PIKEVILLE, Ky. (Nov. 4, 2017) â€" One of the NAIA's top DII women's basketball teams met one of the NAIA's top DI women's basketball teams Saturday afternoon in a nonconference game. Despite a 14-point, seven rebound effort from sophomore Kaely Gose, No. 24 Milligan College fell to Pikeville University, 64-61.
 
Pikeville, which was at last year's NAIA DI Women's Basketball National Championship and is currently receiving votes in the DI top 25 poll, used a strong third quarter to erase a 10-point halftime deficit before closing the game on an 11-7 run.
 
Milligan, currently ranked No. 24 in the nation and a representative at last year's NAIA DII Women's Basketball National Championship, had a chance to tie the game on a couple of possessions in the final 30 seconds of the game. After a Morgan Gose 3-pointer with roughly one minute to go made it 61-59, the Buffs made a stop on the other end but did not get a shot on their ensuing possession. Then after Pikeville made one of two free throws to go back up by three, M. Gose trimmed the lead once again with a 2-pointer which made it 62-61.
 
In the final 10 seconds, Pikeville made both free throws to go back up by three, then Cassidy Anderson's would-be game-tying 3-pointer at the buzzer narrowly missed.
 
Anderson finished the game with 11 points and six rebounds while sophomore Emily Kiser had 11 points off the bench. Junior Sarah Robinson scored nine points with four rebounds.
 
Milligan (1-1) used a big first quarter (18-14) to help build a 10-point lead at the halftime break (34-24). Pikeville, however, responded with a 22-10 third quarter to take the lead then trailed for only four possessions in the fourth quarter.
 
For Pikeville, Rachel Lee led all scorers with 17 points. Only one other Tiger made it to double figures in scoring as Elisabeth Latham scored 14 points off the bench.
 
Milligan will next be on the road again for a matchup with Asbury University on Tuesday, Nov. 7. The Buffs will also be on the road Thursday before returning home to host Asbury on Saturday, Nov. 11, in the team's home opener. Tip-off is set for 2 p.m. in Steve Lacy Fieldhouse.