Winning Streak Ends for (RV) Milligan Women's Basketball in Defeat at Bryan

DAYTON, Tenn. – The (RV) Milligan University women's basketball squad did battle in southern Tennessee against the Bryan College Lions on Wednesday evening, looking for their 13^th Appalachian Athletic Conference (AAC) win in a row. After beginning the tilt in good shape with a double-digit lead after one period, Milligan's offense slowed and allowed Bryan to pull off an upset victory, 70-63, in Dayton.

It was a great start for the Buffaloes, as they held a 22-11 lead following the opening period. They shot 45% from the field on a 9-of-20 clip, while holding Bryan to just 5-of-13 shooting.

The script flipped in the second, as the shooting for Milligan took a hit. They were only able to score 13 second-quarter points. To make matters worse, the Lions had a prolific 27-point showing, taking a slim 38-35 lead over the Buffs into the intermission.

Offensive struggles continued to manifest for the Buffaloes in the third, as they only made five field goals on 14 tries in the stanza. Bryan actually scored fewer points (12) in the frame, which kept the Buffs in the contest, as they entered the fourth down by just two points, 60-58.

Milligan would never return to their first-quarter level of output, however, as they limped to a 7-of-17 quarter to close out the contest. The Lions knocked down 6-of-12 from the floor, in addition to a 8-of-9 mark from the free-throw stripe to lead the period 20-15 and hand MU a 70-63 upset loss.

Overall, Milligan struggled to a 25-of-65 (38.5%) clip from the floor, as Jaycie Jenkins led the way with a 16-point game with a 7-of-16 conversion rate. Semaj Clark scored 15 on 5-of-9 from the field, and Lauren Longmire put up 11 on 5-of-16 shooting.

As a team, the Buffs managed 15 assists, which included four from both Clark and Longmire. Kenzie Campbell had three, while McKenna Myers had two and both Jenkins and Lina Lyon had one.

Jenkins hauled in seven backboards, as she led the team, with Clark bringing in six. Campbell rebounded the ball five times off the bench, as Myers and Longmire were next with three each. Lyon and Tessa Gibson each nabbed two, and Naomi Atchley and Jenna Hare notched the two remaining boards.

Clark achieved a total of three steals and a block in the loss, while Longmire added a pair of takeaways. Gibson had one steal in the game, and Campbell had the other rejection for Milligan.

Following the disappointing result, the Buffaloes have finally had their long conference winning streak snapped at 12 games, as they now look ahead to next Wednesday, Feb. 12 at 5:30 p.m. against the Bluefield University Rams inside Steve Lacy Fieldhouse.