Lexington, Ky. - In a back-and-forth contest that came down to the final seconds of the fourth quarter, the Transylvania Pioneers (16-6, 12-3 Heartland Collegiate Athletic Conference) seized a 66-62 win over the visiting Mount St. Joseph Lions (7-15, 6-9 HCAC).

Senior leadership was the catalyst for Transy's down-to-the-wire victory, led by a game-high 26 points from senior guard Katelyn Smith and a game-sealing jumper from senior guard Shawn Kolani with 30.7 tics left on the clock.

Smith kickstarted the game with an instantaneous layup only two seconds after the opening tip and never looked back. The 5-foot-8 Hazard, Ky. Native (Perry Co. Central HS) connected on a red-hot 5-for-6 (.833) three-point field goal attempts, her most of the season. She continues to add to her recent prolific scoring streak that earned her Heartland Collegiate Athletic Conference Player of the Week honors in Week 12, thanks to 57 points and 23-for-34 (.676) shooting over her prior two games.

With 1,900 points now tallied over the course of her four-year career, the only HCAC player tabbed preseason All-America sits just 20 points shy of Transylvania University's all-time scoring record. Smith also contributed three rebounds, one assist, one block, and one steal in a team-high 36 minutes of play.

Kolani's late-game heroics ensured a Pioneers victory when the game was tied at 62 with less than one minute to go. The 5-foot-5 Los Angeles native (Taft HS) nailed a go-ahead runner with just over 30 seconds remaining to give Transylvania a two-point lead. After a quick timeout by Mount St. Joseph, the Lions' Lainee Studer missed a potential game-tying step-back jumper, which led to a 30-second timeout from Transylvania head coach Juli Fulks. Studer stole the ensuing inbounds pass, but missed a layup that was rebounded by her teammate, Maria Sams.

However, Kolani stole the ball back for the Pios and was fouled with just 4.4 seconds remaining. The senior guard went a perfect 2-for-2 from the free throw line and closed out a four-point win for the Pioneers.

Kolani's stat line of 13 points, four assists, four rebounds, and one steal was good for the only other double-digit scoring performance by a Transylvania player on Wednesday night.

At the end of a first quarter shootout, Transy was staring at a 20-17 deficit.

The Pioneers had connected on 4-for-9 (.444) three-point field goals attempts (including one from Kolani as the period expired), but were outscored 14-4 in the paint. The Pios rallied back in the second quarter to tie the game at 29, however, as the teams headed into halftime. After an evenly matched third quarter that left the game tied at 45, Transy outscored the Lions 21-17 in the fourth.

With their 10th victory in 11 games, the Pioneers sit one game behind Bluffton and Rose-Hulman at third place in the HCAC. Transylvania will travel to Defiance, Ohio to take on the 6-16 (5-10 HCAC) Yellow Jackets at 1:00 p.m. on Saturday, February 13.