I don’t think that you can state enough what a force Brittany was in the second half when the Boilers needed some points. This is the player we love to see. When she has her confidence she is tough to defend.
The Boilers had a nice halftime lead, but came out of the half shooting only 1-11. That is when it seemed like Brittany decided to put the team on her shoulders. The Boilers had chances late to ice it with free throws, but Courtney Moses missed the front end of her 1-and-1. She had just made one as part of a three point play so it was surprising that she missed. She is a freshman though so you have to expect some jitters in the tourney.
For Kansas State Brittany Chambers was huge. She seemed to catch fire in the second half to get her team going. She finished the game with 18 points. That being said Dee Dee Williams did a good job on Chambers for most of the game. She forced her into some difficult shots late with the game in the balance.
This is a nice win for the Boilers. As a reward they get to play the #1 team in the country on their home floor. That is a tall order for any team. From what I have seen this season though the ladies will come to play. They can’t have scoring lapses as they had today though if they want to have a shot. It will take the perfect game to beat UConn at home. I haven’t seen them play that perfect game yet this season so they still have it in waiting. Time to pull it out girls. The game will be at 6:00 central time Tuesday.
Confessions of a Sports Junkie 