TERRE HAUTE, Ind. - In front of a raucous crowd in Hulbert Arena, the Rose-Hulman women's basketball team picked up a critical Heartland Collegiate Athletic Conference victory on Saturday afternoon as the Fightin' Engineers defeated the Transylvania University Pioneers by a final score of 68-56 on Saturday afternoon. Rose-Hulman swept both regular season meetings with Transylvania.
Both teams struggled to start the game. Transylvania turned the ball over on its first five possessions and the Fightin' Engineers turned the ball over twice on its first four possessions. Rose-Hulman settled in following the first three minutes of the game and scored the contest's first 10 points. The Fightin' Engineers would never look as RHIT never trailed in the game. At the end of the first quarter Rose-Hulman led 18-10. The Pioneers committed eight turnovers in the first 10 minutes.
Transylvania managed to slow the Fightin' Engineers down in the second quarter and managed to outscore Rose 13-12 in the period. Rose-Hulman shot just 36% (5-14) in the second quarter and turned the ball over six times. Transy made a big push in the second frame behind nine points and three three-pointers from Shelby Boyle. At the intermission, Rose-Hulman held a steady 30-23 lead.
Rose-Hulman's defense, which ranks No. 1 in the HCAC and No. 8 nationally, shut down the Transylvania offense following the intermission. TU was held to just two made field goals in the third quarter and did not make a field goal between the 7:19 mark of the third quarter and the 6:15 mark of the fourth quarter. For the game, Transylvania went 16-46 (35%) from the floor and committed 18 turnovers.
Rose-Hulman shot 41% (23-56) for the contest and only turned the ball over twice in the second half. The Fightin' Engineers made the most of their opportunities at the charity stripe, making 19 of 23 free throw attempts. Rose-Hulman also outrebouonded Transylvania 37-30.
Both Abby Bromenschenkel and Alyzia Dilworth scored 13 points to lead the RHIT offense. Bromenschenkel added five assists, two steals and two blocks. Chiarra Franklin had seven points and eight boards off the bench.
Rachel Cox had 20 points and 12 rebounds for Transylvania. Shelby Boyle added 19 points and seven rebounds.
The win was the 14th straight for Rose-Hulman including the 34th straight win at Hulbert Arena, the nation's longest home winning streak in NCAA Division III women's basketball. Rose-Hulman is now 16-3, 12-0 HCAC. Transylvania had their 11-game winning streak snapped and fell to 14-5, 9-3 HCAC. Rose-Hulman will have another big test on Wednesday January 31 when the team travels to Hanover College. Tipoff on Wednesday is at 7:30.