Box Score
HANOVER, Ind. - Top-seed Hanover jumped to an early lead Sunday then survived a valiant Transylvania comeback to post a 82-71 win in the finals of the Heartland Conference women's basketball tourney.
2010-11 Schedule/Results
HCAC Women's Basketball Page
Transy (20-8) lost both of its regular season matches to the Panthers (25-1). Hanover receives the league's automatic bid to the NCAA Division III Championships while the Pioneers would need an at-large bid for their first appearance since 2009.
NCAA pairings will be announced on Monday.
Hanover seized command early, taking advantage of seven Transy turnovers to establish a 17-0 lead just four-and-a-half minutes into the contest. The Panthers would lead by as many as 18 points in the opening period before the Pioneers rallied to get back into the game.
A 20-8 run, capped by a
Shayla Black (Mooresville, Ind.) layup off a fast break, made it 25-20 at the 9:53 mark. Hanover then scored 11 unanswered points for a 36-20 edge with 6:17 left before intermission. But Transy made another run, scoring nine in a row to get within seven.
Hanover led 46-35 at intermission, shooting 50 percent from the field and forcing 14 Transy turnovers. Black led the offense with 12 points and
Olivia Akridge (Eddyville, Ky.) added nine as Transy shot 41 percent. Molly Martin led the Panthers with 16 points and Torin Franz added 13 points and six boards.
But Hanover re-established a 22-point cushion, 62-40, with 12:05 to play and the Pioneers couldn't rally again. Transy closed to within nine twice in the second half.
Black led the Pioneers with 21 points and Akridge added 19 as Transy finished the game shooting 41.5 percent. Both were named to the All-HCAC Tournament team. Tourney MVP Martin had 25 points and Franz had 20 for Hanover, which connected on 28 of 63 for 43 percent.
Transy finished with 19 turnovers to 18 for the home team.
Kennae Demus (Lexington, Ky.) had 17 points and nine rebounds for Transy while
Angel Lucas (Elizabethtown, Ky.) notched nine points and five rebounds.
Holly Milburn (Georgetown, Ky.) was held to two points and six rebounds after fouling out.
Akridge ran her career scoring total to 1,259 points, ninth on the Transy all-time list, while Milburn now stands at 1,183, No. 11 all-time. Only 16 Transy female player have scored over 1,000 points for their careers. Milburn also joined the 500 rebound club, ranking 11th at 549.
