Lexington, Ky. – Kennedi Stacy scored a career-high 21 points to lift the No. 11/15 Transylvania women's basketball team into its fourth straight conference tournament championship game appearance with a 74-45 victory over the Bluffton University Beavers in the Heartland Collegiate Athletic Conference Tournament semifinals on Saturday afternoon at the Beck Center.

The freshman Stacy drained 4 of 5 triples from outside and shot 70 percent from the floor to lead a first-half shooting onslaught from downtown as the Pioneers beat the Beavers for the second time in eight days to advance into tomorrow's 11:30 a.m. conference championship game.

One week after winning by 11 points in their regular-season finale at home against Bluffton, the Pioneers came out swinging from the tip, hitting 5 of 11 three-pointers in the opening quarter en route to a 23-10 advantage after the first 10 minutes. Ashton Woodard and Stacy each dropped in two triples apiece in the first quarter to craft the early double-digit lead.

Bluffton discovered its offense in the second quarter before the Pioneers embarked upon a 13-0 run just before the half to carry a towering 43-25 lead into the break. The Pioneers shot 7 for 15 from behind the arc in the first half while the Beavers scuffled from deep, missing their first nine three-point attempts of the day.

The Pioneer defense was equally superior to its first-half outside shooting, holding Bluffton to 9 of 29 shooting (31 percent) from the floor and just 1 for 10 from outside. Three different Pioneers reached double-digit scoring in the first half, keyed by 11 each from Woodard and Stacy. Woodard would finish the day with 15 points, three rebounds, and three assists on 3 for 7 shooting from outside.

Transylvania continued to apply pressure in the third quarter with another 50-percent shooting exhibition over the 10-minute string. Grace Shope caught fire with eight points in the frame as she hit all three of her field-goal attempts while Stacy scored another eight. By quarter's end, the Pioneers had cultivated a 26-point lead that eventually grew to 32 early in the fourth.

Shope finished the game with 18 points, five rebounds, two assists, and one steal on 7 for 9 shooting from the floor and 3 for 4 shooting from downtown. Shelby Boyle had a game-high three blocks to lead Transylvania's defensive stand along with six points, four rebounds, and four assists.

The Pioneers doubled up Bluffton in assists, 16 to 8 and outscored the Beavers, 34 to 14 in points in the paint.

The conference No. 1 seed Transylvania will take on No. 2 seed Hanover in Sunday's championship game. The teams shared the 2020 HCAC regular-season championship with identical records of 17-1. Hanover will represent the first different opponent the Pioneers have faced in the championship during their four-year run after facing Rose-Hulman for the ultimate HCAC crown the past three seasons.

Sunday's championship will restoke a championship rivalry between Transylvania and Hanover, which will meet in the HCAC title game for the fifth time since 2011. The Pioneers and Hanover last convened in the HCAC finale in 2015, won by Hanover, 106-98. The Pioneers won the previous year in the HCAC Championship over the Panthers in a 110-70 rout.

Sunday's winner will clinch the conference's automatic bid into next week's NCAA Division III Women's Basketball Tournament.

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