Eagles Had #2 Milligan on the Ropes

David Finney | photo by Holly Heath

Waleska, GA -  There is a fine line between being at the top of the conference and being stuck in the middle. The Reinhardt Eagles have been walking that fine line since the start of the new year.  They have proven that they can play with anyone and beat the teams in front of them, but the Eagles have gone 4-6 in their last ten games. Five of the sixes losses have been eight points or less. The difference between the Eagles being in the top three spots in the conference is a matter of eight points or less per game over this stretch.

On Tuesday evening, the Eagles welcomed the #2 AAC team, Milligan University, to the campus of Reinhardt University with the single goal of securing their third win in a row. Abi Haynes would start the scoring for the Eagles in the first quarter getting the first two buckets followed by a short jumpber by Brylee Puckett.  Reinhardt was keeping pace with the Buffalos who were on a three-game winning streak. Puckett would tie the game at ten on a layup assisted by Haynes at the four-minute mark, however, a few key three-pointers by Milligan after this tie would give them an early eight-point lead by the end of the first, 20-12.

The second quarter would see the Buffalos continuing to score, but the Eagles refused to let the lead get past ten and they started working their way back into the game. Symone Williams would have the first basket for the Eagles in the second quarter followed by a couple of free throws and a layup by Brylee Puckett. The lead by Milligan did get as high as thirteen in the second quarter, and the Eagles would spend the rest of the quarter chipping away at the lead. They were able to get the deficit down to just nine by the end of the second.  As long as the Eagles had the lead to ten or under, they could easily make a run in the second half to pull out a win.

Katrice Jackson and Catherine Shope would lead the comeback in the second half. Jackson's layup at the five-minute mark cut the once thirteen point lead down to just five. Brooke Grinstead would hit a key three-pointer just outside the three-minute mark keeping the Eagles within striking distance. The defensive intensity stepped up in the second half as well making it hard for the Milligan guards to get the ball up the floor. This created turnovers and transition plays for the Eagles, however, Milligan always seemed to come up with a big shot when the Eagles were knocking on the door. The third quarter would still have the Buffalos with a ten-point lead, but the Eagles still had a chance to make a run at them.

The fourth quarter would need the leadership of Shope and Haynes to get them back into the game, however, they would get some help from Puckett and Jackson as well. With just under four minutes left in this game, the Eagles would get the lead to just six points. Afterwards, Shope hit a huge three-pointer at the two-minute mark to cut the lead to just two points and the last two minutes were lining up to be a thriller at The Brown Athletic Center.

Haynes had a chance to tie the game at 64 on a pair of free throws, but she could only hit the second of the two shots. The Eagles would never get that one key shot to tie or take the lead in this game. Milligan made key shots and free throws down the stretch to eventually secure their win. The game ended with a 75-69 narrow loss for the Eagles. Catherine Shope would lead the Eagles in scoring at 18 points, Katrice Jackson and Abi Haynes had 13 each, and Brylee Puckett added 10 points.

It was another tough loss for Reinardt as they would see another possible victory slip through their hands.  The good news is that they still have four games remaining and it is all teams that are either below them in the standings or teams they have previously beaten earlier in the season. Look for the Eagles to make some ground in the standings over the final two weeks as they begin to prepare for the conference tournament. The Eagles will be on the road this Saturday when they face Bluefield in Virginia.