MILLIGAN, Tenn. — On Saturday afternoon, the Milligan University women's basketball team faced off with the North Greenville University Trailblazers inside Steve Lacy Fieldhouse on Smith-Harris Court. The season opener for the Buffaloes went particularly well in the first half, and MU held on in the second half for a 75-67 victory.
The first quarter of action started beautifully for the Buffaloes, who scored on four of their first five possessions to lead 9-5 at the 6:59 mark. The two teams struggled for the next two minutes, before Milligan went on a 6-1 run to gain a 15-6 advantage. The teams would trade buckets over the final 3:25 and enter the second with the Buffaloes up 19-10.
After five-and-a-half minutes in the second period, NGU had cut their deficit to just five points at 28-23. But then, Milligan scored a 14-6 run to close out the half, taking a commanding 42-29 lead into the intermission. The Buffaloes were shooting 48.8% from the field through the conclusion of the first half.
With the first points of the third quarter, the Buffs reached what would tie for their largest lead of the matchup, holding a 15-point lead at 44-29. They also held the same difference at 51-36. North Greenville cut the deficit down to 11 at 54-43 after three, while the Buffaloes' conversion rate from the field dropped to 38.8%.
A fourth quarter full of stoppages would ensue, as the Trailblazers desperately clawed their way back into the game. They trailed by as few as four points at 69-65 with 24 seconds remaining. Luckily, the Buffs made good on their late free-throw attempts, scoring a 6-of-6 conversion rate to eventually notch a 75-67 triumph.
Lina Lyon (7-of-12) and
Callie Reeder (5-of-9) led the way in scoring for the Buffaloes, notching 15 points each.
Makenzie Bremer also finished in double-figures with 12 on a 4-of-11 clip. Both
Dachelle Lucas and
Kabria Revels added nine points to the team total.
Caroline Krueger put up seven points, followed by
Ellie Linx, who scored four.
Zoe Rector and
Bailey McCoy rounded out the scoring with a pair of points each. The team ended up shooting at a 38.2% mark for the game, finishing 26-of-68 from the field. The Buffs went 5-of-20 from long range.
A team-best six assists came from Lyon, and a trio of others had three dimes. Krueger, Revels and
Jenna Hare were those three table-setters. McCoy and Bremer dealt out a pair, each, and the remaining assists came from Rector and Reeder.
Hare hauled in seven rebounds to lead the Buffaloes. Krueger and Bremer brought down six each, followed by five from Lyon. Reeder nabbed three of them, and the trio of Lucas, Revels and Linx grabbed a pair. Rector and Reeder also grabbed a rebound apiece.
Milligan had seven blocks, as two of those came from Revels. Reeder, Krueger, Hare, Lucas and Rector had the other five. Justin a single steal was tallied by the Buffaloes, as Reeder earned credit for that takeaway.
The Buffs (1-0) will be back inside Steve Lacy Fieldhouse on Tuesday, Nov. 3 against the Alice Lloyd College Eagles from Pippa Passes, Ky. The matchup will tip off at 6 p.m.
