Jenkins leads Buffs to win at Bluefield

BLUEFIELD, Va. (November 23, 2021)— The Milligan University women's basketball team trailed by as many as nine points in the fourth quarter before mounting a tremendous comeback win over Appalachian Athletic Conference (AAC) opponent Bluefield 87-84.

After beginning the season on a three-game losing streak, the Buffs have now won seven in a row to improve their record to 7-3 (7-0 AAC). With the loss, Bluefield falls to 2-6 (2-4 AAC) on the year.

Over the course of the first quarter, Milligan and Bluefield went back-and-forth trading buckets tying four separate times. The biggest lead came in favor of the Rams as a three-point shot that extended their lead to six with three and a half minutes to go. The Buffs closed out the quarter on a 9-3 run to tie the game at 28 heading into the second. 

After Milligan scored the first points of the second quarter, Bluefield quickly retook the lead with just under nine minutes to go. The Rams did not relinquish their lead the entire quarter and at one point, had a nine-point lead with a minute and a half to go. The Buffs scored six of the final seven points in the quarter to cut into the deficit and go to halftime trailing 47-43. 

Coming out of the break, Milligan immediately knocked down a three-point jump shot to trim the Ram's lead to just one. On the next possession, Lauren Longmire converted on a layup opportunity to give the Buffs lead 48-47. With just over five minutes to play in the third, Jaycie Jenkins provided some much-needed life to the Buffalo offense scoring the final 11 points for Milligan. Bluefield led the Buffs 69-62 at the end of the third.

Milligan came out firing on all cylinders in the fourth quarter going on a 15-6 run in a three-minute span to tie the game at 77. From that point, neither team could pull away from one another with the largest lead coming in favor of Milligan at three points with just under two minutes to play. A three-point jumper by the Rams tied the game at 84 with one minute to play in regulation. The Buffs converted on three-of-four free throw attempts in the final minute to pull out the narrow victory 87-84.

All five starters scored in double-digits for Milligan, led by Jenkins with 32, Longmire with 13, Lily Griffith with 12, and Halie Padgett and Kayla Romines with 10. The Buffs shot 50 percent from the field on 32-of-63 shooting and 42 percent from behind the arc.

Once again, Milligan wins the battle on the boards Tuesday night with a 36-32 advantage on the glass. Padgett led the Buffs with a team-high ten rebounds followed by nine from Jenkins.

The Lady Buffs return to the court next Monday with a road matchup against the University of Alabama Huntsville at 5:30 p.m.