Strong finish pushes Buffs past Bears

MILLIGAN, Tenn. (Feb. 9, 2021) – Tied at 69-69 with less than two minutes to go, the Milligan University women's basketball team finished on a 7-2 run to pull away from Truett McConnell, 76-71, Tuesday evening inside Steve Lacy Fieldhouse.

The Buffs finished the game primarily at the free-throw line, making eight of their last nine attempts, including five of their last six in the last 32 seconds. Jaycie Jenkins and Lily Griffith led the way with 20 points apiece, both with 12 in the second half.

"Rebounding made the difference tonight," Head Coach Kylie Russell said. "We had 16 offensive rebounds and outrebounded Truett 45-34. We also reduced the scoring from Re'Tavia Floyd and eliminated their second chances which were critical in our ability to finish with a win."

Second-half run thwart Truett's late lead

Milligan trailed 59-55 with eight minutes left in the game before an 8-0 run highlighted by an old-fashioned 3-point play by Jenkins and a 3-pointer from Griffith swung the Buffs into the lead for good. Griffith knocked down her triple from the top of the key with just under six and a half minutes to go to put the Buffs on top 61-59. Although Truett battled back to tie the game one final time, the Buffs closed the final two minutes with enough free throws and plenty of defensive stops.

In all, the game saw seven ties and 11 lead changes. Truett even led by as many as seven in the first half and by six in the second half. Milligan took its largest lead of the game (five) on Jenkin's pair of made free throws with 18 seconds left.

In the box score

Jenkins' 20 points came from 7-for-12 shooting, and she added seven rebounds and a career high-tying three blocks. Griffith scored 20 points on 6-for-8 shooting, including 4-for-5 from the perimeter, along with four rebounds.

Next in the scoring column for Milligan were Kaylee Hendrickson and Malarie Tallent who both scored seven. Tallent tallied five rebounds. Kayla Romines and Madi Runnels both posted career high-tying numbers with five assists and five rebounds, respectively.

For Truett McConnell, Floyd scored 21 points on 6-for-19 shooting. Sierra Kendall posted the game's only double-double with 18 points and 10 rebounds.

Up next

The Buffs return to Steve Lacy Fieldhouse for their penultimate home game of the regular season, facing Kentucky Christian Thursday at 5 p.m. The regular season will then conclude with a road trip to Columbia (Feb. 13) and a home game against Montreat (Feb. 17).