LEXINGTON, Ky.—The Transylvania Pioneers shot 50 percent from the field in the first half and cruised to a 95–58 victory over the visiting Blackburn Beavers in the nightcap of the 2014 Pat Deacon Classic. With the victory, the Pioneers stretched their winning streak to eight games and remained perfect on the season.
In the first half, the 16th ranked Pioneers opened up a 21 point lead behind the shooting of Nicole Coffmanwho finished the half 9-for-10 for 18 points. Katelyn Smith, the Heartland Collegiate Athletic Conference Player of the Week, added 9 first half points. Jordin Fender tallied 4 assists in 13 first half minutes.
For the Pioneers, Alex McKenzie and Kayla Dobson each pulled down 5 first half rebounds, as Transylvania held Blackburn to just 38.5 percent from the field on 10 of 26 shooting in the half.
In the second half, the Pioneers extended their lead as Hannah Neeley scored 15 points in the half, andChelsea Pharris scored 10 points in the half off the bench.
"Our bench shot the ball really well tonight," said head coach Juli Fulks. "We were able to score from a variety of people and places to be well rounded on offense."
For the game, the Pioneers were led by Nicole Coffman's 22 points on 11-for-14 from the field. Katelyn Smith finished with 11 points, and Jordin Fender just missed a double-double with 11 points and 9 assists. Hannah Neeley poured in 17 points, and Chelsea Pharris added 12 points. Lindsay Hieronymus also reached double figures with 10 points. Under the boards, Alex McKenzie and Kayla Dobson each pulled down 7 rebounds in the Pioneers victory.
The Beavers (0-8) were led by Briana Rae who posted a double-double with 30 points and 13 rebounds.
In the first game of the 2014 Pat Deacon Classic, the Maryville Scots held off a late charge by the Bridgewater Eagles for the 70-69 victory.
Maryville was led by Alex Bond who finished with 20 points, including the game-winning free throw with just 1.5 seconds remaining in the game. Jordan Ballard added 12 points for the Scots, and Joanna Young scored 11 points.
For Bridgewater, Cassidy Burkholder led the way with 24 points. Jessica Lam added 18 points, and Jessi Strom finished with 10 points.
Maryville (6-1) faces Transylvania (8-0) in the championship of the 2014 Pat Deacon Classic at 2 p.m. Saturday in the Clive M. Beck Center. Bridgewater (3-5) faces Blackburn (0-8) in the consolation game at noon.
Live stats will be available for both games here.
Watch the live stream for both games here.