LEXINGTON, KY. -- Defending Heartland Collegiate Athletic Conference women's basketball regular season champion Transylvania University showed its strength with an 85-42 victory over Rose-Hulman Institute of Technology in the league opener on Saturday.
Madisen Webb led four Pioneers in double figures with 18 points. Katelyn Smith added 16 points, Nicole Coffman scored 13, and Alex McKenzie contributed 11 points for a balanced Transylvania attack.
The Pioneers shot 41% from the field for the game and made 23-31 free throws as part of their offensive performance. The Transylvania defense also held Rose-Hulman to 28% from the field in the victory.
Freshman Kristen Belyea (Mahomet, Ill./Mahomet Seymour) led the Rose-Hulman with 10 points for her second straight double figure scoring effort.
Freshman Abbie Marshall (St. Louis, Mo./Merinx Hall) scored nine points for the Engineers, and freshman Brooke Butler (Cincinnati, Ind./Eastern Greene) contributed a career-high seven points to the effort.
Freshman Josie Schmidt (Eight Four, Pa./Ringgold) scored six points, and freshman Jamie Loving (Normal, Ill./West) also had five for Rose-Hulman. Both players tied their previous season scoring-highs.
Transylvania improved to 4-1 overall and 2-0 in conference play, while Rose-Hulman dropped to 1-5 and 0-1 in league games. The Fightin' Engineers return to action with a home contest against Anderson University on Wednesday.