Milligan College, Tenn. (Feb. 6, 2010) --- The Milligan College women's basketball team had a decisive victory over AAC foe Bryan (Tenn.) College Saturday afternoon in Steve Lacy Fieldhouse by the final 74-52. 

The Milligan women got off to a hot start in the afternoon contest as they opened with a commanding 15-2 lead over the visiting Lady Lions. Bryan responded mid-way through the half cutting their deficient to as little as eight, but at the break, the Lady Buffs took a 39-26 lead into the locker room.

The difference for the Lady Buffs in the opening half was their tenacious defense and an impressive shooting performance. Milligan forced 12 Bryan turnovers and held the Lady Lions to 8-of-20 shooting from the floor in the first half. Moreover, the Lady Buffs were 14-of-24 (.583 percent) from the field and 5-of-8 (.625 percent) from beyond the arc.

For the Lady Buffs, the second half seemed to mirror the first as the Milligan women extended their lead courtesy of a 12-2 run in the opening minutes. The home team did not let up as they used their full court pressure to force nine additional turnovers and hold Bryan to their third lowest point total of the season.  

Overall, the Lady Buffs shot 26-of-49 (53%) from the field and 10-of-18 (56%) from behind the arc, while the Lady Lions were 18-of-44 (41%) from the field and 0-of-5 from behind the 3-pointline.

For the Lady Buffs, Heather Mandela (Fairfax, Va.) paced the way with her 14 point and seven rebound performance. Former Lady Hilltopper Jaimee Hill (Johnson City, Tenn.) pitched in 12 points and three assists, while Samantha Blevins (Spruce Pine, N.C.) had 12 points thanks to a perfect 3-of-3 shooting performance from beyond the arc.   

“Today's win was very important to us, especially in the (AAC) standings,” commented Head Coach Rich Aubrey. “I said back at the AAC Media Day in late October that anybody can beat anybody and that the conference was going to be a tough struggle and that is how it is playing out. It was big for us to get the win, but I think it was also big for us to play well.” 

Offensively for the Lady Lions, senior Amber Smith led the way with 18 points and six rebounds, while freshman Morgan Burnette also pitched in 12 points for the visitors.  

With the win, the Lady Buffs improve to 16-10 on the year and 8-4 in the league, while the Lady Lions fall to 16-9 overall and 6-6 in the AAC.  

The Milligan College women's basketball team hosts the Lady Rams of Bluefield (Va.) College Wednesday, Feb. 10, inside Steve Lacy Fieldhouse for the second game of their four game home stand. Tip-off for the AAC matchup is scheduled for 5:30 p.m.