Women’s Basketball rolls past CIU 83-51

COLUMBIA, S.C. (February 10, 2024) – The Milligan University women's basketball team notched its fifth-straight victory with an 83-51 triumph at Columbia International on Saturday afternoon.

The Buffs rise to 19-6 on the season and 16-3 in Appalachian Athletic Conference (AAC) play. CIU falls to 4-18, 3-17 AAC.

Milligan led 8-5 after two minutes of play. The Buffs scored the game's next 18 points with six different players making their way onto the scoresheet in the spurt. Milligan scored on each of its final four possessions to close the quarter and led 26-7 going into the second quarter.

Semaj Clark drained threes on back-to-back possessions to grow the Buffs' edge to 38-13 with 3:43 left in the first half. Despite CIU ending the quarter on an 11-1 run, Milligan still led by 15 (39-24) at the halftime break.

The Buffs outscored the Rams 44-17 in the second half to cruise to the 33-point win.

Jaycie Jenkins had 20 points, four assists, three rebounds and two steals. Clark finished with 15 points, seven rebounds, five assists and two blocks. Lauren Longmire added 13 points. Madi Runnels scored 12 points and had three rebounds, three steals and a block. Halie Padgett finished with eight points and eight rebounds.

Eight different players made a trey as the Buffs canned a season-high 14 threes at 42.4 percent. Milligan won the rebounding battle 4130 and finished plus-five in the turnover margin (18-13). The Buffs' bench outscored CIU's reserves 23-2.

The Buffs travel to Montreat on Wednesday.