February 21, 2015
By: Ryan Schadewald, sports information assistant
LEXINGTON, Ky. - The Transylvania Pioneers made a statement to the rest of the HCAC as they hit seven first half triples en route to their 96-49 victory over the Bluffton women’s basketball team on Saturday, Feb. 21. The 15th-ranked Pioneers finished the regular season unbeaten in the HCAC at 18-0 and 24-1 overall. Bluffton will go into tournament play at 18-7 with a 12-6 mark in the conference.
The Beavers jumped on top early when a bucket from Taylor Knight (Perrysburg) pushed them to a 6-4 advantage. However, the Pioneers would score 21 of the next 25 markers for a 25-10 lead with 8:53 until halftime. The home team would continue to extend the lead, getting it to 24 points before taking a 41-19 spread into the locker room. Transylvania drained 7-of-10 (70 percent) from deep, as well as 17-of-33 (51.5 percent) from the floor in the stanza while outrebounding the Beavers by a 19-11 margin. The Pioneers shot even better in the second, converting 17-of-29 from the floor en route to 55 points in the final 20 minutes.
The Pioneers finished the game 34-of-62 (54.8 percent) from the floor, including a blistering 12-of-21 (57.1 percent) from beyond the arc. The Beavers, however, shot just 18-of-54 (33.3 percent) and 3-of-11 (27.3 percent) from deep. The Pioneers outrebounded the Beavers, 40-29, and also committed just five turnovers compared to Bluffton’s 15.
Bluffton was led by sophomore center Rachel Beining (Ottoville) who scored 16 to go along with seven boards and three blocks. Freshman Macey Sheerer (Bucyrus) finished with eight, while Mikayla Coburn (McGuffey/Upper Scioto Valley) added seven markers and five rebounds in the loss. Transylvania finished with five scorers in double figures, led by Katelyn Smith who was a perfect 6-of-6 from the floor and 2-of-2 at the stripe for 14 points. Jordin Fender added 13 while Alex McKenzie finished with 11.
The Beavers will enter the upcoming HCAC tournament as the #3 seed or the #4 seed. They will play either Manchester, Rose-Hulman or Defiance. Rose and Defiance are currently tied for the sixth and final spot in the tournament and both of their games were moved to Sunday due to weather conditions. If the Engineers are the #6 seed, the Beavers will play Rose or Manchester at Transylvania on Friday, Feb. 27. Should Defiance claim the #6 seed, Bluffton will likely host the Yellow Jackets in the Sommer Center on Tuesday, Feb. 24. Continue to check the Bluffton women's schedule page at http://www.bluffton.edu/athletics/womensbasketball/2015/schedule.html for the latest tournament updates.
-BEAVERS-
