COLUMBUS, Ind. – On Thursday morning and afternoon, No. 7 Milligan University's women's flag football program traveled to Columbus, Ind. to take on Campbellsville University and Siena Heights University as part of pool play in a quest for an automatic qualifying bid to the NAIA Invitational Tournament, which will take place in May. The Lady Buffs started the day by pulling away in the second half to earn a 20-12 victory over Campbellsville behind an impressive defensive second half performance. The defense once again starred in the afternoon, in a dominant, 26-0, shutout win over Siena Heights to close out pool play undefeated.

There were five other programs from the Mid-South, Crossroads League and Wolverine-Hoosier Athletic Conferences, while Milligan represented the Appalachian Athletic Conference. Teams were seeded and put into separate A and B pools according to the NAIA's ARC Ranking system. Milligan entered pool play as the overall No. 1 seed and was placed in Pool A alongside fourth-seeded Campbellsville University and sixth-seeded Siena Heights University. The University of Saint Francis (Ind.) is the top seed in Pool B, which includes third-seeded Cumberland (Tenn.) University and fifth-seeded Lindsey Wilson College. Following pool play, teams will advance to bracket play, where they will be reseeded based on pool performance. The top two seeds will earn byes to the semifinal round, and the bracket play winner will claim the automatic qualification to the NAIA Invitational Tournament.

In the opening bout against the Tigers of Campbellsville University, both sides began by finding pay dirt on their respective opening drives before the defenses dug in, making the game a low-scoring duel.

The Tigers grabbed a 6-0 lead at the 9:18 mark of the first quarter on a 15-yard quarterback scramble but failed on the following one-point conversion. The Buffs nearly put a halt to the nine-play, 66-yard TD drive when Abbylin LaPrise came up with a flag pull three yards short of the line to gain on third down, but the Tigers were able to get a five-yard completion on fourth to extend the drive and eventually score.

Ashton Whearley took over quarterbacking duties for the Milligan offense and led the Buffs downfield to even the score at six. The Buffs failed their one-point conversion attempt, keeping the game tied at six. Whearley was able to use her athleticism and arm prowess as a dual-threat quarterback to march the Lady Buffs down the field, running for 13 yards and throwing for 48 yards on the opening drive.

Campbellsville took back the momentum when another fourth down conversion, this time a 20-yard completion on fourth and ten, extended a drive that culminated in another rushing touchdown for the Campbellsville quarterback. The score put the Tigers ahead 12-6 just over two minutes into the second quarter.

The defenses took over the game at this point, with both sides coming up with game-changing plays. The Tigers started by continuing the momentum from the touchdown with an interception and 37-yard return to set themselves up with prime field position. Then, on a drive that started at the Milligan 13-yard line, the Buffs came away with a massive stop on fourth and goal from the three-yard line.

With the tide turned, Milligan was forced to punt but got the ball back immediately on an interception from Annabelle Rhodes. That set up Whearley and the offense with good field position, which they capitalized on with a three-yard TD rush by Whearley, and the one-point conversion gave Milligan a 13-12 lead with just 14 seconds left in the half.

The Buffs held on to the one-point lead coming out of the break. In the second half, the defense was able to hold the Tigers scoreless thanks to a couple of huge plays, and the offense was able to add to the score to carry the Buffs across the finish line.

After both sides turned the ball over on downs on their first drives of the second half, a touchdown from Milligan extended the cushion to eight points. Whearley found Krista Quinn for a 15-yard pass and catch for the score to cap a six-play, 49-yard drive, giving Milligan a 20-12 advantage at the 3:16 mark of the third quarter.

Rhodes came away with her second interception of the game, the first crucial defensive play that kept the Tigers scoreless in the second half. Later, with only four minutes remaining, Parker Bridges sealed it as Campbellsville drove all the way to the Milligan three-yard line looking to tie with a touchdown and two-point conversion, before Bridges jumped a passing lane for an interception. Then, Milligan was able to run out the clock on offense to come away with a 20-12 victory in the opening game of pool play.

In game two, pitted against the five-seeded Halos from Siena Heights University, the Buffs defense improved on their game one performance by holding the opposition scoreless across 48 minutes of action.

Milligan's offense got going early with a touchdown on the opening drive behind dual-threat Whearley, who marched the Buffs down the field before finding K. Quinn in the end zone to give the Buffs a 6-0 lead at the 7:03 mark of the first quarter.

Bridges came away with her second interception of the day and first of the game, and it took the offense just one play to capitalize with a 16-yard strike from Whearley to Caitlin Quinn, growing the Buff advantage to 12-0 early in the second quarter. A successful one-point conversion extended the lead further to 13-0.

Rhodes continued to impress, picking up right where she left off in game one with an interception just before the halftime break to hold the Milligan lead at 13-0 going into the break.

The second half was all Milligan, as the defense continued to stifle Siena Heights and the offense clicked, posting 13 more points to allow the Buffs to cruise to victory.

The Buffs scored once in the third quarter and again in the fourth to reach the 26-0 final score. Lilly Rumrill broke the game open with a 34-yard receiving touchdown to put Milligan firmly in control at 19-0. Then, C. Quinn capped the game and the day with a six-yard touchdown grab in the fourth quarter to put the finishing touches on a dominant performance from Milligan.

Whearley finished the day completing 30-of-53 passes for 321 yards and six touchdowns against four interceptions. She also did damage on the ground, carrying 21 times for 143 yards and a rushing touchdown.

Krista Quinn led the receiving corps with 12 catches for 117 yards and two touchdowns. Caitlin Quinn added six receptions for 73 yards and two scores of her own, while Lilly Rumrill hauled in four catches for 45 yards and a touchdown, highlighted by the 34-yard scoring strike in game two. Abbylin LaPrise chipped in three receptions for 20 yards and a touchdown. Taylor Thrasher tacked on one grab for 19 yards, Sam Urso added two for nine yards, Whearley herself hauled in one pass for seven yards, and Jeylise Padilla rounded out the contributors with one reception for five yards.

Defensively, Parker Bridges led the way with 13 tackles, two tackles for loss, and two interceptions. Abbylin LaPrise was right behind with 12 stops, while Chloe Jackson added nine tackles, as the unit combined for 58 total tackles and four tackles for loss across the two contests. Bridges and Annabelle Rhodes formed a ball-hawking duo in the secondary, combining for six of Milligan's seven interceptions on the day. Rhodes hauled in four picks for 43 return yards and broke up three more passes, while Bridges capped her two-interception performance with a game-sealing pick near the goal line to finish off Campbellsville in the opener.

The Lady Buffs will return to the field tomorrow to begin bracket play, where they will be the top seed of Pool A. They will await the winner of the Pool B two seed (Lindsey Wilson/Cumberland) and Siena Heights matchup that will take place at 9 a.m.

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