(RV) Milligan Women’s Basketball Defeats Brenau to Earn AAC No. 1 Seed and NAIA Auto Bid

GAINESVILLE, Ga. — The (RV) Milligan University women's basketball team played their final regular-season battle of the 2024-25 slate in Gainesville, Ga. against the Brenau University Golden Tigers on Saturday afternoon. After a tightly contested first half, the Buffaloes pulled away with a dominant second half for a solid 85-68 triumph. With the win, MU earned an automatic bid to the NAIA National Championships, as well as the No. 1 seed for the Appalachian Athletic Conference (AAC) Tournament later this week.

Milligan did not shoot the ball particularly well in the opening frame, as evidenced by their 8-of-21 shooting mark from the field. On the opposite side, Brenau converted on 7-of-16 to trail by just one point, 19-18.

The second quarter was much the same, as the Buffs limped to a 6-of-19 clip, but still were able to hold the lead at the break by the score of 36-33. That was much due to the Golden Tigers' shooting woes, hitting on only six shots in 15 tries.

Period number three is where the Buffaloes separated from the Tigers, as a 10-of-14 quarter by MU led to a 25-14 score in favor of the Buffs over the penultimate 10 minutes. Brenau made only five shots in the period, struggling mightily. Milligan extended their advantage to 61-47 with one stanza to play.

The final frame was another prolific one for Milligan from the field. They sunk nine shots on 14 attempts, while holding Brenau to 7-of-17 to seal their eventual 85-68 triumph.

Overall, the Buffs had four players in double-figures, as Semaj Clark led the team with 21 points on 7-of-11 shooting. Lauren Longmire drained 8-of-17 for 19 points, while Jaycie Jenkins poured in an efficient 16 on a 7-of-13 clip. McKenna Myers scored 10 points to round out the list, sinking four shots on eight tries.

Longmire's six assists led the way for Milligan, while Jenkins had three and both Clark and Jenna Hare had two. Myers, Tessa Gibson, Kenzie Campbell, Naomi Atchley and Sabrina Espelet had the other four. 

A nine-rebound game from Jenkins was the highest total for MU, as both Myers and Clark added six. Longmire had an impressive five boards, as Campbell supplied three. Lina Lyon and Renna Lane evenly combined for four backboards. Gibson, Hare and Espelet grabbed one each.

Clark's defense continued to stand out, as she snatched three steals. Longmire also had multiple takeaways, with two, and Myers and Atchley both had a single theft.

With the triumphant result, the Lady Buffs have also become the AAC Co-Champions of the regular season at 21-7, 19-3 AAC. They finished the season with the same record as Johnson University, but have earned the first of the conference's two automatic national bids, as well as the AAC Tourney's No. 1 seed; due to their tiebreaker advantage over the Royals.