Box Score Defiance, Ohio – The No. 5/7 Transylvania women's basketball team roared to a 79-50 victory over the Defiance College Yellow Jackets on Saturday afternoon at the Karl H. Weaner Center to win its 15th consecutive game.
Behind a two-pronged senior attack, Shelby Boyle logged a season-high 28 points on 10 for 15 shooting from the floor and Ashton Woodard posted 24 points in guiding the Pioneers to a runaway win on the road.
Transylvania sharpened its undefeated Heartland Collegiate Athletic Conference record to 12-0 and 18-1 overall while Defiance dropped to 5-7 in conference play and 6-13 overall as the Pioneers swept the regular-season series.
Along with their two seniors providing a steady dose of offensive relief, the Pioneers limited Defiance to 28 percent shooting from the floor for the afternoon, certifying the seventh time this season the Pioneers have held an opponent to 50 points or fewer.
Defiance opened up the afternoon with a 7-2 lead before the Pioneers quickly found their rhythm and the corresponding response. Woodard and Boyle foretold a sign of things to come in the afternoon as each splashed home consecutive triples to punctuate a 14-6 run, forging a 20-16 lead.
Transylvania boosted its distance from the Yellow Jackets to begin the second quarter with an 8-0 run on another pair of consecutive threeballs from Boyle and Woodard, along with a runner from Walker. Defiance regained its footing with five straight points, but the two seniors struck again with one more set of back-to-back triples to set off a 10-3 run. Boyle and Zenoviah Walker each scored on runners as the first half waned to lift the Pioneers to a 39-27 halftime advantage.
Boyle continued her fiery tear into the second half, scoring eight of the first 10 Transy points to begin the stanza as she fueled a 10-0 opening run. Woodard added a crafty turnaround and a left-handed runner to finish off a larger 14-0 scoring expansion and a 55-37 lead after three periods.
Woodard and Calynn Jackson joined forces in the fourth quarter to sign off on the Pioneer win; Jackson scored two layups around a three-point play from the senior, growing Transylvania's advantage back to 21 points with seven minutes remaining in the contest, assuring the Pioneers of the afternoon victory.
Walker finished the game with 10 points and three steals to go with one dime and a board on a 5 for 9 day from the floor. Woodard joined Boyle's efficient shooting day with a 9 for 15 output from the field and hit on 3 of 7 three-point attempts. Boyle knocked down 4 of 6 triples on Saturday, adding eight rebounds, four blocks, and three steals in a monster effort.
Transylvania returns to action on Wednesday, February 5, journeying north to Richmond, Indiana to take on the Earlham College Quakers in the second conference meeting of the season between the two teams. Tip-off is scheduled for 5:30 p.m. from Druley Performance Gymnasium on the campus of Earlham.
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