(RV) Buffaloes Women’s Basketball Hammers Pikeville in AAC Semis, Moves on to Championship Game

KINGSPORT, Tenn. — The (RV) Milligan University women's basketball team spent their Friday afternoon in Kingsport, Tenn. at the MeadowView Marriott, where the Buffaloes dismantled the University of Pikeville Bears in the Appalachian Athletic Conference (AAC) Semifinals by a final tally of 82-54.

The early stages of the contest were tough, as Milligan started the game down 18-14 after one. It took some time to get the lid off the rim for the Buffs, as they shot just 5-of-18 in the opening period. 

Milligan's second quarter pushed them to a 35-29 lead, as the fortunes flipped a bit in the stanza. The Buffaloes' 8-of-16 clip led them to a 21-11 advantage over the course of the second.

The biggest scoring outburst came in the third period for MU, as their 12-of-22 (54.5%) mark led to 31 third-quarter tallies. Pikeville had an abysmal 5-of-17 period and scored just 10 points, falling down 66-39 to the Buffs with 10 minutes to go.

Coasting to the final horn, the Buffaloes posted a 16-15 advantage in the final quarter to win 82-54 and advance to the AAC Tournament Championship game.

Jaycie Jenkins scored 24 points in the contest on an 8-of-15 day from the field. She was followed by Semaj Clark, who had 18 on 6-of-14 shooting. Jenna Hare scored 12 off the bench, providing a spark with a 4-of-6 clip and a perfect 3-of-3 from deep. Lina Lyon also scored 10 points for Milligan.

Clark's five assists were the most on the MU roster, while Tessa Gibson dished out three and Hare had two. Jenkins, Lyon, Lauren Longmire and Kenzie Campbell had the remaining four.

A total of 55 rebounds, including four team rebounds were collected by Milligan, as Clark had an outlandish 17 boards in the win. That is tied for ninth in Milligan history for rebounds in a game. Jenkins hauled in 11, as both she and Clark had double-doubles. Hate had five, while Longmire, Campbell and Naomi Atchley all brought in four. Lyon had two boards, and McKenna Myers, Renna Lane, Lexi Ervin and Sabrina Espelet each notched one.

Four steals and two blocks were tallied by Milligan, as Clark's three steals led the way. Atchley had two rejections, while Lyon was responsible for the other takeaway.

Milligan now returns to the AAC Tournament Championship for the first time since the 2022-23 season when they fell to Reinhardt. This time around, they will play the No. 7-seeded Tennessee Wesleyan University Bulldogs at 1 p.m. tomorrow, Saturday, Mar. 1, in search of their first AAC Tournament Championship since 1998-99.