LEXINGTON, Ky.—Transylvania University's women's basketball team overcame a sluggish first quarter against the visiting Earlham College Quakers to take an 84-66 win on Wednesday night at the Clive M. Beck Center. Trailing 21-17 after the first quarter, the Pioneers proceeded to outscore the Quakers by eight points or more in the second and third quarter to take home the dominating Heartland Collegiate Athletic Conference win.

In the opening period, Transy shot 38.9 percent (7-18) from the floor, paced by four points each from forwards Rachel Cox and Carlee Clemons. The teams would battle back and forth throughout the first quarter as both teams struggled to gain the upper hand but Earlham found themselves on top after the opening frame following a two minute dry spell from the Pioneers closing the quarter.

The second quarter was a much different story as the Pioneers shooting heated up. After a lack-luster shooting performance in the first 10 minutes of the contest, Transy started the second quarter on a 12-5 run, bookended by three pointers from guard Katelyn Smith. In the period, Transylvania made each of their first six shot attempts and worked their way to a 10-point lead with 2:57 to play in the first half following a jumper form forward Carlee Clemons. In addition to their hot shooting from the floor, the Pioneers consistently knocked down their free throws in the quarter, going 9-10 from the charity stripe en route to outscoring the Quakers 26-12 in the second quarter and carrying a 43-33 lead into the locker room at the half.

The dominating performance from the Pioneers continued during the third quarter as they watched their lead swell to 18 in the period at the 1:04 mark in the frame. Transylvania was propelled by an explosive quarter from guard Lindsay Hieronymus, who tallied 15 points, knocking down 4-5 field goal attempts and drilling all six of her free throw attempts in the quarter. Hieronymus' strong performance in the frame helped her score a team- and career-high 19 points on the night. Already leading by 13 points with 1:42 left in the third, guard Kristen Hayes knocked down a three-point jumper from the corner to kick start a 7-2 run to close out the period and help the Pioneers take a 72-50 lead into the final period.

The fourth quarter was a back and forth affair with the teams going nearly dead even over the closing 10 minutes. The large lead established in the second and third quarter allowed the Pioneers to rest their starters for much of the period but the reserves did not disappoint, as the Transylvania bench contributed 17 points in the game, outscoring the Earlham bench 17-4 in the contest.

Four Pioneers scored in double-figures led by Hieronymus. Hayes added 15 while Cox and Smith scored 12 points each. Transylvania was dominating on the boards, holding the second-leading rebounding team in the HCAC to just 28 boards while the Pioneers corralled 42 of their own. Smith pulled down a game-high eight rebounds while Hieronymus and Clemons each pulled down seven.

Transylvania (7-5, 3-2 HCAC) returns to the court at home on Saturday as part of a men's and women's doubleheader against Defiance. That game is slated to tip at 1:00pm.