Box Score

N. MANCHESTER, Ind. – Transylvania spotted Manchester an early 10-point edge Saturday, then rallied in the second half for a 57-49 win in women's Heartland Conference basketball action.
 
Transy is 18-5, 14-2 in the conference, while the Spartans are 8-15, 7-9 HCAC. The Pioneers entered the day with a one-game lead over Franklin in the HCAC race while Manchester was tied for fifth place. Transy has won two straight and 10 of its last 11 outings.
 
Manchester jumped to an early 10-point cushion, 14-4, just five minutes into the contest and the Spartans maintained that advantage at the break, 35-25. Transy shot just 25 percent from the field over the first 20 minutes while Manchester was connecting on 15 of 31.
 
Transy improved to 38 percent in the second half, while holding Manchester to 21 percent (five of 24) and just 14 points overall.
 
Transy used a 24-5 scoring edge from the free throw line to pull away for the win.
 
Nicole Coffman had 27 points and three assists to lead Transy while Alex McKenzie added 10 points and seven boards. Kayla Dobson, making her first start of the season in place of Alex Botkin, had two points while hauling in a career high 20 rebounds.
 
Abby Lang and Erynn Meiklejohn each scored nine points to lead Manchester.
 
Transy scored the first nine points of the second half to get within one on a Katelyn Smith layup. The Pioneers didn't get the lead for good until Coffman hit one of two free throws to make it 48-47 with 3:16 to go. That began a 12-2 run to end the game. Transy's final margin was also its biggest. Smith finished the game with nine points.
 
Transy is back in action on Wednesday, when it travels to Hanover for a 7:30 p.m. matchup. The Pioneers will meet Bluffton at the Beck Center for a Senior Day contest next Saturday at 2 p.m.