JACKSON, Miss – Millsaps women's basketball senior forward Andrea Rayford netted 17 points to go along with five rebounds, two steals and two blocks in a 56-43 loss to the Sewanee Tigers on Friday. First year guard Whitney Novak was excellent defensively with a team-high seven rebounds, four points, two steals and one block.

Millsaps (8-12, 3-6 SAA) played well as a defensive unit as they held their opponents to 40.4 percent shooting from the field. Sewanee (8-12, 3-7 SAA) converted 28 turnovers into 28 points and their reserves outscored the Majors' bench, 12-4.

With the Majors up 13-11 in a tightly contested first quarter, a driving Emily Adams found Rayford under the basket in the final minute to give Millsaps a four-point lead going into the second.

Millsaps did not score another basket in the first five minutes of the second frame and Sewanee capitalized with a 10-0 run. With just over one minute left in the half, junior guard Emily Sims drove baseline and dropped the ball off to Rayford for a layup to cut the deficit to 21-19. The Tigers responded with a split at the free throw line to take a three-point lead heading into the intermission.

Sewanee opened up the third quarter scoring eight of the first 12 points for a 30-23 lead. A pull-up jumper by second year Helena Roe cut the Majors' deficit to 30-25 with 4:09 remaining in the third. However, the Tigers would take their largest lead of the game at 36-25 heading into the fourth.

On Millsaps' first possession of the final quarter, Novak kicked the ball out to Rayford again for a free throw-line jumper. With the Majors dialing up the pressure with a full court press, junior guard Elecia Lartigue converted on back-to-back driving layups to make it a 36-31 game and force a Sewanee timeout with 8:07 remaining.

Following the timeout, Sewanee responded with a made layup to push their lead back up to seven points. Neither team would score again for almost two minutes until the Tigers knocked down a pair of free throws for a 40-31 advantage. With the Majors in the bonus, Adams was fouled and made her free throws to make it a 40-33 game with just over five minutes left.

Millsaps would cut into the lead even more when Rayford was fouled on consecutive plays and made three-out-of-four free throws to cut it to a 40-36 game with 4:23 left. Sewanee was able to extend their lead back to nine after making a three and layup on back-to-back possessions.

The Majors closed the gap to 49-43, but Sewanee would corral two offensive rebounds in the final minute to hold on for a 56-43 victory.

The Majors will be back in action for the final home game of the regular season, hosting Centre for Senior Day on Sunday. Tipoff is set for 12 p.m. inside the Hangar Dome. Live video and stats links are available on the women's basketball schedule page at gomajors.com.


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