Dasia Thornton hoists the walnut-and-bronze in front of the Transylvania faithful who made the trip to Dallas for the Pioneers' national championship victory. Photo by Luke C. Zayas, D3sports.com

By Riley Zayas
D3sports.com

DALLAS -- When Madison Kellione, Dasia Thornton, and Kennedi Stacy sat at the podium representing Transylvania University in Saturday afternoon’s postgame press conference, they weren’t empty-handed. 

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Each brought her notecard, written in the preseason, with her individual goals for the upcoming season. And written on every single one was “win a national championship”.

The Pioneers saw that preseason dream become a reality inside the spacious American Airlines Center in a 57-52 national championship victory over Christopher Newport, thus completing a season that both began and culminated in the state of Texas, without a single loss.

“It means the world to us, to see a dream come to fruition,” Kellione, who had a team-high 17 points, said postgame. “Nearly every day in practice, we’re talking about our goal.”

They were not alone in their pursuit. Backed by hundreds of fans in red and black in attendance on Saturday, along with hundreds more at watch parties back in Lexington, the Pioneers blazed a trail of perfection.

“It’s pretty overwhelming on some levels to see what this group has been able to do,” Transylvania head coach Juli Fulks commented. “It’s a compliment to this group to have so much support.”

In a matchup between the final two undefeated teams still standing in the 2022-23 season, the hype delivered a thrilling finale decided in the game’s final minute. With 64 seconds remaining, Christopher Newport’s Gabbi San Diego tied the score at 49 apiece on a layup as she drove through the Transylvania post.

The Pioneers scored the next six points, with the go-ahead layup from Thornton and four free throws to seal the win.

In a game-defining moment, Transylvania’s Stacy came up with a steal of a CNU inbounds pass at the 10-second mark, and the Captains’ ensuing foul sent Stacy to the line, where she sealed the victory by making a pair of free throws.

“A few days ago when we were here, we talked about starting [the season] in Texas, and trying to end it in the perfect way,” Fulks said. “It’s awesome.

The low-scoring nature of the contest did not surprise either side. With neither team allowing
more than 51 points per game entering the duel, defense emerged as the critical component to success. By the time the fourth quarter began, the opponents had combined for a shooting percentage of 29.7 percent, with 27 turnovers between the two.

“I think they are just slightly better at defending and on the boards,” Fulks said of her team as compared to past teams she has coached. “This was a team that was able to lock down on the defensive end.”

But offense was also necessary, and Transylvania’s Dasia Thornton gave the Pioneers an interior presence to be reckoned with in the second half. She scored eight points in the third quarter, including a driving layup that capped a 9-0 run early in the third. Within a two-minute span, the score went from being knotted at 23 apiece to a 32-23 Transylvania lead. And Thornton was front and center, as the forward grabbed rebound after rebound and generated much-needed offensive momentum for the Pioneers.

“I just go for the rebound because it’s in my area,” Thornton said. “It’s something I’m supposed to do. I’m supposed to dominate so that’s what I did.”

But CNU had a spark of its own. Staying true to its aggressive defensive presence, the Captains held the Pioneer offense at bay in the early minutes of the final quarter, forcing five straight missed field goals for Transylvania. In the same span, Christopher Newport mounted an 8-0 run, focusing on relentless defense.

“Late in the game, a big focus of ours was committing to defense,” San Diego said. “It doesn’t really work unless you have five people who are bought in and flying all over the place. It was really just about being aggressive, being confident.”

Slowly but surely, the Captains found their way back, as the crowd donning royal blue chanted “I believe that we will win”. And it was obvious Christopher Newport believed that, attacking the rim with a fearless poise.

A pair of Lauren Fortescue free throws with 2:18 remaining knotted the score at 47-47, setting up a climatic finish that rose to the level warranted on such a monumental stage.

“We knew [Coach Broderick] had a ton of faith in each and every one of us to get downhill and shoot open shots,” San Diego said. “I think part of our identity is playing hard for 40 minutes. We tried to embody that late down the stretch, and it just unfortunately, didn’t turn out our way.”

Scoring runs and droughts defined the first half, with Christopher Newport putting together the first extended spurt after falling behind 4-2. The straight points for the Captains, including four each from both San Diego and Camille Malagar, gave the champions from the Coast-to-Coast Conference a 12-4 advantage.

But Transylvania’s counter came swiftly. The Pioneers scored six straight points in a 19-second span, cutting the Christopher Newport lead to 15-12 at the end of the first period.

Another 6-0 run for Transylvania gave the Pioneers the lead midway through the second quarter when Stacy connected on a three-pointer in front of her team’s bench. By the end of the first half, the Pioneers led by a narrow 23-21 margin.

Two things that did not show up on the stat sheet at halftime: effort and environment. The intensity displayed itself time and time again, especially when it came to the battle on the boards and the combined 15 offensive rebounds pulled down by both sides in the first two quarters. Neither side gave an inch, and the aggressiveness on the boards produced numerous second-chance opportunities, though scoring on those opportunities were infrequent.

“I think there’s a lot of trust in this group,” Fulks said of her squad’s poise, especially down the stretch. “This group plays hard, so you’re never really coaching energy or emotion. It’s always just the Xs and Os. And that’s one of the reasons why they’re very successful.”

The effort was controllable. But the environment was not. Shooting in a large arena with a deep backdrop challenged both teams for the better part of the contest, with the depth perception altered.

“It was kind of a culture shock to all of us,” said Kellione. “We’ve never really played in a big arena like that. It took a second to adjust. But we really relied on pushing it in the paint because layups are much easier.”

Regardless of the stage that the Pioneers were on, no matter how large the arena or how significant the outcome, a simple glance at the preseason note card brought each and every player on Transylvania’s roster back to the central goal they had pursued all year.

“We pulled them out before the game,” Fulks said of the notecard. “I think everybody was crying. But I’m just so proud of them as a group. To do everything it takes in the offseason, and stay together as a team. To work through all the adversity and come out on top and undefeated.

“You know, we were never ranked number one this year. And we kind of joked, and said, ‘We just want to be number one at the end.’”

Add that to the list of objectives accomplished by Transylvania in Dallas. The Pioneers left no doubt when they cut down the nets on Saturday afternoon.

“Nearly every day in practice, we were talking about our goal,” Kellione said. “We did everything we could to reach it.”