Women’s Basketball falters at Tennessee Wesleyan

ATHENS, Tenn. (February 7, 2023) – The Milligan University women's basketball dropped a road matchup at Tennessee Wesleyan 71-62 on Tuesday evening.

The Buffs fell to 17-7 on the season and 15-5 in Appalachian Athletic Conference (AAC) league play. Tennessee Wesleyan advanced to 16-7, 14-7 AAC.

TWU jumped out to an eight-point edge (15-7) through the first six-plus minutes of action. The Buffs responded with a 6-0 run with baskets by Semaj Clark and Jaycie Jenkins. Kristy Galea scored the final basket of the quarter to narrow the margin to 18-15 Bulldogs after the first quarter.

Kayla Romines sank a three-pointer to open the scoring in the second quarter and Milligan briefly took at two-point lead at 20-18 and 22-20. The Bulldogs responded with a 13-2 run to take a 33-24 lead and the hosts carried a 37-27 advantage into halftime.

The closest Milligan got to TWU in the third quarter was five points (39-34) after Jenkins made a layup and three-pointer on consecutive possessions. The Bulldogs quickly rebuilt a double-digit lead and took a 53-43 edge into the final quarter.

The Bulldogs' lead swelled to 14 points (59-45) with 6:30 left in regulation. The Buffs worked back into the game with back-to-back-to-back three-pointers by Kaylee Hendrickson, Galea and Lauren Longmire. Hendrickson added another layup to cap an 11-0 Milligan run to make it a 56-61 ballgame with 4:38 left to play. After TWU made a three, Clark canned one of her own to keep the Buffs within two scores (64-59) with just over two minutes to play.

The Buff had three chances to cut the margin to a single possession but could not find a basket. The Bulldogs sank seven foul shots in the final minute to clinch the 71-62 victory.

Clark led Milligan with 17 points on seven-of-12 shooting. Longmire added 12 points and eight rebounds. Jenkins had nine points and five rebounds.

The Buffs shot 38.5 percent with 25 made field goals compared to the Bulldogs' 36.7 percent and 22 made field goals. Both teams made nine threes but TWU had an 18-3 edge in free throws made. The hosts held slim advantages on the glass (38-36) and in the turnover margin (13-11).

Milligan hosts Bluefield Thursday at 5:30 p.m. in the Steve Lacy Fieldhouse.