BARBOURVILLE, Ky. — The Milligan University women's basketball program was on the road Wednesday evening for an Appalachian Athletic Conference (AAC) matchup with the Bulldogs of Union Commonwealth University. After building a lead in the first half, Milligan took care of business in the second, cruising to a 63-44 victory.

Milligan opened the first quarter with back-to-back layups from McKenna Myers and Lina Lyon to take an early 4-0 lead, but Union Commonwealth responded with a free throw to make the score 4–1. The Lady Buffs controlled the next stretch defensively, holding the Bulldogs to just one point over a six-minute span and extended their lead to 9–1. UC responded with an eight-point surge late in the period, but a three-point play from Semaj Clark sent MU into the second quarter with a 15–9 lead. Both teams attempted 16 shots in the frame, with the Buffs converting six compared to Union's three. 

Union Commonwealth opened the second quarter with a three-pointer and a layup to take the lead 17-15, but Milligan quickly responded, as Makenzie Bremer connected from deep to reclaim the lead 18-17. MU continued to extend the lead for the remainder of the quarter and went into the break with a 31-20 advantage. The Lady Buffs shot 6-of-19 from the field in the period, outpacing the Bulldogs who went 4-of-13. Both sides made two shots from long distance, but the Lady Buffs did so on three fewer attempts.

The Buffs took control of the game in the third quarter by scoring 16 points, with eight of them coming from the charity stripe. They were efficient offensively and buried four of their seven attempts, with the three misses coming on three-point attempts. The Bulldogs could not keep up, but did manage to convert on five of their 12 field goal attempts. With the strong offensive performance, the Lady Buffs extended their to lead 16 (47-31).  

MU simply did not let UCU back into the game in the final period, building a lead of as many as 24 points, and cruising to a final margin of 63-44. The Buffs offense continued to click, matching their third quarter total of 16 points on a 6-of-13 shooting clip from the floor and 2-of-4 from three. Meanwhile, the Bulldogs were held to 4-of-14 shooting and limited to 1-of-5 shooting from three.

The Lady Buffs were led offensively by Semaj Clark, who finished with 20 points on 5-of-11 shooting. Lina Lyon also reached double digits with 12 points, converting on five of her nine attempts.

The Buffs dished out 17 assists in the contest, with Clark recording a team high of five. McKenna Myers and Lina Lyon each finished with three assists and Makenzie Bremer followed with two, while Cora Browning, Lexi Ervin, Callie Reeder and Kenzie Campbell all had one, respectively.

Clark notched another double-double, which was her seventh of the season, by hauling in 13 rebounds. Callie Reeder brought in six, Lyon had four, and Campbell, Naomi Atchley and Ervin each snatched three. Caroline Krueger and Myers grabbed two and Nina Lovelace, Romy Bos, and Kabria Revels reeled in one for a total of 44.

Milligan had 10 thefts, led by Lyon and Clark with three. They were followed by Reeder with two, as well as Bremer and Atchley with one apiece.

The Lady Buffs (10-6, 9-0 AAC) will be back in action Saturday, Jan. 10 when they head to Dayton, Tenn. Tip-off is scheduled from 2 p.m. versus their current competition for the top spot in the AAC, Bryan College (Tenn.).