SPARTANBURG, S.C. — Milligan University's women's basketball squad traveled to Spartanburg, S.C. Wednesday evening for a matchup against the Pioneers of Spartanburg Methodist College. The Appalachian Athletic Conference (AAC) contest was the Lady Buffs' first in the month of February, the same month the conference tournament will be played. The Buffs needed a win to remain in a tie for first place with Reinhardt (Ga.), and they did just that. Milligan took the lead in the first two minutes and led for the remainder  of the game, but they were forced to survive multiple pushes from Spartanburg Methodist to eventually win by a final score of 78-72

Spartanburg Methodist scored the first points of the game, but Milligan responded on the other end with a layup from Kenzie Campbell to tie the score at two. Neither side got off to hot starts offensively, but a shot from beyond the arc from Lexi Ervin gave the Buffs an 8-4 lead at the five-minute mark.  In the final five minutes of the quarter MU continued to extend the lead until a late scoring burst from SMC tied the score at 14 with 45 seconds left. However, the Buffs scored the final four points to take an 18-14 lead into the second. Milligan ended the quarter on 8-of-18 (44.4%) shooting from the floor, while Spartanburg Methodist shot 6-of-17 (35.3%)

The Buffs four-point lead quickly grew to nine after Semaj Clark knocked down a three-point jumper and a pair of free throws. The Pioneers responded by cutting the deficit down to six with three minutes and change remaining in the quarter. In the final minutes, the Buffs regained control after Makenzie Bremer and Ervin made shots from a distance, and a layup at the buzzer from McKenna Myers put them ahead 39-27 heading into the halftime break. MU finished with 21 points in the quarter on 8-of-15 (53.3%) shooting with an efficient 3-of-7 mark from the three-point line. SMC did not have the same success finishing 5-of-15 from the floor and 1-of-3 from three. 

The Buffs maintained their momentum to start the second half, scoring the first five points on a Myers layup and Campbell three. However, the Pioneers did not go away, as they answered with a 16-2 scoring run to bring them within three points with less than four minutes left in the third quarter. MU closed the period with an 11-4 run behind a jumper from Naomi Atchley and a layup from Myers to extend the lead back to double digits at 57-47 heading into the final stanza.
Milligan opened the fourth quarter, scoring with a layup from Myers and looked to be in complete control of the game after Clark nailed a triple to put them ahead 72-55 at the 5:29 mark. However, once again the Pioneers scored in bunches completing a 13-2 run to bring them within six points at 74-68 with 1:43 left to play. From there, the Buffs stepped up defensively, limiting the Pioneers to only four more points, and were able to convert on their free throws to survive the late scare and capture a conference victory on the road by a final score of 78-72.

Clark led the team in scoring with 21 points on 50% shooting at 6-of-12. She also made clutch free throws down the stretch to finish 7-of-8 from the free throw line. Myers was not far behind with 17 points on 5-of-15 shooting. Campbell reached double figures with 12 points on an efficient 5-of-8 shooting, while Lina Lyon was also efficient scoring on four of her five attempts to finish with eight points.

Clark also led the Buffaloes with six assists in the win, but a trio of others tallied two, including Lyon, Caroline Krueger and Bremer. Myers, Campbell, Ervin and Naomi Atchley each recorded one, respectively.
 
Clark was a backboard shy of the double-double bringing in nine for the contest. Krueger reeled in seven boards and Lina Lyon hauled in four. Three different Lady Buffs in Bremer, Myers and Atchley recorded three rebounds, while Callie Reeder and Cora Browning chipped in by grabbing two. Ervin and Campbell rounded out the rebounding with each coming up with one on the night.

The Lady Buffs had eight steals in the contest with Clark leading the way with three. The other five steals were recorded individually by Kruger, Myers, Reeder, Browning and Ervin.

It was a hard-fought battle on the road for the Lady Buffs (15-7, 14-1 AAC), who survived an upset minded Spartanburg Methodist. Next on the docket is a Valentine's Day matchup on Feb. 14 against conference opponent Johnson University. Tip-off is scheduled for 2 p.m. inside Steve Lacy Fieldhouse.