GAME 1
No. 1 Transylvania (0-0, 0-0 HCAC) at Depauw (0-0, 0-0 NCAC)
Sunday, November 12th, 2023 | 3:00 PM | Greencastle, Ind. (Neal Fieldhouse)
Audio: none | Watch | Live Stats
READY TO DEFEND THEIR CROWN
The road to the 2024 National Championship in Columbus, Ohio runs through Lexington, Kentucky. The defending national champions begin their 2023-24 season on the road in Greencastle, Indiana against Depauw.
LAST TIME OUT
Transylvania Women's Basketball won the first ever national championship in school history on April 1st, 2023 when they defeated Christopher Newport University 57-52 in the NCAA DIII national championship game at the American Airlines Arena in Dallas, Texas. Both teams entered the game undefeated (Transy 32-0, Christopher Newport 31-0) and put on an all time classic. The Pioneers led were down 12-15 after the first quarter but went into the half up by two after out-scoring the Captains 11-6. Transy's hot shooting put them up seven points heading into the final quarter and held off the Captains to win the national championship.
Madison Kellione was named MVP of the game after scoring 17 points on 5-11 shooting.
FULL RECAP |
BOX SCORE
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SCOUTING THE PIONEERS
Transy ran the table last season, finishing a perfect 33-0 in Juli Fulk's 9
th season at the helm. TU out-scored their opponents 73.6 to 47.5, with their closest matchup last season being a 5 point victory in the national championship game. The Pioneers return 14 players from last season, with four being almost everyday starters from last season, losing
Madison Kellione to Tennessee Tech (transfer).
Kennedi Stacy returns after averaging 13.9 points per game last season.Â
She finished the season with 458 total points and led the team in steals with 86. Dasia Thornton also returns for her fifth year after averaging 12.2 points per game last season and was third on the team in blocks with 17. She led the Pioneers with 324 rebounds last season. Laken Ball scored 341 points last season and led the team in blocks with 47. The trio of Stacy, Thornton, and Ball are sure to make an impact on the floor this season. Sydney Wright started in 29 of 33 games last season, averaging 6.5 points per game and finishing third on the team in steals with 42.
Transy was voted first in the HCAC Women's Basketball Preseason Coaches' Poll, earning 9 of the 10 possible first place votes. Last week they were voted first in the first NCAA DIIIHopps Preseason Poll, the first time in program history they started the season ranked No. 1.Â
BEHIND ENEMY LINES
Depauw finished 19-8 last season and 13-1 in the North Coast Athletic Conference (NCAC). The Tigers have been excellent at home in the last two seasons, finishing 21-5 at Neal Fieldhouse. After tying for first place in the NCAC regular season standings, they defeated Hiram in the opening round of the NCAC Tournament before losing to Ohio Wesleyan 66-79 to end the season.
The Tigers were voted to finish third this season in the NCAC Women's Basketball Preseason Coaches' Poll, behind second place Wittenberg and first place Ohio Wesleyan. Depauw hasn't lost a season opener in 13 years, last losing to Washington University of St. Louis in the 2009-2010 season.Â
Since 2000, Depauw has not recorded a losing season.
THE SERIES
Depauw leads the series 2-0. The teams haven't met since the 2013-14 season where the Pioneers lost 68-76. Depauw finished that season 30-2 and lost to Wisconsin-Whitewater in the NCAA DIII sectional final. HISTORY
PREVIOUS MATCHUP
Depauw defeated Transy 68-76 in the 2013-14 NCAA DIII second round. Transy had three players finish with double-digit scoring but couldn't overcome a strong first half by Depauw. The Pioneers finished the season 26-3, the final season before the Juli Fulks era.Â
LEADING THE NATIONALLY RANKED PIONEERS
Juli Fulks enters her tenth season for the 2023-24 season and has created a dynasty as one of the NCAA DIII's best. Fulks has dominated competition since becoming the head coach of Transylvania, winning 211 games in her previous nine seasons. Fulks' teams has won the HCAC regular season championship five times, and the HCAC tournament championship five seasons in a row.
In her first season, Transy earned an at large bid to the NCAA DIII tournament and became the first undefeated team in HCAC regular season history (18-0). They finished the season ranked 13th nationally, the highest in program history to that point.
