Box Score
HANOVER, Ind. - Transylvania held Franklin to 30 percent shooting Saturday and went on to post a 74-59 win in the semifinals of the Heartland Conference women's basketball tourney.
Transy (20-7) split a pair of earlier meetings with the No. 2 seeded Grizzlies (19-7). Hanover (24-1), the top seed, defeated No. 4 Manchester 93-65 to earn the other spot in the HCAC finals.
The HCAC Championship game will be played on Sunday at 2 p.m. with the winner receiving the league's automatic bid to the NCAA Division III Championships. The Pioneers are looking for their first appearance since 2009.
Transy led by as many as 10 points, 23-13, in the first half, which ended with the Pioneers on top, 30-22. Senior guards
Olivia Akridge (Eddyville, Ky.) and
Shayla Black (Mooresville, Ind.) led the way with 10 points each and
Holly Milburn (Georgetown, Ky.) added six points and four rebounds.
The Pioneers shot 36 percent in the opening half while holding the Grizzlies to just 26 percent (nine of 34). Franklin was just two of 10 from three-point range. Transy also outscored Franklin 9-2 from the free throw line and had a 25-18 edge on the boards.
Traci Lippold led Franklin with six first-half points.
Transy would lead by as many as 19 points in the second half. The Pioneers shot 46 percent for the game and converted 20 of 27 free throws compared to 10 of 19 for the Grizzlies. Franklin finished seven of 22 from long range while the Pioneers were two of six.
Akridge missed her career scoring high by two, tallying 24 points to go with seven rebounds and two assists. Black finished with 22 points, one under her career high, while Milburn added 11 points and nine rebounds. Senior
Angel Lucas (Elizabethtown, Ky.) had five points and seven rebounds off the bench.
Kasey Dollens led Franklin with 13 points and five rebounds. Lippold added 11 points to the attack.
Akridge ran her career scoring total to 1,225 points, ninth on the Transy all-time list, while Milburn now stands at 1,169, No. 11 all-time. Only 16 Transy female player have scored over 1,000 points for their careers.
