Anne Marie Lanning

Senior Anne Marie Lanning entered Sunday’s game against Denver needing just eight points to become the 25^th player in Lady Raider history to score 1,000. She was also looking to help her team stay unbeaten in conference play.

Lanning accomplished both of those feats during the game as she led the Raiders to a 71-68 win. The first of those goals came with 5:35 remaining in the first half when she hit shot clock-beating three-pointer over the outstretched arm of a Denver defender.

“I didn’t even think about my 1,000 points, I was just like wow, I got lucky on that one,” Lanning said. “I hear the clock running down and I just kind of threw it up there. It really means a lot to me and I’m happy I could get it with the teammates I have.”

The crowd gave Lanning a standing ovation following the score, but she wasn’t the only one putting in a noteworthy performance in the game.

Freshman Ebony Rowe put in some of her most prolific minutes on the offensive side of the ball, especially in the game’s first half. At halftime Rowe hat 17 points and nine rebounds, including four offensive boards.

“Ebony is just amazing,” head coach Rick Insell said. “She gets on the boards. Some of those first half put-backs she just went a got. They were not hers, she just got them. You’ve got to be born with that, you don’t coach that.”

Icelyn Elie also put in some very impressive first half minutes, shooting three of four from the field, but had her game limited with foul trouble.

With that first half success the Raiders only led Denver 38-36 at the half. Thanks in part to the team shooting 57.1 percent from the field and 50 percent from behind the arc.

“They’ve got a very, very good basketball team, I’ve tried to tell everyone in the conference how good they are,” Insell said. “They handle the ball so well, they know exactly what they want to do and are able to execute.”

The second half saw the Raiders go on a big run fueled by Rowe and Elie making plays inside.

“We were a little bit afraid a with Ice with three fouls to let her be aggressive on the offensive,” Insell said. “I’m telling you, she cut the lane a time or two, got some put backs, made some great shots.”

Denver made a late push for a comeback victory, going on a 10-1 run from the 5:05 mark to the 40 second mark in the game, closing the lead to two.

Middle pushed the lead back to three when Icelyn Elie knocked down one of two free throws after being fouled on an inbound pass.

The next Denver possession ended with a miss by Kaetlyn Murdoch, one of only two misses for Murdoch on the night. Tina Steward grabbed the rebound and got the ball to Lanning who knocked down two free throws, pushing the lead to five.

Stewart was called for a foul on a three-point shot the next time Denver had the ball. Britteni Rice hit two of three shots for the Pioneers, cutting  the lead back to three.

After another Raider rebound Stewart was fouled and sent to the line where she missed the first half of a 1 and 1, giving Denver one last chance to tie the game with 1.9 seconds remaining.

Icelyn Elie stole a long inbound pass by Denver, sealing a Raider victory. Elie was one of three Raiders to score in double digits with 16.

The other two were Lanning with 18, 1,010 for her career, and Rowe with 24, two points shy of her career high. Rowe also grabbed 17 rebounds, including 10 offensive, making the game her 10^th double-double in 20 career games.

Insell stressed the importance of having Lanning on the court and her role on the team.

“She’s our MVP. She does everything for us. She initiates our offense. If you watch, every possession goes through Anne Marie Lanning. She may not be the best player on our basketball team, but in her teammates’ eyes and our coaches’ eyes, she is the MVP of our team. She might be the MVP of our conference before it’s all said and done.”

The Raider now head on the road for games at Florida Atlantic and Florida International hoping to stay unbeaten in the conference where they now stand 7-0, 16-4 overall.