Tigerville, S.C. (Dec. 11, 2010) --- The Milligan College women's basketball team won their eighth straight game on Saturday afternoon as they defeated NCAA Division II North Greenville University 85-80 in Tigerville, S.C.

Tracy Hardiman (Maryville, Tenn.) got five points in the first five minutes to help the Lady Buffs open the game on an 11-0 run. Milligan continued to slowly add to their lead as Alisha Mainer (Flag Pond, Tenn.) gave the Lady Buffs a 25-10 lead with 7:58 left in the half. The Lady Crusaders slowly chipped away at the Milligan lead as the Lady Buffs led 40-31 at the break.

North Greenville pulled within two points in the first four minutes of the half. However, Dorian Freeman (Augusta, Ga.) scored five straight points to pull Milligan out to a seven point lead, and Heather Mandela (Fairfax, Va.) added four more points to give the Lady Buffs a 53-42 lead with 14:02 left in the game.

The Lady Crusaders made another run to cut the lead to three points at the midway point of the half. However, Milligan went on another 10-0 run and then withstood a late NG run to secure the victory.

Mandela and Freeman led the Lady Buffs with 15 points apiece. Johneshia Good (Johnson City, Tenn.) added 12 points. Hardiman scored 10 points, while Ashlee Price (Rogersville, Tenn.) and Jaimee Hill (Johnson City, Tenn.) had nine points apiece.

As a team, the Lady Buffs were 29-of-53 (55%) from the floor and 4-of-15 (27%) from behind the 3-point line. The Lady Crusaders were 27-of-68 (40%) from the field and 7-of-18 (39%) from behind the arc.

With the win, the Lady Buffs move to 11-3 overall.

Milligan returns to action after Christmas when they travel to Boca Raton, Fla., for a two game road trip. They open the trip on Wednesday, Dec. 29, when they face Lynn University. Tipoff is slated for 4 p.m.