(Photo courtesy Don Ashley)

Lexington, KY. – Using a furious outside attack to open up the first quarter which lasted throughout the first half, the Transylvania women's basketball team zoomed past the Mount St. Joseph Lions, 87-74 in the Heartland Collegiate Athletic Conference first round game at the Beck Center Tuesday.

The Pioneers shot an overwhelming 15-for-30 from the three-point line on the night, including a 6-for-10 showing from downtown in the first quarter alone. Four different Pioneers scored in double figures, led by senior guards Shawn Kolani and Katelyn Smith who scored 20 and 19 points, respectively. The starting backcourt for Transylvania combined to shoot 15-for-25 from the floor and 8-for-16 from deep.

Smith's 19 points put her at 1,976 career points, making her 24 points away from potentially becoming the first player in Transy women's program history to reach the 2,000-point career scoring mark.

Senior guard Lindsay Hieronymus scored 10 points in what was likely her final game at the Beck Center, and freshman guard Celia Kline scored 16 points on 4-for-5 shooting from the three-point arc.

The win advanced HCAC tournament #4 seed Transylvania to the conference semifinals to face off against the #1 seed and tournament host Bluffton University on Friday. The Pioneers split a home-and-home series with the nationally-ranked Beavers, regular season co-champions of the 2016 HCAC campaign.

The loss ended #5 seed Mt. St. Joseph's season at 9-17 overall, and 8-11 against HCAC opponents.

The Pioneers were in exceptional rhythm from the opening tip. Hieronymus fed Kolani for her first of six triples on the Pioneers opening possession. A Katelyn Smith offensive rebound and follow gave the Pioneers a 5-0 lead before the Lions sunk back-to-back 3-pointers for a 6-0 response.

Hieronymus sent in her first 3-ball of the game and Kolani followed with her second, before handing the baton back to Hieronymus for another and an ensuing 14-8 advantage. Threes by Kolani and Kline in the final two minutes of the quarter strengthened Transylvania's lead to 26-12 at the end of the period.

The second quarter belonged to Transylvania's new all-time leading scorer Katelyn Smith, who posted two 3-pointers amidst a 10-point quarter as the Pioneers outscored the Lions 20-12 for a 46-24 halftime lead.

The Pioneers and Lions reached cruising altitude in the second half as the visiting Lions outscored Transylvania 26-20 in the third quarter to pull within 16 after three.

As Mt. St. Joseph aspired for one last run, the senior Kolani quickly put the game out of reach, hitting three 3-pointers under two and a half minutes to start the quarter, raising the Pioneers' lead to 75-52.

Kolani's long range outburst was the eighth time this season she has hit four or more threes in a game.

Likely requiring the automatic bid for their only shot at a tournament bid, the Transylvania Pioneers bid the Beck Center adieu with efficient shooting, primarily from the veterans who spent the final 40 minutes of their collegiate careers in the venue. Smith displayed an effective field goal percentage of 82 percent for the night, while Kolani had an eFG of 71 percent, and Hieronymus chimed in with an eFG of 80 percent.  

Sophomore forward Rachel Cox aided the Pioneers on the boards with a rust belt line of 13 rebounds, one steal, and zero points. The Pios outrebounded Mount 40 to 22 on the night.

As a team, the Pioneers shot 55 percent from the field, hovering above 63 percent field goal shooting for most of the first half. The Pioneers limited Mt. St. Joseph to 24 percent shooting in the first half to seize control of the proceedings early.

Transylvania returns to the floor on Friday at the home of Bluffton University, benefactors of a first-round bye in the HCAC Tournament for their semifinal matchup. Tipoff for the 1-vs-4 seed game is slated for 6:00 p.m. at the Sommer Center.