NORTH MANCHESTER, Ind.—The No. 15 ranked Transylvania University women's basketball team used a late 10-0 run in the second half to pull away from the Manchester University Spartans in Heartland Collegiate Athletic Conference play on Saturday, staying undefeated in conference play.

With 8:35 left in the game, senior guard Nicole Coffman pulled down one of her two offensive rebounds and was fouled on the put-back attempt. Coffman would go to the line with the game tied at 49 and sink both free throws, giving the Pioneers a two-point advantage. 

The Transy defense would clamp down and force missed shots on the next three Spartan possessions, while Coffman made two layups and junior guard Katelyn Smith nailed a jump shot to catapult Transylvania to an eight-point lead.

Manchester called a timeout and on the next defensive possession for the Pioneers, senior forward Alex McKenzie blocked the Manchester shot attempt. 20 seconds later, with 5:51 remaining, sophomore guard Jordin Fender dished to freshman guard Sarah Ashley, who made a jumper, expanding the Pioneer lead to 10.

It would be all the Pioneers needed to seal the victory, as Manchester failed to bring the deficit within 10 points for the remainder of the game. 

The game was closely contested throughout, with the Pioneers falling behind early, as they trailed the Spartans by 11 at the 10:57 mark in the first half. Before Transylvania took the lead for good on the Coffman free throws, there were nine ties and eight lead changes as the teams traded baskets for the majority of the game.

Transylvania trailed for much of the first half after a hot shooting start propelled the Spartans to an early lead. Manchester shot 45% (13-29) from the field and 67% (4-6) from behind the arc in the first twenty minutes of play.

The Pioneers were unable to get the three-ball going in the first half, shooting 1-for-8 in the opening minutes, and despite dominating Manchester on the boards (21-10) in the first half, Transy entered the locker room trailing 33-31.

In the second half, it was the Transylvania defense that carried them to victory. Over the final 20 minutes, the Pioneers held Manchester to just 33% (10-30) from the field while shooting 58% (14-24) on the offensive end. 

Smith and Coffman provided big games for the Pioneers. Coffman scored 22 and pulled in eight boards while Smith scored a game-high 25 and yanked down 13 rebounds as the only player to record a double-double.

With the win, Transylvania moves to 18-1 and 12-0 in HCAC action and extended their winning streak to 10. They will travel to Mt. St. Joseph (5-14, 1-11 HCAC) on Wednesday, Feb. 4 in their next game.