WILLIAMSBURG, Ky. — The Milligan University women's basketball team played their first game away from home in the 2026-27 season on Thursday night. It was a tall task, as they faced the No. 6-ranked Blue Raiders of Lindsey Wilson (Ky.) at a neutral site as part of the Patriot Classic, hosted by the University of the Cumberlands in Williamsburg, Ky. A slow start on offense for the Buffs resulted in their first loss of the season, by a final of 77-50.
A stark difference between Milligan's first two contests of the year and this one was seen in the first quarter. The opening two tilts saw MU race out to leads in the opening frame, while this time they trailed by a huge margin. They suffered a 20-4 deficit in the first frame, which was a result of a 2-of-11 shooting clip.
The Buffaloes then allowed the first eight points of the second quarter, as well, falling behind by a 28-4 score. From there, it was 13-8 in favor of LWC to close out the half. A 41-12 lead for the Blue Raiders was built on the platform of just six made field goals in the first two quarters by the Buffs.
Milligan made significant strides in the second half, starting with a third quarter in which they outshot the Blue Raiders, making eight field goals to LWC's seven. They still trailed 20-18 over those 10 minutes, but were much more competitive to make it a 61-30 deficit entering the fourth frame.
For the second quarter in a row, the Lady Buffs made more shots than Lindsey Wilson. The fourth quarter also saw Milligan outscore the Blue Raiders 20-16, getting to the eventual final score, 77-50. Their second-half conversion rate (15-of-34) dwarfed their first-half output (6-of-25), as they will look to build off that improvement in Saturday's contest.
The Buffs did not have a scorer in double figures, as both
Jenna Hare (4-of-6) and
Elivia Moore (3-of-7) scored eight to lead the way.
Lina Lyon (3-of-11) had seven points for the team, and both
Dachelle Lucas and
Zoe Rector added five.
Callie Reeder,
Makenzie Bremer and
Bailey McCoy had four apiece, with
Ellie Linx adding a three-pointer and
Kabria Revels scoring the other two. The team's 21-of-59 shooting mark equates to a 35.6% rate of success, which is their lowest of the year.
Just nine total assists were racked up by the Buffaloes, with six of them being evenly split between two players. Both Linx and
Caroline Krueger dished out three. Lyon, Lucas and Revels were responsible for the remaining three.
Milligan was outrebounded 44-29 in the loss. The leader for MU was Moore, who tracked down six rebounds. Krueger was next with five, followed by Bremer's four. Lyon and Revels hauled in three each, while Hare and Linx also had multiple boards, as both snatched a pair. Rector and
Savannah Jenkins recorded the other two backboards.
Two total blocks were tallied by Milligan, with Lucas and Revels claiming those rejections. Four Buffaloes had steals in the defeat, as Moore, Jenkins, McCoy and Revels all notched a single theft.
It will be a quick turnaround for the Lady Buffs (2-1), who will return to the same gym on Friday morning to face the hosting (RV) Patriots of the University of the Cumberlands at 11 a.m.
