Barbourville, Ky. (Dec. 3, 2010) --- The No. 21 Milligan College Lady Buffs basketball team opened the 2010 Union College Lady Bulldog Classic with a 86-77 victory over Tennessee Temple University on Friday night in Barbourville, Ky.

The Lady Buffs slowly built up a lead as they led 18-11 eight minutes into the game with a jump shot from Alisha Mainer (Flag Pond, Tenn.) and two Victoria Dailey (Knoxville, Tenn.) free throws. A Johneshia Good (Johnson City, Tenn.) 3-pointer gave Milligan their first double digit lead of the night as they led by 12 with six minutes remaining in the first half, and the Lady Buffs maintained that advantage until halftime as the Lady Buffs led 45-33 at the break.

The second half saw Jaimee Hill (Johnson City, Tenn.) and Heather Mandela (Fairfax, Va.) help Milligan add to the lead as they led by 17 with 15 minutes remaining in the game. However, the Lady Crusaders slowly chipped away at the Milligan lead as they pulled within four points with a 1:19 remaining in the game. The closing minute saw Mandela add seven points from the free throw line, while Ashlee Price (Rogersville, Tenn.) added two more free throws to help preserve the Lady Buffs victory.

Mandela led the way with 26 points and 17 rebounds, while Good added 18 points and five assists. Mainer had 14 points and nine rebounds, and Hill added 11 points.

With the win, the Lady Buffs improve to 9-3 overall.

Milligan returns to action on the second day of the Lady Bulldog Classic as they will take on Harris Stowe on Saturday, Dec. 4. Tipoff is slated for 2 p.m.