LAKELAND, Fla. — On Tuesday afternoon the Milligan University women's basketball team completed the second game of their two game non-conference road stint in Florida against the (RV) Fire of Southeastern University (Fla.). Following a tightly contested first half that saw Milligan leading after the first quarter, the third quarter struggles continued for the Lady Buffs, and they eventually fell by a final margin of 77-62.
In the first quarter, Milligan got on the board first with layup from
McKenna Myers, but Southeastern quickly responded with a jumper to tie the score at two. From there it was back and forth scoring from both sides, as the score was tied four times throughout the opening quarter of play. With less than minute to play,
Lina Lyon found her way to the basket and scored a layup to put the Buffs ahead 18-15, but a jumper from the Fire narrowed the margin to one point heading into the second quarter. Both teams shot the ball over 50% in the quarter, with MU finishing 8-of-14 from the field and SEU going 8-of-15.
The offenses were not as efficient in the second quarter, despite attempting four more field goal attempts than in the previous quarter the Buffs converted on three less, while the Fire attempted two more field goals and made only one fewer. Neither side gained any advantage from the charity stripe, as Milligan had the only two free throw attempts and could not convert on either. SEU converted on three of their five shots from beyond the arc, while MU made two of their six. Overall, the more efficient Fire offense led to them regaining the lead 34-30 heading into halftime.
Southeastern continued the offensive momentum they had built in the first half into the third quarter, as it was the red hot Fire offense that took control of the game. Southeastern converted on 8-of-14 attempts (57.1%) compared to Milligan who shot 6-of-17 (35.3%). The Buffs were also outscored on three-point attempts (MU 1-of-4, SEU 3-of-5) and free throws (MU 1-of-2, SEU 4-of-5), which led to the Fire taking a 13-point advantage into the final quarter.
With the 13-point deficit on the board, Milligan was forced to move their offensive attack to beyond the three-point line, sinking three of their 11 total attempts. Unfortunately for the Lady Buffs, it was too little too late. They were able to cut the deficit down to as few as nine points with 8:06 left, but allowed 20 points to SEU in the period and fell by a final tally of 77-62.
Myers led the Lady Buffs offense for the second straight game with 18 points on 8-of-18 shooting from the field and 2-of-6 shooting from three.
Semaj Clark was the only other Lady Buff to reach double-digit scoring, with 16 points. She also led the team in free throws with three and three-point makes with three.
Lyon was dishing the rock most effectively and she finished with a team high six assists, while
Kenzie Campbell,
Makenzie Bremer and
Caroline Krueger each had two dimes.
Lyon and Clark cleaned the glass for the Lady Buffs, tying for a team high with six rebounds apiece. The trio of Bremer,
Callie Reeder and
Lexi Ervin each reeled in five rebounds, and Campbell and Krueger both hauled in two.
McKenna Myers accounted for the final two of the Buffs' 35 total backboards.
A total of six steals were collected by Milligan, as Clark led the team with three and Bremer, Lyon and
Cora Browning accounted for one theft each.
Milligan's (8-6, 7-0 AAC) non-conference slate over the Christmas break has now ended, and they look forward to returning to Appalachian Athletic Conference (AAC) play on Saturday, Jan. 3 when they face off with Brenau University (Ga.) at 3 p.m. in Gainesville, Ga.
