PIKEVILLE, Ky. (Dec. 14, 2015) â€" Allison Jones had her fifth straight double-digit scoring effort while Kelly Barnett had her ninth consecutive game with a 3-pointer, but it was points in the paint and points off turnovers that cost the Milligan College women's basketball team in an 80-62 decision to the University of Pikeville Monday night at the East Kentucky Expo Center.

Milligan fell to 12-2 on the year while Pikeville, who is ranked No. 23 in the NAIA Division I women's basketball top-25 poll, stayed unbeaten at 11-0.

Callie Cox led Milligan with 13 points and four steals, while Barnett added two triples for six points and a career-high seven rebounds. Jones scored 11 points with three assists while freshman Mackenzie Raizor finished with a career-high in points (nine) and in boards (six).

In addition to being outscored 40-18 in the paint and 19-14 in points off of turnovers, the Buffaloes also fell due to two scoreless stretches in the first half and poor shooting from the field. Overall, Milligan was 30.2 percent for the game from the field (19-63), 29.2 percent from three (7-24), and the Buffs missed five free throws in the opening half. Pikeville reached over 50 percent shooting from the field late in the third quarter and was 50 percent from 3-point range for the entire game.

Sarah Robinson scored Milligan's first two baskets of the game and Cox connected on a 3-pointer to give the Buffs an 8-4 lead two minutes in. The Bears, however, then shut out Milligan over the next four and a half minutes to take their first lead of the game.

Pikeville then closed the opening quarter with a 12-5 run to expand its lead to six at 23-15 and take advantage of Milligan going cold from the field (29.4 percent, 5-17) and from three (2-8). The Bears also outrebounded Milligan 14-4 in the quarter and outscored the Buffs 16-4 on points in the paint. Milligan forced five Pikeville turnovers to keep the game within shouting distance.

Despite the Buffs' effort to keep the game close, they were unable to take advantage of Pikeville not scoring for the first four and a half minutes of the second quarter due to themselves going scoreless for nearly 4:45 of clock time at the end of the first quarter and beginning of the second.

Milligan's two 3-pointers in the first quarter both came from Cox, who was 2-2 from long range in the frame and the only Buff to connect on a three until Barnett hit one at the 6:25 mark in the second quarter. Those were the first points of the quarter for either team, bringing the score to 23-18.

The Buffs then got within four points as Morgan Gose made a free throw before the Bears used an old-fashioned 3-point play followed by two regular 3-pointers to make it 32-19 with under four and a half minutes to go until halftime. An 8-2 Milligan run got the Buffs' deficit back down to seven at 34-27 before six straight Pikeville points in the final 2:30 of the half gave the Bears their 13-point lead back.

At the break, Milligan was below 30 percent shooting both from the field (28.1 percent, 9-32) and from three (25 percent, 3-12), and was at 55 percent from the free throw line (54.6, 6-11) compared to Pikeville, who shot nearly 50 percent from the field (48.7 percent, 18-37) in the half. The Buffs did, however, battle back in the rebounding column, grabbing 18 of 27 opportunities.

After trading baskets with Pikeville for the majority of the third quarter, Milligan used a 7-2 run to get the score back down to single digits at 55-46 with two minutes to go before Pikeville struck back with a run of 7-0 to keep the Buffs down by 16, 62-46, heading into the final 10 minutes. M. Raizor scored her first three baskets of the game in the quarter while Savannah Raizor connected on the two free throws that got Milligan to within nine points.

Pikeville put four players in double-digit scoring as Kandice Porter had a game-high 16, Aundrea Matchen had 13, and both Devin Conley and Dinyell Calvert had 12.

Next up, the Buffs return to action after Christmas on Wednesday, Dec. 30, as they travel to Campbellsville University for a 7 p.m. matchup. Milligan will then start off the spring portion of the season at the Steve Lacy Fieldhouse on Saturday, Jan. 2, against Union College, at 2 p.m., with the men's game to follow.