KINGSPORT, Tenn. – The conclusion of the Appalachian Athletic Conference (AAC) Women's Basketball Tournament came on Saturday afternoon, as the Milligan University Buffaloes went head-to-head with the No. 3-seeded Eagles of Reinhardt University with the chance to win back-to-back AAC Tournament titles. In a contest that was close the entire way, Milligan never gave up the lead after the 5:40 mark in the first quarter to complete their quest for the conference tourney championship, 64-62.

The Buffaloes allowed the first two points of the game but quickly scored the next six on layups by McKenna Myers, Lina Lyon and Semaj Clark. Reinhardt battled back with a 7-2 run to take a 9-8 advantage, before a major scoring drought for both teams took place. From 5:40 to 3:10 remaining, neither team scored a point. Then, a three-point jumper by Lyon made it 11-9 for the Buffs to break the streak without a bucket. It started a new streak, however, as there would not be another point scored for the remainder of the period, as the Buffs took a 11-9 lead into the second frame.

In the second, the Eagles tied the game up 11-11 at the 9:08 mark, but then gave up five straight to Milligan on a Myers layup and a Lyon three. With a 16-11 lead at the 7:04 mark, the Buffaloes continued to advance their edge, going up by as many as 10 points with 1:31 to go, when Clark converted a layup to make it a 29-19 MU advantage. One free throw would be added by Reinhardt at the end of the quarter, putting the score at 29-20 for the Lady Buffs at the break.

The two teams battled back-and-forth to begin the third, as the Buffs held a 36-27 lead with 6:39 to go in the period. Over the following 4:09 of gameplay, MU did not score a point and allowed the Eagles to compile a 8-0 run to cut their deficit to just a single point at 36-35 with 2:30 left in the quarter. Milligan slammed the door shut on Reinhardt at that point, scoring nine points in a row over the next 2:04 to take their 10-point lead back at 45-35. A Callie Reeder three, followed by a bucket from Lyon and baskets from Makenzie Bremer and Kenzie Campbell made up the run. The Eagles would score as time expired in the period, cutting the lead back to eight at 45-37.

Milligan's largest lead—11 points—was achieved on the first possession of the fourth quarter when Campbell drained a triple to make it 48-37. Reinhardt would score the next seven points, using 2:49 of game time to make that push to back within four points at 48-44. The Buffaloes got a three from Caroline Krueger to stop that run, but the Eagles continued their push, getting to within two points at 51-49 with 4:27 to go. Another three from Reeder, followed by a jumper in the paint by Clark made it a seven-point game again with just 2:18 left at 56-49. The Buffs continued to weather the storm until the end, knocking down five of their final six free throws to seal an eventual 64-62 win over Reinhardt to win their second straight AAC Tournament banner.

Reeder stepped up in a massive way on Saturday, providing an offensive spark for the Buffaloes. The freshman scored 16 points on a 5-of-8 shooting day, including 4-of-7 from beyond the arc. All three of those tallies were career-high showings for the Cookeville, Tenn. native. Both Lyon and Myers also scored in double digits, each notching 11 points on a combined 8-of-17 from the field.

Clark's five assists led the squad, as she did not have her best scoring night, but still served as a great table-setting presence. Lyon added four, and Bremer supplied three, as Krueger passed out two to complete the list of players with multiple assists. Single assists from Campbell and Lexi Ervin rounded out the list.

Reeder was also greatly important on the glass, hauling in seven backboards to lead the team. Campbel had six, and a trio of Buffaloes (Lyon, Clark, Bremer) had five. Myers and Naomi Atchley grabbed four boards apiece, while Krueger and Ervin completed the list of rebounders with two each.

The team had eight steals and a pair of blocks in the title defense, as Clark posted three steals and Reeder sent back two shots while earning a theft. Lyon and Campbell also provided a pair of steals to the effort.

At the conclusion of the contest, the buffaloes had three players named to the All-Tournament Team, as Clark was named MVP and Lyon and Reeder were selected for All-Tourney honors.

With back-to-back conference tournament championships, Milligan (23-7, 19-1 AAC) now looks forward to finding out where they will play in the NAIA National Championship First Round on March 13. They will learn their destination on Thursday, March 5 at 8 p.m. ET on the NAIA Women's Basketball Selection Show.