Clark Nails Game-Winner, Jenkins Scores 2,000th Point in OT Upset win at No. 7 Cumberlands

WILLIAMSBURG, Ky. – The Milligan University women's basketball team played their final game of the 2024 calendar year on New Year's Eve, traveling to Williamsburg, Ky. to take on the No. 7-ranked Patriots of University of the Cumberlands. In a tightly fought contest from start to finish, Milligan pulled off the stunning upset in overtime, 90-89. 

The squads played to a 17-17 tie over the first 10 minutes, with the teams combining to shoot 14-of-32 from the field. Milligan sunk 8-of-18 for a 44.4% clip to open the battle. The big story in the first was massive turnover numbers for both sides, as the Patriots had eight and the Buffaloes had seven. 

In the second frame, the Buffs were just as consistent with their shooting, nailing 8-of-18, yet again. This period, though, Cumberlands had a hot offensive streak of their own. They scored on 11 of their 21 shots in the quarter. Luckily, a 5-0 advantage at the free-throw line for Milligan put them two points ahead of the Patriots in the frame, as they maintained a 41-39 lead at the break. 

Milligan had their best offensive output of the afternoon in the third quarter, when they converted on 9-of-16 from the floor and nailed six additional free throws. They matched their second-quarter total of 24 points on a stronger shooting clip. Cumberlands would stay in the game by hitting on 9-of-19 with three free-throw makes. Overall, the Lady Buffs extended their lead by three points to 65-60 entering the final stanza. 

As has been the case in several games this season, the Buffaloes had their worst showing in the fourth quarter. They only made six field goals in the period, while taking a total of 17 shots. On the flipside, the Patriots had eight made baskets on 17 attempts, not fully taking advantage of the step back taken by Milligan. In the end, however, it was enough for Cumberlands to tie things up at 82-82 with extra basketball to be played. 

In overtime, the two squads shared identical shooting clips in the five-minute period, as they both posted 3-of-7 shooting lines. UC made one three-pointer in extra time, while Milligan made none, but the Buffs had a 2-of-2 trip to the free-throw stripe to make the difference. Semaj Clark nailed the eventual game-winning mid-range jumper for the Lady Buffs with 1.2 seconds remaining on the clock. The Patriots would get one more contested shot up from the paint as time expired but would be unable to convert, giving Milligan a 90-89 win in OT. 

On top of hitting the game-winner for Milligan, Clark led the team in points with 25 on an efficient 10-of-20 clip with two threes. Jaycie Jenkins became the fifth Milligan women's basketball player to join the coveted 2,000-point club with a 22-point performance in the win, while shooting 7-of-17 overall and 8-of-9 at the charity stripe. Jenkins now has 2,003 career points. McKenna Myers' 15 points came on a 6-of-11 performance from the field, including a pair of long balls. Finally, Lauren Longmire produced 14 points on a 6-of-15 clip shooting the rock. 

Longmire did more than just score, as she added seven assists to lead the team. Both Clark and Lina Lyon had four dimes in the upset win, while Myers was the remaining distributor with multiple assists, dishing out a pair. 

Jenkins nearly notched a double-double, reeling in nine backboards in the victory, which was the high mark for the squad. Clark supplied eight rebounds, Longmire grabbed five and Lyon snatched four. A trio of others (Myers, Kenzie Campbell, Jenna Hare) hauled in two each. 

With the large number of turnovers (20) by Cumberlands in the battle, there were 13 steals racked up by the Lady Buffs. Longmire led the way with five of them, while also being responsible for the lone blocked shot by the Buffaloes on the afternoon. Jenkins added four steals of her own, while the remaining four came from Myers, Clark, Lyon and Tessa Gibson. 

Milligan's Appalachian Athletic Conference (AAC) slate continues Saturday, Jan. 4 at 2 p.m. against (RV) Johnson University (11-1, 7-1 AAC) inside Steve Lacy Fieldhouse. The Lady Buffs (8-6, 6-2 AAC) will be searching for their seventh AAC triumph in nine games against a highly competitive Royals squad.