Former Lady Cyclone Sarah Robinson led all scorers with 28 points and eight rebounds while Mackenzie Raizor registered a double-double with 12 points and 10 rebounds, and the Milligan College women’s basketball team cruised to an 89-77 win over Alice Lloyd College in its 2018-19 season opener.
Milligan (1-0) led by 11 (46-37) at the halftime break and by as many as 24 late in the second half on the way to the victory.
BY THE NUMBERS
Robinson was 12-for-18 from the floor and 1-of-2 from three, scoring 15 of her game high 28 points in the second half. Raizor was 4-for-12 and added three assists, one block and one steal.
Two other Buffs registered double digits in scoring. Andi Lamb scored 14 to go along with seven rebounds, four assists and one steal. Emma Kate Brown scored 11 with four rebounds, two assists, two blocks and one steal.
Milligan outshot Alice Lloyd (0-1) by 11 made field goals and outrebounded the Eagles 49-28.
BIG SCORING RUN PUTS GAME AWAY
Milligan, which led the whole way, built a seven-point lead within the first four minutes of the game and had a double-digit lead with just over three minutes left in the first half after a basket by Robinson, but the visiting Eagles kept it relatively close for the entire opening half.
Milligan then put the game away in the third quarter on an 11-0 run which changed the lead from 52-42 to 63-42. Four Buffs accounted for scoring during the run, including Robinson who had an and-one and Lamb who scored a bucket on an offensive putback. Raizor and Brown started and finished the run, each with a pair of made free throws.
Freshman Hannah Wyrick hit a 3-pointer with two and a half minutes left in the fourth quarter to put Milligan into its largest lead, 89-65. It was part of a 6-0 Milligan run.
FOR ALICE LLOYD
Hannah Kash led Alice Lloyd with 17 points off the bench. Thirteen other Eagles entered into the scoring column, but none made it to double figures.
Last season, Alice Lloyd went 24-6 overall (15-3 River States Conference) and earned a trip to the NAIA Women’s Basketball National Championship, where they lost in the first round. The Eagles were receiving votes in the final poll of last season.
UP NEXT
Milligan hits the road for its next two games. First up is the Appalachian Athletic Conference opener at Columbia International University Wednesday, followed by a nonconference meeting at Warren Wilson College Saturday. The next home game for Milligan will be Tuesday, Nov. 13, at 5:30 p.m. when the Buffs take on St. Andrews University at Steve Lacy Fieldhouse.
