The Oglethorpe women's basketball team saw their season come to a close Saturday in Lexington, Kentucky, as the No. 18 Transylvania Pioneers had an outstanding shooting night en route to a 76-56 victory in the second round of the NCAA Division III Women's Basketball Championship. The Stormy Petrels finished their season 23-7, marking the best record by an Oglethorpe women's basketball team since 2009.
Transylvania shot 41.4 percent from 3-point range en route to the victory, making 12 shots from distance. They also made 83.9 percent of their free-throw attempts, draining 26 foul shots in total. The Petrels, meanwhile, made just 32.9 percent of their shots and were 5-for-25 on 3-pointers. Though they shot 83.3 percent from the line, they made just six visits to the charity stripe.
Oglethorpe got off to an outstanding start, jumping on the Pioneers 5-0 over the opening 1:45. After a 3-pointer from senior guard Bailey Charles, Oglethorpe led 8-4 with 5:21 to go in the opening period. However, Transylvania embarked on a 14-2 run to close the period ahead 18-10.
After the two teams traded baskets for awhile to start the second quarter, Transylvania pushed the lead out further, going on a 19-4 spurt over the latter half of the second quarter to take a 44-23 lead just before the halftime break. The Petrels got a basket at the end of the half to make it 44-25 at halftime.
The Petrels stabilized things in the second half, but were never able to cut into the Pioneer lead in a significant way. They got as close as 15 points a couple of times in the second half, including when they made it 46-31 at the 8:22 mark of the third quarter. They also pulled to within 53-38 with 5:06 left in the quarter. The Pioneers were able to extend their advantage out each time, though. Oglethorpe pulled back to within 16 points, 62-46, with 4:30 left, but Transylvania pushed their lead out again and put the game away.
Senior forward Lauren Ransom led the Petrels with 14 points, 13 rebounds and three blocks while junior forward Karlymarie Dyer scored 10 on 4-of-10 from the field and 2-of-4 from long distance. Charles finished with seven points on 3-of-5 from the field and three assists.
Transylvania outrebounded Oglethorpe 41-34, but the Petrels outscored the Pioneers 32-14 in the paint.
The Petrels finish the season with the most wins and best NCAA finish since 2009, when the team went 27-4 and advanced to the sectionals.