MILLIGAN COLLEGE, Tenn. (Dec. 8, 2016) â€" After dropping its first Appalachian Athletic Conference game of the season, the No.23 ranked Milligan College women's basketball team rebounded against the Bluefield College Rams in the Buffaloes' last home game of the 2016 calendar year. Led by four players reaching double figures, Milligan cruised to a 69-59 victory.
 
Milligan (8-4, 5-1 AAC) set the tempo early and took control of the game in the first quarter. Sarah Robinson, the team's leading scorer on the season, scored eight of her 12 points in the opening 10 minutes. Senior Lindsee Price, the AAC's leader in assists, added three helpers to her season total. She finished with four in the game.
 
From the start of the second quarter until the final minutes of the fourth, the Buffaloes' lead was never smaller than 12 and was as large as 28 midway through the third. Morgan Gose and Courtney Wilson combined for 17 second quarter points to extend the lead to 21 at the half.
 
Wilson continued her high level of play into the third quarter and scored seven points. Coming off the bench, she finished with a game-high 18 points. Kelly Barnett assisted Wilson on two of her shots in the third and scored a field goal of her own, helping the Buffaloes keep their lead.
 
The Rams attempted a comeback in the final minutes of the fourth, finishing the game on an 11-2 run. But the run wasn't enough and the Buffs held on for the 69-59 win.
 
Milligan's four leading scorers all finished with higher point totals than the Rams' leading scorer, Courtney Kendrick who finished with 11. Mackenzie Raizor finished with 13 points, while Gose and Robinson scored 12 each. Robinson, Price, and Barnett all finished with a game high four assists each.
 
"I was really pleased with the way the team responded tonight," Head Coach Rich Aubrey said about the bounce back win. "I think it says a lot about our mentality going forward."
 
Aubrey also gave insight to the development of his two leading scorers. "An injury can be a long-term blessing to a team. Courtney was starting but she went down with her ankle injury and plugged Mackenzie in and she's been a double digit scorer in almost every one of her starts. Now we have Courtney playing well off the bench and that's going to help us in the long run with that depth."
 
The Buffs return to action on Saturday against Union College for their final AAC game of 2016. They will follow with a two game road trip in Florida against Webber International University and Warner University before wrapping up 2016 with a New Year's Eve game at Longwood University.