Box Score Richmond, Ind. – The No. 6/7 Transylvania women's basketball team quickly put away the Earlham College Quakers behind a pair of double-digit runs in the first half to capture a 75-42 win on Wednesday evening at Druley Performance Gymnasium.
The Pioneers deployed a 12-0 run in the first quarter and another 18-0 run into the second quarter to accumulate a 19-point halftime lead, cruising to their 16th consecutive victory.
Transylvania improved to 13-0 in Heartland Collegiate Athletic Conference play and 19-1 overall while Earlham fell to 5-15 overall and 4-9 in the HCAC following Wednesday's contest.
Reigning HCAC Player of the Week Shelby Boyle kept up her recent run of star play with a game-high 24 points while teasing a triple-double with a game-high nine assists and eight rebounds. The nine assists were also a career-high for Boyle, who finished off an efficient and impactful night shooting 5 of 7 from three-point range and 8 for 11 from the field.
Following two early buckets by the Quakers, the Pioneers quickly focused on the rim with a run of 12 straight points, guided by a pair of Boyle free throws and two triples from the senior for a 12-4 Pioneer lead.
Earlham stopped the run with a field goal before the Pioneers scored the final nine points of the quarter to take a 21-6 lead into the second. 15 of Boyle's 24 points came in the opening quarter.
The Pioneers extended their quarter-ending 9-0 run into a string of 18 unanswered points behind a triple from Laken Ball, three points from Dasia Thornton, and another threeball from Boyle. The Pioneers nailed 6 of 13 three-point attempts in the first half to 1 of 11 from downtown by Earlham. A stout defensive effort by Transy limited Earlham to 25 percent shooting from the floor in the first half as the Pioneers carved out a 39-17 halftime lead.
Boyle kept up an impressive night into the second half, assisting on Transylvania's first three scores of the third quarter before scoring six straight points herself on the way to a 51-25 lead. The senior then found Elizabeth Hardiman for her third field goal of the third quarter for yet another assist. Eight of Boyle's dimes occurred in the second half as the senior shifted from the role of flamethrower into facilitator.
The Pioneers limited Earlham to a 22-point second half as the Quakers became the eighth opponent this season to be held to 50 points or fewer by Transylvania.
Ashton Woodard joined Boyle with an all-around effort of 10 points, five rebounds, and three assists while Thornton scored a career-high 12 points off the bench for Transylvania, connecting on all five of her field-goal attempts. Miranda Otero added seven rebounds off the bench to help the Pioneers outrebound Earlham, 51-38.
Transylvania returns to Lexington for its next game against the Rose-Hulman Institute of Technology Fightin' Engineers. The women's contest tips off an HCAC doubleheader on Saturday, February 8 at 1:00 p.m. at the Beck Center.
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