KINGSPORT, Tenn.— Mariya Williams scored the 1,000^th point of her Cavalier career and the Montreat women's basketball team upended the Milligan University Buffaloes in a 60-55 ballgame that went down to the wire in an Appalachian Athletic Conference (AAC) Tournament quarterfinal matchup Thursday evening. With the victory over the No. 3 seed, the Cavaliers improved to 20-9 on the season, their most wins since 2011-12.
 
Neither team scored for three minutes as the teams settled into the competition before Vaniyah Petty got the Cavs on the board first, sparking a run. The Cavaliers notched the initial nine points of the contest and held Milligan without a point for over half the quarter (5:33) to go up 9-0.
 
The Buffaloes responded with seven straight points to cut into the Montreat edge; however, Ja'Liah Wilson tallied four late points as the Cavs entered the second frame with a 15-9 advantage. The No. 6 seed shut down MU's offense, leading to a 3-19 (15.8 percent) showing through 10 minutes, while the Cavaliers made seven of 15 attempts (46.7 percent) themselves.
 
Aebri Graham extended the edge back out to nine (20-11) with her second triple of the evening, and the Montreat defense continued to cause the Buffaloes problems, keeping the No. 3 seed off the board for the first 4:03 of the second frame. Williams, who captained the team with nine points at the break, tallied the 1,000^th point of her Cavalier career with 1:50 remaining in the period, marking an important basket as the Cavs led wire-to-wire in the half.
 
"I'm really happy for Mariya getting her 1,000^th point tonight," mentioned head coach Josh Thompson. "She has worked hard all year and she had a huge game for us."
 
Though Milligan trailed by as many as nine, a late run pulled the Buffaloes within one (27-26) at the intermission. Montreat shot better both overall (12-32 FG) and from three (2-6 3-pt FG), holding MU to only 27.3 percent from the field (9-33 FG) and 1-12 from deep (8.3 percent). Williams led the Cavs in scoring (nine points) and rebounding (five boards) heading into the latter portion of the matchup, while Graham and Wilson followed with six points each. Each team committed five turnovers in the opening half, but the Cavaliers made the most of their extra possessions, leading the points off turnovers battle, 10-4, with two periods to go.
 
Adrianna Gullette utilized an old-fashioned 3-point play to give the Cavaliers another 6-point edge (32-26) 2:37 into the third quarter, but the Buffaloes then made a charge. An 11-2 stretch by Milligan kept Montreat from scoring for much of the remainder of the third, giving the favorites a 37-36 advantage with 10 minutes left.
 
An exciting and offense-filled period ensued as both squads had their highest scoring output of the game in the final frame. Makayla Thompson started the fourth with an and-1 before Williams did the same to put the Cavs ahead 40-37. Eight consecutive points from the Buffaloes switched momentum in a back-and-forth 10 minutes prior to five quick points from Williams that knotted the contest at 47 midway through the quarter.
 
Williams, who scored 14 of her game-high 27 points in the fourth, tallied her third 3-point play of the quarter to give the Cavaliers a 52-51 advantage with just 3:07 on the clock. Though Milligan (19-10) answered to tie the competition at 54, 3-pointers by Gullette and Graham sealed the team's first trip to the AAC semifinals since the 2015-16 season.
 
Montreat outscored the Buffaloes 24-18 in the last 10 minutes, resulting in the 5-point win as the Cavs held Milligan to its worst 3-point shooting percentage of the year (9.1 percent; 2-22 3-pt FG). Meanwhile, the Cavaliers connected on four of their 11 looks from deep (36.4 percent), including the vital two in the closing moments. Overall, the Cavs (26-62 FG) outshot their counterparts (21-60 FG) by knocking down 41.9 percent of their looks to MU's 35.0 percent.
 
"This was a hard-fought win against a tough Milligan team," said Coach Thompson. "The team battled, made big stops on defense when we needed it and made big shots on offense to finish the game," he concluded.
 
Williams captained both sides with her 27 points, accounting for 12 of the team's 26 makes from the field, and led the Cavaliers with eight rebounds. Gullette (10) ended in double figures in scoring, while grabbing seven boards. Graham finished with nine points on a 3-for-4 3-point shooting night.
 
The No. 6 seeded women's basketball team now prepares for the No. 2 seed, the Point University Skyhawks, in the semifinal round of the AAC Tournament. Tipoff in Friday's matchup is slated for 4:00 p.m. at the MeadowView Conference Resort and Convention Center in Kingsport, Tenn.