Lexington, Ky. – The Transylvania women's basketball team's incredible season has come to an end after their valiant comeback effort came up just short. The Pioneers were defeated in the Elite Eight by the Trine University Thunder 54-47 at the Clive M. Beck Center on Saturday night, marking their first loss on the entire season, ending 27-1 overall, as the last undefeated team in Division III.  
 
The game went scoreless for the first two minutes but Transylvania broke the seal on the basket with an electrifying and-one layup from junior forward Laken Ball. Minutes later junior guard Madison Kellione got the crowd going again with an and-one layup of her own. After layups from senior Grace Shope and junior Dasia Thornton along with three-pointers from Ball and junior guard Kennedi Stacy, the Pios ended the quarter with a 19-8 lead. The game had an incredible sense of intensity throughout the quarter, as both sides were dialed in.
 
In the second quarter both defenses seemed to tighten up as the teams struggled to find open shots. Nearly every basket was hard earned, as the points did not come easily. In the quarter the Thunder mounted a run of 21-2 to take the lead going into the halftime break, 29-23. 
 
For the third quarter the defenses stayed strong on both sides of the ball. The Pioneers struggled to get open but they converted opportunities when they arose. Transylvania stayed aggressive and kept the pace up, as they pushed the Thunder in foul trouble halfway through the quarter. A three-pointer at the mid-point of the third grew the Trine lead to 9, but the Pios weren't done fighting. They continued their strong effort on defense while fighting for tough baskets through contact. After a scoreless 2 minutes, Trine broke the streak of missed shots and found a layup in the lane. On the next possession Transy also found a way to get points on the board through Kellione getting to the free-throw line. After a couple trips to the free-throw line for both teams, they went into the final quarter with a score of 41-27, Trine leading. 
 
To start the fourth quarter, Transylvania got the scoring going with a three-pointer from Ball to cut the lead to 11 before a timeout was called by Juli Fulks with 9 minutes remaining. Out of the timeout the Pios were able to score again with a layup coming from Shope. The teams went scoreless for the next 3 minutes, but the Beck Center was electric as the crowd tried to energize the Pios comeback. First-year guard Samantha Cornelison got the Pios on the board again with a three-pointer to cut the lead down to 6 for the Thunder. The Pioneers continued to put numbers on the board, matching Trine for every bucket down the stretch. The Pioneers had gotten the lead down to five with a minute and a half remaining, but fell just short before the final buzzer, Trine taking the win 54-47.
 
The Pioneers finish a remarkable season, going down as the best in school history. Their 27-1 record proves to be the best winning percentage in the program's history and they look to build on their success going into next season, with all but one starter returning next year. This Transylvania women's basketball season goes down as not only one of the greatest women's basketball seasons of all time for the school, but also one of the greatest athletic seasons in school history. 

Hear from head coach Juli Fulks, and juniors Madison Kellione and Dasia Thornton, in their post game press conference here:





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