ST. LOUIS, Mo. (WLCSports.com) - Wisconsin Lutheran College 21st-year head coach Klay Knueppel collected his 400th career coaching victory on Friday, as the Warriors knocked off 17th-ranked Transylvania 73-65 in the first game of the McWilliams Classic at WashU Field House.

WLC (2-2), which won its ninth game in program history over a Top 25 opponent, made a season-high 10 three-pointers against the Pioneers, the national runner-up a season ago.

Wisconsin Lutheran, which shot 66.7 percent in the first quarter, erased an early 3-0 deficit with a 15-3 scoring run to take a game-high nine-point lead. TU closed within three points with a 6-0 spurt of its own, but three-pointers from seniors Ainsley Howard (Jefferson, Wis.) and Lexy Smit (Brandon, Wis.) helped the Warriors take a 23-16 advantage through the opening quarter.

WLC scored just two points through the first six-and-a-half minutes of the second quarter, as Transylvania knotted the score four times over the final 3:47 of the half. A last-second tip-in by the Pioneers capped an 8-2 run and gave them just their second lead of the game, a 35-33 edge at halftime. TU outshot Wisconsin Lutheran 50 percent to 31.3 percent in the second stanza.

The Warriors opened the second half with five straight points to take back the lead, but TU responded right back with an 8-0 scoring run to force a WLC timeout four-and-a-half minutes in. Wisconsin Lutheran closed the third quarter with three straight three-pointers from Smit and senior Kara Troxel (Bonduel, Wis.) to take a 52-47 lead into the fourth quarter. Smit scored nine of her 14 points in the third period alone.

Howard hit a pair of three-pointers in the first minute-and-a-half of the fourth quarter to extend the Warriors' lead up to nine points on two occasions. After Transylvania came within four, freshman Lily Oiler (Watertown, Wis.) capped a 5-0 spurt with the team's 10th three-pointer of the contest. The Pioneers answered with six straight to bring their deficit down to just three with just 1:36 remaining. Senior Janiyah Goner (Milwaukee, Wis.) followed with a jumper and WLC made five of six free throws to close out a 73-65 victory.

Smit paced three Wisconsin Lutheran players in double figures with 14 points, including four triples. Freshman Abby Cole (Fond du Lac, Wis.) tallied 13 points and eight rebounds, and sophomore Margie Stevens (Oneida, Wis.) added 12 points. Goner finished with six assists and two blocks, while junior Jayden Hill (Kenosha, Wis.) had three steals. The Warriors shot 45.8 percent (27-for-59) from the floor, including 43.5 percent (10-for-23) from beyond the arc. 

Sadie Wurth scored 15 points to lead four players in double figures for TU (2-2), which shot 40 percent (24-for-60) for the game.

WLC faces its fourth Top 25 opponent in its last five games when it battles No. 18 WashU (3-0) on Saturday at 5 p.m. in the championship game of the McWilliams Classic. Live coverage links can be found at WLCSports.com.