MILLIGAN COLLEGE, Tenn. (Jan. 14, 2019) â€" It was a block party at Steve Lacy Fieldhouse Monday night in an Appalachian Athletic Conference women's basketball game, and senior Mackenzie Raizor came away with a triple-double to lead Milligan College to a 77-67 win over Columbia College.
 
Raizor posted 14 points, 16 rebounds and 10 blocks, her final block coming with two and a half minutes left, as Milligan improved to 14-3 (12-1 AAC) with its fifth straight win. It helped Milligan move within one game of Bryan for the league lead.
 
RAIZOR'S MARKS MAKE MILLIGAN HISTORY
Raizor's triple-double was the first on Milligan record since at least the turn of the century. Her 10 blocks smashed the previous Milligan record of seven set by Becky Sells, Milligan's all-time leading scorer and shot blocker who also owns the NAIA career rebounding record. Sells set the previous single-game mark of seven blocks against Covenant College Jan. 18, 1997.
 
Monday marked Raizor's sixth double-double of the season, which leads Milligan and ranks No. 3 in the AAC. Raizor is the fourth player in NAIA Division II to register a triple-double this season, but the first to do so with blocks as one of the categories.
 
BUFFS RESILIENCE LEADS TO FIFTH STRAIGHT WIN
Columbia put up quite a fight for the 10th-place team in the league, but Milligan had the answer at every turn. In the first half, Columbia went up by seven before Milligan put together a 7-0 run to draw the game even. Teal Davis scored four points while Raizor scored three and blocked a shot during that stretch.
 
The game proceeded to go back and forth well into the second half. Milligan went ahead by six (44-38) at the break but ended up trailing by five (52-47) midway through the third quarter. It was then another 7-0 run, highlighted by four points by Sarah Robinson and three from Emma Kate Brown, that put Milligan into the lead, and the Buffs never trailed again. Robinson had the final go-ahead basket underneath with an assist from Brown to make it 53-52 with under three minutes to go in the third.
 
To cap it all off, Milligan used yet another 7-0 run to end the period ahead 61-54. Cassidy Anderson started it with a 3-pointer to give Milligan the lead, and Raizor had her seventh block of the game in the closing seconds.
 
The two 7-0 runs from Milligan in the third quarter were part of a larger 14-2 run over the final four and a half minutes of the third.
 
Columbia did make one final push midway through the fourth, cutting it to a one-point game, but Brown hit one of her three made threes on the night to push the lead back to four. Milligan then made free throws down the stretch to seal the win.
 
MILLIGAN LEADERS
Raizor was one of five Buffs in double figures for scoring. Brown led the way with 15 points off the bench; Robinson scored 13 points and added five rebounds, four assists, three blocks and three steals; Kaely Gose scored 12 points with six rebounds, two assists and three blocks; and Andi Lamb scored 11 points.
 
In all, Milligan registered 16 blocks as a team.
 
Raizor went 6-of-16 from the field. Brown was 5-of-8 from the field and 3-for-4 from three. As a team, Milligan shot 42 percent from the field and 26 percent from the perimeter.
 
FOR COLUMBIA
Denijah Johnson led all scorers with a double-double of her own: 24 points, 16 rebounds. Three other Koalas made it to double figures, including Morgan Varn who scored 11 points and gathered 12 rebounds. Columbia fell to 5-8 (5-8 AAC).
 
UP NEXT
Milligan finishes its current five-game homestand Wednesday when the Buffs host Columbia International University in an AAC game at Steve Lacy Fieldhouse. Opening tip is set for 5:30 p.m. with a men's game to follow at approximately 7:30 p.m.