NORTH MANCHESTER, Ind.—The Transylvania University women's basketball team dominated Heartland Collegiate Athletic Conference opponent Manchester University en route to a 77-53 win. The Pioneers outscored the Spartans in every quarter, led by guard Katelyn Smith, to take home the 24-point victory.

Transy trailed for less than three minutes in the contest, all in the first quarter, before grabbing the lead for good on a three-pointer from guard Celia Kline at the 1:39 mark in the opening quarter. The jumper from Kline started a 10-2 run for Transylvania over the closing minute and a half of the quarter to help them take a 27-20 lead into the second period.

The momentum from the late first quarter run carried over into the second, as Transylvania opened the period on a 9-2 run, capped by two free throws from guard Lindsay Hieronymus with 7:40 to play. The free throws, which gave Transy a 36-22 lead, were the final points for a six minute stretch as both teams went cold from the floor. The Pioneers would not get back on the scoreboard until the 1:24 mark in the quarter when guard Kristen Hayes drilled a jump shot to give the Transylvania a 38-23 lead. Transy's next basket came as time wound down in the half as forward Kristen Keeney made a layup with three seconds left, giving the Pioneers a 40-29 advantage after 20 minutes of play.

Transylvania came out hot in the third quarter, making their first three field goal attempts. Guard Shawn Kolani started things for the Pioneers, knocking down a three-pointer, followed by forward Rachel Cox, who also knocked down a shot from behind the arc. Not to be outdone, Smith knocked down a jumper with 6:26 to play in the quarter to give Transy a 48-33 lead. The Pioneers' hot shooting continued for the remainder of the quarter and after another jump shot from Smith with nine seconds to play, Transylvania carried a 15-point, 60-45 lead into the final quarter.

Transy extended its lead in the opening minutes of the fourth quarter, watching their lead swell to 19 with 6:22 to play in the game after Smith made an elbow jumper. Cox scored the next four points for the Pioneers, making four consecutive free throw attempts and with 5:02 to play in the game, Transylvania called off the dogs and substituted their reserves. Guard Paige Taylor made the final basket of the game for Transy, knocking down a three-pointer with 2:20 left in the contest to give the Pioneers their largest lead of the game at 77-51.

Smith and Cox paced Transylvania on the afternoon, scoring 19 and 16 points respectively. Cox also added six rebounds as the second leading rebounder for the Pioneers. Hayes was the high-rebounder of the contest, pulling in a game-high seven boards and contributed eight points of her own.

With the win, Transy moves to 9-5 overall and 6-2 in HCAC action. The Pioneers are on a four-game win streak to start the second half of the conference season. They return to action on Wednesday with a matchup at Mount St. Joseph in Cincinnati, Ohio with tip-off scheduled for 7:30pm.