HANOVER, Ind.—The 15th ranked Transylvania University women's basketball cruised to another 20-point win with an 81-61 victory over Hanover College Wednesday at the Collier Arena.
Transylvania held a 38-32 lead at the end of the first half, before exploding in the second half to cruise to its 23rd win of the season. The Pioneers claimed their third straight Heartland Collegiate Athletic Conference title this season with a flawless 17-0 record in conference play with one regular season game remaining.
Junior Katelyn Smith knocked down a three-pointer to open the second half for the Pioneers. With a 45-36 lead, senior Chelsea Pharris pulled down a defensive rebound before knocking down another long ball to put the Pioneers up 12, 48-36.
From there, the Pioneers outscored the Panthers 23-11 over the next seven minutes to take a controlling 18-point lead with 7:59 remaining. Another long ball from Smith put the Pioneers up 20 at the 7:31 mark on their way to victory.
Sophomore Jordin Fender knocked down a three-pointer after a steal from senior Alex McKenzie to put the Pioneers up 3-0 less than a minute into action. Hanover's Megan Caudill answered on the following possession to tie at three apiece knocking down a shot from behind-the-arc.
The Pioneers' offense converted on back-to-back possessions, before another three-pointer from Hanover. The Panthers built a 15-14 lead, before senior Kayla Dobson found senior Nicole Coffman for the layup for a 16-15 lead with 10:32 left in the first half. Coffman followed with seven straight points for the Pioneers for a four-point advantage, 23-19, with 6:42 remaining.
Hanover kept the Pioneers' lead within reach, narrowing the deficit to five, 30-25, with under four minutes left. Baskets from Coffman, Fender and Smith pushed the Pioneer lead to 36-25, but the Panthers closed the half on a 7-2 run to close the Transylvania lead to 38-32.
The Transylvania defense limited the Panthers to 20-of-66 (30 percent) from the floor, while shooting 31-of-75 (41.3 percent). The Pioneers outrebounded the Panthers 51-36 for the contest and rank in the top five in the country in both field goal percentage and rebounding margin.
The Pioneers will host Bluffton University Saturday on senior day in the first of an HCAC doubleheader at the Beck Center. Saturday's game is scheduled for 2 p.m.