BARBOURVILLE, Ky. (Dec. 10, 2016) â€" Kelly Barnett scored 18 points and three other Buffs entered double figures in scoring as the No. 23 Milligan College women's basketball team topped Union College on the road Saturday afternoon in an Appalachian Athletic Conference first-place showdown.
 
Milligan (9-4, 6-1 AAC) and Union (10-3, 5-2 AAC), which is receiving votes in the latest NAIA top-25 poll, entered Saturday as part of a three-way tie with Reinhardt University for the lead in the AAC. With the win, Milligan moved into a share of the lead with Reinhardt, which is also receiving votes in the NAIA top-25 poll.
 
Barnett was one point shy of matching her career high as she helped Milligan jump out on top to an early lead of nine points, 18-9, five and a half minutes into the game. The early advantage in the first quarter proved to be the difference.
 
Sarah Robinson was one of three other Buffs to reach double-digit scoring, finishing with her sixth double-double this season. Robinson had 16 points and 14 rebounds, including eight on the offensive end.
 
Hayley Wyrick and Courtney Wilson added to Milligan's offensive effort in a big way with 13 and 10, respectively. Wilson, off the bench, was two rebounds shy of a double-double herself with eight boards.
 
After getting the lead up to nine early in the game, Milligan led throughout the entire second quarter and eventually went into the locker room at the half leading 45-35. The Buffs had gone ahead by as many as 15 when Barnett hit one of her two triples of the game to make it 45-30 late in the opening half.
 
Union was able to trim the deficit down to two with a run early in the second half, but Barnett answered it with her other triple to put the Buffs back up by five. Then later in the fourth quarter, the Bulldogs again trimmed it to a two-point game but Morgan Gose had the answer this time, knocking down a three to make it 68-63 with under seven minutes left.
 
Wilson followed with a 3-pointer for Milligan's next basket, and the Buffs had a two-possession advantage the rest of the way.
 
Milligan shot 47.1 percent from the field for the game while limiting Union to 41.3 percent.
 
For Union, Maci Spence led all scorers with 22 points while adding five assists. Brianna Adler scored 17 points.
 
Milligan has three more road games scheduled for 2016 as the Buffs travel to Florida for two games next week before heading north for a New Year's Eve game versus Longwood University. The Buffs will be back home on Jan. 7, 2017.