Buffs big second half leads to victory over Bluefield

Milligan, Tenn. (February 5, 2022) — The Milligan University women's basketball team defeated Appalachian Athletic Conference (AAC) opponent Bluefield by a score of 80-57 Saturday afternoon at Steve Lacy Fieldhouse. The Buffs complete the regular-season sweep following a three-point victory over the Rams on the road on November 23rd.  

Milligan moves to 15-7 (15-2 AAC) with the victory while Bluefield falls to 8-12 (8-10 AAC) with the loss. 

After a back-and-forth tussle over the first four minutes, the Buffs found themselves knotted up with Bluefield (6-6). The next four minutes saw the Buffs reel off a 10-2 run extending the Milligan lead to eight points (16-8). Bluefield then held Milligan without a basket for the for the final two minutes capping off an 8-0 run to tie the game 16-16 heading into the second. 

Lily Griffith got the scoring started in the second for the Buffs knocking down a triple coming off a dish from Jaycie Jenkins. With just under a minute to play until halftime, Milligan climbed out to their biggest lead of the first half (40-29) after a steal and layup on the other end by Jenkins. A late Bluefield bucket trimmed the Buffs' lead to single digits just before the break (40-31).   

Milligan jumped out to an 8-0 run to start the second half. Halie Padgett was responsible for half of those points during the run with two phenomenal post moves leading to easy layups. The Buffs dominated the rest of the quarter outscoring the Rams 26-9 in the third. Jenkins poured in eight points and cashed in on two three-pointers while also grabbing four rebounds.   

Milligan's largest lead of the ballgame (68-40) came at the 9:45 mark in the fourth quarter with Padgett converting a layup attempt off a Lauren Longmire assist. Bluefield was able to makeup some ground down the stretch outscoring Milligan 17-14 in the fourth. However, the Buffs offense could not be contained for the majority of the game as they claimed a 23-point victory 80-57.  

Jenkins finished with a team high in both points and rebounds coming away with 18 on eight-of-16 from the field while grabbing ten boards. Stacia Wilson scored a season high 14 points on six-of-six from the field. Padgett added 12 points on four-of-eight shooting and Longmire chipped in ten points on four-of-seven from the field.  

Milligan shot 54 percent from the field compared to just 32 percent for the Rams. Additionally, the Buffs outrebounded Bluefield 43-29 finishing with a plus-fourteen advantage on the glass. The Milligan bench outscored Bluefield's bench by a margin of 24 (35-11). The Buffs had 15 assists on 33 made baskets for the game.  

Milligan will be back in action tomorrow as they travel to Kentucky Christian University with a matchup versus the Knights at 3:00 p.m.