Brittany Rayburn awarded an NCAA Postgraduate Scholarship

WEST LAFAYETTE, Ind. (WLFI) - Former Purdue women's basketball student-athlete Brittany Rayburn was awarded an NCAA Postgraduate Scholarship and will be recognized for her accomplishment Thursday night when the 11th-ranked Boilermakers take on Indiana at 6:30 p.m. ET in Mackey Arena.

Rayburn, who was a second team Academic All-American as a senior, is in her first year at Purdue's School of Veterinary Medicine. The Attica, Ind., native is just the third Boilermaker women's basketball player to earn an NCAA Postgraduate Scholarship. Sue Bartz received the accolade in 1982 and Cindy Lamping was honored in 1995.

The NCAA awards up to 174 postgraduate scholarships annually to student-athletes who achieve in both the academic and athletic arenas. The one-time, $7,500 grant is given to up to 29 men and 29 women in their final year of athletic eligibility for each of the fall, winter and spring seasons.

Rayburn graduated in May 2012 with a degree in animal sciences and a minor in biology. She was a three-time Academic All-Big Ten Team member, three-time CoSIDA Academic All-District, two-time Big Ten Distinguished Scholar and a member of Purdue's Mortar Board. She also did research in the veterinary school analyzing the gait of dachshunds.

The 6-foot guard was instrumental in Purdue's 2012 Big Ten Tournament championship, garnering Most Outstanding Player honors. Rayburn earned multiple conference honors in her four years as a Boilermaker, highlighted by second team All-Big Ten as a senior and a junior, Big Ten Sixth Player of the Year as a freshman as well as a member of the Big Ten All-Freshman Team. Rayburn led the Boilermakers in scoring for three-straight years, averaging 14.8 points per game as a senior. She is second all-time in made three-pointers at Purdue with 201 and tied an NCAA record by hitting 12 three-pointers at Minnesota on Jan. 12, 2012. The Attica, Ind., native left Purdue having amassed 1,795 career points, 427 rebounds, 248 assists and 151 steals.

To qualify for an NCAA Postgraduate Scholarship, a student-athlete must have an overall grade-point average of 3.200 (on a 4.000 scale) or its equivalent. In addition, he or she must have performed with distinction as a member of a varsity team and must intend to continue academic work beyond the baccalaureate degree as a full-time or part-time graduate student.

Rayburn will be presented with a certificate commemorating her NCAA Postgraduate Scholarship during the final media timeout of the Purdue-Indiana women's basketball game Jan. 31.