Lexington, Ky. – The Transylvania women's basketball team captured the Pat Deacon Classic championship on Saturday night by cruising past the Berea College Mountaineers, 68-55 on Friday night at the Beck Center.

Playing in its own nonconference tournament, the host Pioneers finished off a tournament of celebration with a collection of accomplishments to savor.

Junior forward Rachel Cox collected the tournament's Most Valuable Player award after putting together a monster night of 24 points on 10-for-17 shooting from the field along with eight rebounds, one assist, one steal, and one block.

Freshman guard Shelby Boyle earned her way onto the Pat Deacon Classic All-Tournament team along with Cox, adding 11 points, five rebounds, two assists, and two steals to culminate two solid back-to-back performances.

After beating their previous day opponents to advance to the championship round of the tournament, Berea and Transy struggled to put the ball in the basket in the first quarter as both sides shot under 30 percent from the floor. Cox scored the first and last field goals of the quarter to give Transylvania an 11-10 lead heading into the second quarter.

After Berea took a brief lead to commence the second quarter, sophomore point guard Kristen Hayes sank a 3-pointer for a 16-14 Transylvania lead. Ashton Woodard scored six consecutive points for the Pioneers as Transylvania went ahead 22 to 19 with three minutes plus remaining in the second quarter.

Boyle had one of her most potent sequences of the weekend, hitting a pair of free throws down the stretch, followed by a pair of 3-balls to give Transylvania a 30-23 lead heading into halftime.

The third quarter belonged to Cox, as the junior put up 14 points, including a series of successful battles on the blocks. Cox scored 18 of her 24 points in the second half.

The Pioneers put the game out of reach early in the fourth quarter when sophomore guard Celia Kline splashed in a 3-pointer on the Pioneers' first possession for a 55-39 advantage. Transylvania threw in three more triples the rest of the way to maintain a comfortable margin in picking up the victory.

Transylvania spread the ball around, collecting 21 assists while only committing eight turnovers in the victory. Freshman guard Ashton Woodard was the leading scorer off the bench with 11 points, while junior guard Sarah Ashley was the team's assist leader with five dimes.

Friday's win completes an 8-3 start to the 2016 portion of the 2016-17 schedule for the Pioneers' women's basketball team, along with a 6-1 mark against nonconference opponents.

Transylvania shifts back into conference play when it visits Earlham College next Wednesday, January 4 for a Heartland Collegiate Athletic Conference matchup. Tip-off against the Quakers is scheduled for 7:30 p.m. in Richmond, Indiana.

For more on Transylvania women's basketball, follow their official twitter @TUWBX

2016 Pat Deacon Classic All-Tournament Team

Corrie Reiley – Augustana

Emily Brinker – Dubuque

Bethanie Williams– Berea

Shelby Boyle – Transylvania

Rachel Cox – Transylvania – Tournament MVP