Lexington, Ky. – The 2020-2021 season for the Transylvania women's basketball team arrives this weekend at both a foggy yet promising juncture.
Under seventh-year head coach Juli Fulks, the Pioneers have established a tradition of championship excellence, coming off of two consecutive NCAA Tournament appearances and back-to-back Heartland Collegiate Athletic Conference regular-season and tournament crowns.
As the Pioneers seek to continue their reign this Friday, November 6 in Demorest, Georgia versus Piedmont College for their 2020-21 season opener, they'll do so against the backdrop of a global pandemic which has, at times, vigorously altered plans and forced jarring adjustments to a typically concrete schedule.
While variables abound on the eve of tipoff, the Transylvania women's basketball team approaches a new season with a familiar enthusiasm echoing great recent Pioneer teams of the past.
"COVID-19 has created several challenges and perhaps the most significant has been finding ways to create a new team identity," states Fulks after the opening phases of a different-looking practice regimen. "Ultimately, we are thrilled to be back on the court together and whether that is in pods, distanced, and with masks, our goal is to make the best of a difficult situation while still improving as a team."
The national field of competition will have a different look in 2020-21 as several notable teams and conferences have shelved play because of the conditions established by the pandemic, but the Pioneers have their sights focused on conditions within their control: practice, preparation, adapting, and blending their collective talent into another championship-caliber team.
Having advanced to the NCAA Tournament in four of the past seven years, the Pioneers embark upon a new season with an end date not yet etched in stone, but as a team with a steady supply of inside-outside balance, eager to discover where it stands among teams nationwide.
LAST SEASON: 25-3 overall, 17-1 Heartland Collegiate Athletic Conference regular season (second consecutive regular-season title), HCAC Tournament Champions (defeated Hanover 91-61 in conference championship game at the Beck Center), second consecutive NCAA Tournament appearance (1st round, lost to Randolph-Macon 78-68), finished year ranked No. 18 in WBCA Top 25 final poll, No. 22 in D3Hoops.com Top 25 final poll, produced season-best 19-game winning streak during regular season
KEY LOSSES: Ashton Woodard, guard (graduated, All-HCAC 1st Team 2020, D3Hoops.com All-Region 3rd Team, 16.2 ppg, 43.4% FG, 34% 3-pt FG, 82.2% FT, 45 made 3-pointers, ninth in program history in scoring with 1,361 points), Shelby Boyle, guard (graduated, All-HCAC 1st Team 2020, Jostens Trophy Finalist, D3Hoops.com All-Region 2nd Team, 15 ppg, 7.5 rpg, 1.2 bpg, 44% FG, 38% 3-pt FG, 10th in career scoring with 1,355 career points)
RETURNING PIONEERS: Zenoviah Walker, Sr., guard (Danville, Ky. / Danville HS), Elizabeth Hardiman, Sr., center (Winchester, Ky. / George Rogers Clark HS), Miranda Otero, Sr., center (Berea, Ohio / Berea-Midpark HS), Calynn Jackson, Sr., forward (Indianapolis, Ind. / Emmerich Manual HS), Grace Shope, Jr., guard (Leesburg, Ohio / Fairfield HS), Kennedi Stacy, Soph., guard (Salyersville, Ky. / Magoffin County HS), Madison Kellione, Soph., guard (Cynthiana, Ky. / Harrison County HS), Gracie Haywood, Soph., guard (Greenup, Ky. / West Clermont HS), Sarah McDonald, Soph., (Louisville, Ky. / Christian Academy), Grace Bringard, Jr., center (Louisville, Ky. / Assumption HS), Laken Ball, Soph., Forward (Beckley, W. Va. / Woodrow Wilson HS), Dasia Thornton, Soph., Forward (Cincinnati, Ohio / Clark Montessori)
NEWCOMERS: Celia Pelfrey, Guard (Edgewood, Ky. / Dixie Heights HS), Sydney Morris, Forward (Cynthiana, Ky. / Harrison County HS), Natalie Bockman, Forward (Milford, Ohio / Clermont Northeastern HS), Brooke Nottingham, Guard (Jasper, Ind. / Jasper HS), Kennedy Harris, Guard (Somerset, Ky. / Southwestern HS)
NOTABLE GAMES:
-Nov. 6 at Piedmont College
-Nov. 7 vs. East Texas Baptist University (at Demorest, Ga.)
-Jan. 13, 2021 vs. Maryville (Tenn.) College
-Jan. 16 at Mount St. Joseph University
-Jan. 17 vs. Hanover College
-Feb. 11 at Hanover College
-Feb. 17 vs. Defiance College
Two of the most critical games in Transylvania's currently solidified 2020-21 season schedule come during opening weekend on the campus of Piedmont College as the Pioneers take on Piedmont in Demorest on Friday night at 6 p.m., followed by a quick turnaround against East Texas Baptist the following afternoon at 2 p.m.
