Medford, Mass. – Madison Kellione sank a fadeaway runner with no time left on the clock to hand the Transylvania women's basketball team a dramatic 66-65 win over the No. 7 Tufts University Jumbos on Sunday afternoon at Cousens Gymnasium.

Kellione's buzzer-beater served as the exclamation point to an instant classic as the Pioneers remained undefeated on the season at 3-0 overall with a 2-0 trip to the Boston metropolitan area over the weekend. Tufts suffered its first loss of the season to drop to 4-1 and just its second loss since the end of the 2018-19 season.

Kellione led the Pioneers with 22 points on 8 of 15 shooting from the field with 5 of 6 made free throws. The junior's final shot of the day delivered the win to the Pioneers, who just moments before endured a potential 6-0 game-ending run by the Jumbos, who spent the fourth quarter closely trailing Transylvania until the final seconds.  

Fresh off a dominant win at Eastern Nazarene on Friday, the Pioneers tipped off at perennial NESCAC power Tufts on Sunday afternoon in search of its second straight win of the weekend. Kellione paced the Pioneers with seven points in the opening quarter, who weathered the hot shooting of Tufts. The Jumbos used a late 6-0 run in an afternoon full of them to open up a 20-13 lead on the Pioneers at the end of the first quarter.

Transylvania's athleticism and hustle shined in the second quarter, fueled by a 14-0 run from the visitors as Kennedi Stacy, Grace Bringard, and Samantha Cornelison all drained buckets in the momentum-shifting sequence. The Pioneers converted an eight-point deficit into a four-point lead over a nearly six-minute stretch before the Jumbos answered with back-to-back scores to cut the Transy lead to 34-33. On the final possession of the half, Kellione split the Tufts defense to score a layup at the buzzer, providing a precursor for the game's final moment.

Tufts threatened to break open the game in the third quarter, courtesy of four made triples in the first five and a half minutes of the period. The Jumbos used a 15-2 run to claim a 55-44 advantage with 4:23 left in the third.

Transylvania was undeterred, sharpening up its defense the rest of the way; Laken Ball broke free inside for a score to end the Tufts run and Cornelison buried her second triple of the day to cut the deficit to six. Dasia Thornton scored twice in the final two minutes, including a layup on an out of bounds play on the final possession of the quarter to evaporate Tufts' double digit lead to 55-54 at the end of the third period.

With Thornton also scoring at the end of the first quarter, the Pioneers scored on the final possession of all four quarters of Sunday's game.

The fourth quarter turned into a grudge match as the Pioneers would outscore the Jumbos, 12-10. Two free throws from Ball gave the Pioneers a 60-57 advantage at the 7:13 mark of the fourth, but the Pioneers endured a drought of almost three minutes before Ball nailed a field goal with 4:20 left in regulation for a 62-59 Transylvania advantage.

Kellione served up her first clutch moment of the quarter with a runner to lift Transy to a 64-59 lead with 2:39 left. The Pioneers failed to score on their next four trips down the floor while Tufts added two free throws and a layup to pull within a point at 64-63 with 1:36 to go.

The Pioneers forced a critical stop with 46 seconds to go, but could not get a shot off before the shot clock expired on the ensuing possession, handing the Jumbos one final chance to go ahead. Following a timeout, the Jumbos executed to perfection with a backdoor pass against the Pioneers as the home team took a 66-65 lead with 2.3 seconds left.

Transylvania inbounded the ball from the left side after a timeout and found the star of the afternoon in Kellione inside the left wing. Against heavy pressure, Kellione forced up a runner that glanced off the glass and through the hoop, giving the Pioneers an improbable buzzer-beating victory.

Thornton led the Pioneers in rebounding with nine boards to go with 10 points. Ball added 12 points and seven rebounds while Stacy had an all-around showing of 12 points, six rebounds, three assists, and two steals. Transylvania committed seven more turnovers than Tufts, but had the upper hand in points off turnovers, 18 to 15.

Transylvania's busy defense held Tufts to 37 percent shooting from the floor while the Pioneers enjoyed an afternoon of efficiency, hitting 51 percent from the field.

The win at Tufts marks the Pioneers' first victory over a Top 25 team since a 63-52 over No. 11 Trine on December 29, 2018 in Lexington.

Following the Thanksgiving holiday, Transylvania returns to action on Saturday, November 27 for its home opener against Berea College as part of the 2021 Pat Deacon Classic. Tip-off between Transylvania and Berea is scheduled for 1:00 p.m. to lead off a doubleheader with Piedmont facing Alma at 3:00 p.m.

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