MILLIGAN, Tenn. — Milligan University's women's basketball team played host to the Montreat College (N.C.) Cavaliers on Wednesday evening on Smith-Harris Court inside Steve Lacy Fieldhouse. The Appalachian Athletic Conference (AAC) contest was the Lady Buffs' first shot to return to the win column after dropping their first conference battle of the season. They did just that, amassing a season-best 98 points en route to a dominant 98-57 display.
The opening quarter featured a slow start for the two squads on offense. Milligan made the better of the situation, concluding the period with a 6-of-18 shooting line. They held Montreat to only 4-of-20, which allowed the Buffaloes to rack up a respectable 15-8 lead after the opening frame.
Quickly, in the second, the Buffaloes knocked down their first three-point jumper of the game, with neither team breaking through from beyond the arc in the first frame. The Cavs would match that with their first make from deep a couple possessions later. It ended up being another dismal offensive period for both sides, but the Buffs again capitalized just enough, especially in the late going. They would ending up sinking four of their last six shots in the period to knock down shots at a 8-of-19 mark for the period. For Montreat, it was a slow 5-of-18 clip that they produced en route to a 35-20 Milligan lead at the intermission.
A rhythm was established by the Buffaloes' offense to start the third, cashing in on their first three possessions of the third quarter. Meanwhile, the Cavaliers could not produce a point over nearly three minutes, resulting in a 11-0 run by the Buffs amassing the first 2:51 of the period. The scoring started to appear in a fast and furious fashion, in the middle stages of the period, as Milligan concocted a massive 31-point lead at 59-28 with just over three-and-a-half minutes remaining in the quarter. They would continue to build upon that margin over the final minutes, closing out the quarter with a commanding 70-34 lead. The Buffs had their best period of the day, going 10-of-17 from the field, while Montreat made just 6-of-20.
It was more of the same for the Lady Buffs in quarter number four. They scored at will on the Cavaliers, knocking in eight of their first 11 attempts in the frame. The Buffs emptied their bench over the last four minutes, coasting to a 98-57 triumph.
Milligan's scoring was led by
Semaj Clark, who put up 16 on an off night from the floor, shooting just 4-of-16. She converted a perfect 7-of-7 from the charity stripe to get her to just shy of her season average.
Callie Reeder put up a career-high 12 points on 5-of-6 in the paint, while
Naomi Atchley (11, 4-of-6) and
McKenna Myers (10, 5-of-8) also scored double-digit points.
Lina Lyon's four assists were the most by a Buffalo in the win, but a trio of others tallied three, including Clark, Atchley and
Lexi Ervin. Myers, Reeder,
Makenzie Bremer,
Caroline Krueger,
Kabria Revels and
Cora Browning racked up two, and
Kenzie Campbell had the last assist.
Clark was a backboard shy of the double-double bringing in nine for the contest. Bremer's seven took the second spot on the podium for Milligan, but Campbell was close behind with six. Lyon and Krueger cleaned the glass five times each, and
Nina Lovelace brought in four. Myers totaled three, and the quartet of
Romy Bos, Reeder, Ervin and Browning snatched two apiece. Lastly,
Bailey McCoy grabbed one rebound.
A total of 10 steals and five blocks were recorded by the Lady Buffs, including a three-block, one-steal performance by Reeder. Clark totaled a pair of steals and a rejection, and Krueger notched a trio of thefts. Myers nabbed two steals, while Bremer had one of each and Atchley was responsible for the team's last steal.
It was a great return to form for the Lady Buffs (14-7, 13-1 AAC), who rebounded off their first AAC loss of the season to score the most points they have scored in a game this season. Next up is a non-conference matchup at Georgia Gwinnett College in Lawrenceville, Ga. on Saturday, Jan. 31 at 2 p.m.
