Box Score

BLUFFTON, Ohio – Transylvania broke a late tie Saturday by scoring the last 11 points of the game, earning a 63-52 win over Bluffton Saturday in Heartland Conference women's basketball action.
 
The Pioneers are 6-1, 4-0 HCAC, and continue to lead the early conference race after scoring their sixth consecutive win. The Beavers fall to 5-4, 1-4 HCAC.

Bluffton tied the contest for the only time all day on a basket by Kaitlyn Pennekamp with just over two minutes to play, making it 52-52. But the Beavers, who never led in the contest, did not score again.
 
Nicole Coffman, who led Transy with 17 points, canned a pair of free throws and Katelyn Smith followed by hitting one of two from the line. On her miss on the second shot, Alex Botkin grabbed the rebound and put it back in for a 57-52 advantage with 1:28 to go. Botkin finished with 14 points and 14 rebounds for her second career double-double.
 
A jumper by Coffman and two free throws by Botkin gave Transy a nine-point edge and Smith capped the scoring with two more free throws with a second to go.
 
Alex McKenzie was also in double figures for Transy with 11 points and Madisen Webb added five points, 10 rebounds, and seven assists. Smith finished with nine points. Bluffton was led by Pennekamp's 12 points off the bench.
 
Transy canned 41 percent of its field goal attempts while holding the Beavers to just 32 percent. The Pioneers also enjoyed a 28-11 scoring edge from the free throw line and out-rebounded the home team, 48-29. That resulted 26-16 scoring advantage in the paint.
 
Transy game out of the gate hot, scoring the first five points of the game and stretched its advantage to as many as 13 points, 32-19, at the 2:31 mark. Transy led 35-25 at the break, sparked by 10 points each from McKenzie and Coffman. Botkin added six points and eight rebounds.
 
Webb had seven first-half rebounds as Transy amassed a 25-15 edge on the boards. Transy was 10 of 23 from the floor in the half, good for 43 percent, while Bluffton just nine of 31 (29 percent). The Pioneers also had a 14-6 scoring edge at the free throw line.
 
Transy is back in action on Monday and Tuesday when it hosts the Pat Deacon Classic at the Beck Center. The Pioneers open play Monday at 6 p.m., taking on Muskingum with Huntingdon meeting Marietta in the 8 p.m. nightcap. Play continues at noon on Tuesday, when Huntingdon and Muskingum meet with the Transy-Marietta contest to follow.