The Pioneers won their first NCAA tournament game under Fulks in the 2018-2019 season when they defeated Piedmont 77-67.Â
In the 2021-2022 season, Fulks' squad finished the regular season perfect at 16-0, and then won the HCAC Tournament against Anderson 81-51. The Pioneers hosted the NCAA Regional for the first time ever and reached the elite eight for the first time in program history before losing to Trine University 47-54 to end the season 22-1, a then program best.
Fulks led Transy to a perfect 33-0 last season, winning the first national championship in school history.Â
Awards the Pioneers accrued throughout the 2022-23 season is as follows:Â
-Madison Kellione - NCAA Elite 90 Award Winner, NCAA DIII Women's Basketball Tournament MVP, Women's Basketball Coaches Association First Team All-American, D3Hoops Second Team All-American, Women's Basketball Coaches Association Region 8 First Team, Heartland Collegiate Athletic Conference First Team & Co-Player of the Year, Heartland Collegiate Athletic Conference Player of the Year from a Female Sport.
-Kennedi Stacy - NCAA DIII Women's Basketball All-Tournament Team, Women's Basketball Coaches Association Region 8 Third Team, Heartland Collegiate Athletic Conference First Team & Defensive Player of the Year.
-Daisa Thornton - NCAA DIII Women's Basketball All-Tournament Team, Women's Basketball Coaches Association Region 8 Third Team, Heartland Collegiate Athletic Conference First Team.
-Laken Ball - Heartland Collegiate Athletic Conference Second & Sportsmanship Team.
-Coach Juli Fulks - Women's Basketball Coaches Association Region 8 Coach of the Year, D3Hoops Co-DIII Coach of the Year, Heartland Collegiate Athletic Conference Coach of the Year.
-Tom Bolson Academic Team Award: Madison Kellione, McLain Murphy, Emilie Teall.
-RAFY Coaching Staff of the Year.
Juli Fulks' all time record sits at 369-142.
TRANSY STATS 'N STREAKS
- Transy has the longest winning streak in NCAA DIII at 33 games, and the second longest in all off NCAA (DII Ashland has won 37 straight)
- Transy's defense led the HCAC only allowing 47.5 points per game
- Transy led the HCAC in scoring margin at 26.0
- The Pioneers are looking to have their tenth straight winning season under Juli Fulks
- Transy has won 20 or more games 8 different times in the last 10 seasons
UP NEXT
Transy hosts the Pat Deacon Classic November 25th-26th and will tip off versus Maryville College at 1 PM on the 25th.
WATCH | LIVE STATS | HISTORY
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D3hoops.com women's Top 25, 2023-24 preseason
Entering the 2023-24 season:
Others receiving votes:Â Emory 71, UW-Oshkosh 56, Marietta 50, Puget Sound 39, Baldwin Wallace 31, Amherst 19, St. John Fisher 19, Gettysburg 14, Washington and Jefferson 12, Ithaca 10, UW-Stout 10, Washington and Lee 8, Calvin 6, Mary Hardin-Baylor 4, Marymount 3, Pacific 2, Colorado College 1
The D3hoops.com Top 25 is voted on by a panel of 25 coaches, Sports Information Directors and media members from across the country, and is published weekly. Points are awarded on a 25-24-23-22-etc. basis.
2022-23 HCAC Women's Basketball Preseason Poll
(#) Denotes First Place Votes
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| 1. |
Transylvania University (9) |
81 |
| 2. |
Hanover College (1) |
71 |
| 3. |
Mount St. Joseph University |
65 |
| 4. |
Bluffton University |
50 |
| 5. |
Anderson University |
46 |
| 5. |
Franklin College |
46 |
| 7. |
Manchester University |
36 |
| 8. |
Rose-Hulman Institute of Technology |
26 |
| 9. |
Earlham College |
16 |
| 10. |
Defiance College |
13 |
2023-24 HCAC Players to Watch:
Transylvania
Returning 2022-23 All-Conference Basketball Athletes to Watch in 2023-24:
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To keep up with the defending national champions, follow Transy Women's Basketball on twitter and instagram (@TUWBX)
