JOHNSON CITY, Tenn. (Nov. 1, 2014) â€" Hayley Wyrick led the Milligan College women's basketball team with 17 points, but depth and a strong inside presence helped ETSU ultimately run away with an 84-53 victory Saturday afternoon in each team's exhibition opener at Brooks Gym.

Milligan, which will officially open the season at home on Wednesday, led by as many as five in the first half and kept it a one-possession game through the first 14 minutes, but a 15-7 run by the Buccaneers over the last seven minutes of the first half and a 17-10 run over the first five and a half minutes of the second half proved to be too much for the Buffaloes.

Milligan kept it close in the first half in large part due to the 3-point basket. Chelsey Weddle knocked down two first-half triples, including one from the corner that tied the game, 21-21, at the 7:17 mark in the first half. Callie Cox, who converted three 3-pointers in the first half, hit one from the same spot five minutes later that cut the ETSU lead down to five (30-25).

Weddle had seven points in the first half-and would have had nine but a 15-footer she hit at the buzzer was waved off. Weddle finished the game with 10 points and team highs in assists (four) and rebounds (four), and was joined in double figures by Wyrick and sophomore Kelly Barnett (11). Wyrick and Barnett combined to go 11-for-11 from the free throw line.

Cox finished with nine points, all of which came in the first half.

Milligan trailed 36-28 at the half, but Wyrick helped the Buffs jump out to a quick start after the halftime break, hitting a 3-pointer on the opening possession then converting an old-fashioned 3-point play inside the 18-minute mark to cut the deficit to six. ETSU, however, answered with a 6-0 run to go back up by double figures before ending the game on a 22-7 run over the last 10 minutes.

ETSU managed to score 60 points in the paint and 19 points on a second chance in the victory. Senior forward Serena Clark led the Buccaneers with 17 points on 8-of-11 shooting while adding five rebounds, two blocks and two steals. Three other Buccaneers had double figures in scoring, including Maria Bond (13) and Shomari Kendrick (12), each off the bench.

Milligan was held to 30.6 percent (15-49) shooting on the afternoon while ETSU shot 51.4 percent (36-70). The Buccaneers only made one basket (12 attempts) beyond the 3-point line.

Milligan will next be in action in the regular season opener on Wednesday, Nov. 5 at 5:30 p.m. against St. Catharine College. The men will follow that night at 7:30 p.m. against Alice Lloyd College, but not before facing ETSU in an exhibition game of their own on Monday, Nov. 3 at 7 p.m. inside Freedom Hall.