Piedmont is one year removed from its most recent NCAA Tournament appearance and narrowly missed out on qualifying for the Big Dance in back-to-back seasons after falling in the USA South Conference Championship game this past March.
East Texas Baptist is coming off a 20-7 campaign in 2019-2020 and represents a perennially strong Texas-based American Southwest Conference; each team figures to offer some of the strongest challenges the Pioneers will face all season right out of the gate.
Transylvania will square off with Mount St. Joseph to tip off an altered 13-game HCAC conference slate midway through the opening month of the New Year in Cincinnati and turn around the following day for its home conference opener against Hanover. The matchup against Hanover presents its first meeting between the two teams since the Pioneers vanquished Hanover by 30 points on March 6 in the 2020 HCAC Tournament Championship game. The Pioneers will take aim at Hanover a second time in the regular season on February 11th in Hanover, Indiana prior to wrapping up their regular season on February 17 at home against Defiance College, a precursor to the HCAC Tournament.
"Our first trip of the season is against perennial powerhouses in the NCAA and we are excited to have games on the schedule," says Fulks. "Despite limited practices, these early-season games will provide us an opportunity to learn, get film, and bond as a team in ways that the pandemic hasn't previously allowed us to."
REPLENISHING THE CORE: Though the Pioneers lost only two primary players from their 2019-2020 lineup, the impact of the graduation of Ashton Woodard and Shelby Boyle will be an irreplaceable void. The highly-decorated tandem of Woodard and Boyle formed the foundation of back-to-back NCAA Tournament appearances for the Pioneers as the two formed a 1-2 scoring punch and provided two-way playmaking, as well as on and off the court leadership.
On the other side of the coin, the exits of two generational players have paved the way for a new nucleus rooted in depth and versatility.
The Pioneers will call upon the talents and experience of seniors Zenoviah Walker, Elizabeth Hardiman, and Miranda Otero to steer the program into the next chapter of the program's evolution. The three veterans combined for 48 starts last season with each player commanding crucial rotation minutes during the 2019-2020 season.
Less quantifiable are the vast amounts of tight battles and clutch moments each player has taken part in over the past three seasons, sequences which include buzzer beaters, NCAA Tournament games, and down-to-the-wire finishes.
"The ultimate legacy is the standards and expectations passed from one team to another," comments Fulks. "Winning championships is directly related to players being excellent in practice and having a continuous desire to learn and improve. Our upperclassmen continue to demonstrate the importance of constantly learning, competing on every play, and finding ways to be awesome teammates."
Senior guard Zenoviah Walker
BACKCOURT: As Otero, Hardiman, and returnees Laken Ball and Dasia Thornton offer plenty of size and wingspan up front, fans may marvel at the versatility and firepower in the 2020-21 Pioneer backcourt. Opposite Walker emerges sophomore Madison Kellione, who is primed to make her collegiate debut after missing her freshman season due to injury. A gifted ballhandling guard in high school, Kellione prepares to provide another dose of offensive firepower.
Sophomore Kennedi Stacy is coming off an exceptional first season at Transy which culminated in a postseason selection to the HCAC's All-Freshman Team. Stacy led all Pioneer guards in rebounding and peaked towards the end of the season, highlighted by a career-best 21-point outing in the HCAC semifinals against Bluffton.
"Our depth at the point guard and two-guard positions is incredibly exciting and I would argue the trio of Novi, Kennedi, and Maddie gives the coaching staff a wide ability to be creative with each of their strengths," analyzes Fulks. "They each bring different things to the table and Novi has been an excellent mentor to watch and learn from since their arrival."
Shooting is also in high supply for the Pioneers as they embark upon another season; junior Grace Shope returns as the team leader in three-pointers made with 39 treys off a 37 percent clip. Newcomer Celia Pelfrey is one long-range talent who shot 41 percent from downtown in her final season in high school and harnesses a stroke the Pioneers are optimistic will transfer to the next level.
"Celia is an excellent shooter who has the size to create unique matchup problems from the beginning," Fulks adds.
NEARING TIPOFF: While the 2020-21 Division III women's basketball has been marked by uncertainty, cancellations, and a finish line not yet written in pen, the Pioneers have honed in on attainable goals while maintaining the upward trajectory of the program. Though notable teams nearby and far away might not be a part of this year's postseason picture, the Pioneers are applying adjustments to short-term aspirations and long-term dreams.
"Our preparation is certainly different as practice looks different than previous seasons," says Fulks. "Ultimately, we are trying to find ways to take advantage of our strengths and build a system that will allow us to compete both early in the year and during conference play."
Like many teams around the country, Transylvania is using the upcoming season as an opportunity to improve and contend for a championship while also acknowledging that the opportunity in itself is a reward to be savored.
"COVID has been an excellent reminder of being grateful for every day and letting go of things you can't control," remarks Fulks. "We'll focus on staying adaptable and being resilient while making sure everyone is having fun along the way."
When the opening tip arrives for the Pioneers this Friday in Georgia, the 2020-21 season will already be one worth celebrating.
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