Athens, Tenn. (Feb. 25, 2011) --- The Milligan College women's basketball team advanced to the championship game of the Appalachian Athletic Conference tournament on Friday night as they used a strong second half to defeat Montreat College 72-62 in James L. Robb Gymnasium in Athens, Tenn.

The first half saw neither team able to gain much of an advantage as Milligan trailed 29-28 at halftime. However, the Buffaloes bounced back and outscored the Lady Cavaliers 44-33 en route to the victory.

Milligan had five players in double figures led by Alisha Mainer (Flag Pond, Tenn.), who had 19 points and eight rebounds. Ashlee Price (Rogersville, Tenn.) had 14 points, while freshman Kayla Kelly (Chattanooga, Tenn.) had 12 points. AAC Player of the week Heather Mandela (Fairfax, Va.) recorded 10 points and 10 rebounds in the game.

As a team, the Buffaloes were 28-of-70 (40%) from the floor and 6-of-29 (21%) from behind the arc. The Lady Cavs were 20-of-65 (31%) from the field and 3-of-15 (20%) from behind the 3-point line.

The second-seeded Buffaloes will square off against the winner of the Tennessee Wesleyan/Bluefield College in the AAC Championship game on Saturday, Feb. 26. Tipoff in Athens, Tenn., is slated for 7 p.m.