Montreat, N.C. (Feb. 16, 2011) --- AAC Player of the week Heather Mandela (Fairfax, Va.) led the Milligan women's basketball team to an important AAC victory on Wednesday night as they defeated Montreat College 80-76 in Montreat, N.C. The win sets Milligan up for a second place finish in the AAC standings with a win over Reinhardt on Saturday.

Mandela scored 32 points and nine rebounds in the game. She was 12-of-16 from the floor. Alisha Mainer (Flag Pond, Tenn.) was 10-for-10 from the free throw line, including two key free throws in the game's final minute, as she scored 15 points and had five rebounds. Kayla Kelley (Chattanooga, Tenn.) and Jaime Hill (Johnson City, Tenn.) had 10 points apiece.

As a team, Milligan out-rebounded the Lady Cavaliers 42-30 in the game.

With the win, the Buffaloes improve to 21-8 overall and 9-4 in the AAC.

Milligan returns to action on Saturday, Feb. 19, when they host Reinhardt University inside Steve Lacy Fieldhouse for senior day. Tipoff is slated for 5:30 p.m.