Season Preview: 2024-25 Women's Basketball
MILLIGAN, Tenn. – With an incredible 2023-24 campaign now in the rearview, the (RV) Milligan University women's basketball team will be searching for even more success in 2024-25.
The squad's season begins on Tuesday, Oct. 29 at Steve Lacy Fieldhouse against Alice Lloyd College.
2023-24 Season Review: It was a massive season for the Lady Buffs in 2023-24, in which they posted a stellar 19-3 Appalachian Athletic Conference (AAC) record. They had significant non-conference wins against (RV) Faulkner (Ala.) and No. 16 Providence (Mont.).
Milligan's conference schedule included a season-sweep of Pikeville, while the squad was winners of their first seven games in the AAC, as well as their final eight regular-season conference matchups. The Buffaloes held a +250 point differential across that eight-game stretch.
After falling in the semifinal round of the AAC Tournament, the Lady Buffs earned an at-large bid to the NAIA National Championship - Opening Round at Georgetown (Ky.), where their season came to an end.
"We had a lot of success last year with a widespread list of contributors," said head coach Kylie Greer. "While we're proud of what we accomplished, this year's group is hungry for more."
During conference play, Milligan was first in the AAC in points per game (85.6), first in field goal percentage (47.6), first in rebounds per game (43.5) and first in assists per game (20.2).
2024 Preseason Poll: The Buffs were chosen second of 15 teams in the 2024-25 AAC Preseason Coaches' Poll, picking up three first-place votes.
1. Pikeville (7 First-Place Votes) - 194
2. Milligan (3) - 191
3. Reinhardt - 181
4. Bryan (4) - 171
5. Johnson - 161
6. Tennessee Wesleyan - 134
7. Columbia - 114
8. Montreat - 104
9. Truett McConnell - 96
T10. Brenau - 77
T10. Union Commonwealth - 77
12. Columbia International - 56
13. Bluefield - 54
14. St. Andrews - 40
15. Kentucky Christian - 30
Key Returners: A total of 18 returners will be back on the squad in 2024-25, including much of the team's scoring output from last year.
"We return three All Conference Players: Jaycie Jenkins, Lauren Longmire, and Semaj Clark," said Greer. "Of course, we expect those three to contribute at a higher level, but I think we have some young returners who are ready for further contributions as well."
Jenkins (17.1 PPG, 45.1 FG%, 6.0 RPG, All-AAC First Team), Longmire (13.9 PPG, 49.5 FG%, 5.0 RPG, 4.1 APG, All-AAC First Team) and Clark (11.5 PPG, 43.1 FG%, 3.0 APG, All-AAC Second Team) lead the squad into 2024-25, while several other pieces that were part of the team last year will step back into the fray.
Junior guard McKenna Myers started all 31 games that she played in last year, and she posted 5.5 points per game as the fifth leading scorer for the Buffs.
Junior guard Kenzie Campbell started three games last season and played in 31. She scored a total of 118 points last season on 106 shots taken. She boasted a 41.5% field-goal clip. She also had 98 rebounds, which was the sixth-highest total on the squad.
Sophomore Lina Lyon, from Elizabethton, looks to get more run this season, after she scored 148 points on 55.7% shooting last season. She played in 30 games in 2023-24.
Emma Harig is back for her graduate season in a post role. She played in 14 games last season and shot 30-of-61 from the field, which is good for a 49.2% clip.
Newcomers: Six talented newcomers make up the remainder of the 24-player roster. All six are of the freshman variety.
Emma Cutshall joins the Buffs as a guard from Greeneville, Tenn., and Milligan's lone international signing is forward Romy Bos from Putten, Netherlands. Caroline Krueger, another forward, hails from Knoxville, Tenn. Three more guards, Macy Henry (Elizabethton, Tenn.), Reiley Whitson (Elizabethton, Tenn.) and Kabria Revels (Hendersonville, Tenn.) join the fray in 2024-25.
"This group of freshmen is a great group of young ladies," Greer stated. "You will see some good basketball from them in the coming years, but they are also top notch students and outstanding young women."
Looking at the Schedule: The season gets under way with a home tilt against Alice Lloyd College inside Steve Lacy Fieldhouse on Oct. 29. The Buffs suffered a loss to the Eagles last season and will look to avenge that in the season opener. Then, Milligan heads to the Chamber of Commerce Classic, hosted by Bethel University in McKenzie, Tenn on Nov. 1-2. One final road game in non-conference with the University of Rio Grande on Nov. 9 will be played before a 22-game AAC schedule.
"We have made our non-conference schedule about as hard as we could," explained Greer. "We did it last year and it earned us an at-large bid. This year, we're hoping to utilize these matchups for conference preparation and hopefully rise into the Top 25 of the NAIA poll."
The Buffs will have a pair of difficult road non-conference tests in the month of December. They will face off on Dec. 19 with the team that they fell to in the NAIA Opening Round last season, No. 11 Georgetown (Ky.), followed by a trip to Williamsburg, Ky. to face the No. 7-ranked Patriots of University of the Cumberlands.
"I told the team we've set up a miniature national tournament with Campbellsville, Bethel, Rio Grande, Georgetown and University of the Cumberlands," Greer said. "Those are teams you expect to see in the Top 25 every season. Let's hope it pays off!"
Milligan will look forward to the AAC Tournament at the conclusion of their regular-season slate inside the MeadowView Marriott in Kingsport from Feb. 26-March 1 to crown a conference champ.
Last Word: "Everything we're doing now is to get us ready to win a conference championship," said Greer. "We're hoping to set ourselves up by winning our regular season, but I would love nothing more than to watch this team cut down the nets in Kingsport. They have what it takes to do it!"