GAME 13

No. 2 Transylvania (12-0, 5-0 HCAC) vs Anderson (6-6, 2-3 HCAC)

Saturday, January 6th, 2024 | 2:00 PM | Lexington, Ky. | Clive M. Beck Center

Audio: Keith Hardiman | Watch | Live Stats | Tickets
 

THE LONGEST ACTIVE WIN STREAK IN THE NCAA
The Pioneers have won 45 straight games going back to November 18th, 2022. After finishing last season 33-0 and national champions, Transylvania was voted first in the preseason WCBA poll, the first time in program history. The Pioneers success carried into the 2023-24 season, winning their first 12 games to move into the top 18 all time in NCAA for winning streaks. With DII Ashland University losing in mid-December, the Pioneers now hold the longest active win streak in the NCAA. With a win tomorrow, Transylvania will tie Tennessee's 46 game win streak set in the 1996-1998 seasons. Transylvania finished the 2023 year as the only undefeated team in the NCAA or NAIA, men or women.

ATOP OF THE NCAA
Transy is tied for first in in scoring defense, giving up just 43.3 points per game. The Pioneers defense averages 10.1 steals per game. Transy is one of eight teams that remain undefeated this season. 

 
PAT DEACON CLASSIC CHAMPS
Transylvania Women's Basketball won the Pat Deacon Classic last month after beating Maryville College (72-42), and Wisconsin Lutheran College (54-48). The Pat Deacon Classic saw a dominating first game from the Pioneers as Kennedi Stacy would have 23 points in 19 minutes after going 6-9 on three point shots against Maryville. In the second game against Wisconsin Lutheran, the Pioneers found themselves trailing 10-15 after the first quarter, then led a strong comeback thanks to the efforts of Dasia Thornton with a 25 point and 13 rebound game. Thornton would earn Pat Deacon Classic MVP while Stacy would earn Pat Deacon Classic All-Tournament Team Honors.   
GAME 1 FULL RECAP | BOX SCORE GAME 2 FULL RECAP | BOX SCORE

GRATZ PARK PRIVATE WEALTH HOLIDAY TOURNAMENT CHAMPIONS
Transylvania continued to dominate at home as they defeated Edgewood College 62-46  and the University of Wisconsin-Eau Claire 71-59 to win the Holiday Tournament. Dasia Thornton finished with a game high 22 points in the championship while earning her fourth double-double of the season after grabbing 10 rebounds. Laken Ball was named to the All-Tournament Team and Sadie Wurth was named tournament MVP.
GAME 1 FULL RECAP | BOX SCORE GAME 2 FULL RECAP | BOX SCORE
 
LAST TIME OUT
Transylvania moved to 12-0 overall and 5-0 in the Heartland Collegiate Athletic Conference (HCAC) after cruising past Earlham College 77-43 behind a 22 point perfromance from Kennedi Stacy. Stacy scored the first 14 points of the game for Transy and finished the first quarter with 19 points. Dasia Thornton scored 19 points in the win. 9 different Pioneers scored. 
BOX SCORE | RECAP

Transy is now 14-0 all time against Earlham.

MS. 1000
Transylvania fifth year forward Dasia Thornton achieved a career milestone last month. In the 65 point win over Defiance, Dasia earned her 1,000th career point with her 12th point of the game. She sank a free throw to achieve the accolade. Just a few days prior, she grabbed her 750th career rebound in the win over Wittenberg. 



BEHIND ENEMY LINES
Anderson is 6-6 overall and 2-3 in the HCAC. The Ravens lost to Hanover in their last game 53-76. 

AU is led by Izzy Davis who averages 9.2 points per game.


Heartland Collegiate Athletic Conference statistics


THE SERIES
Transylvania leads the all time series against Anderson 31-5, having won the last 6 contests. SERIES HISTORY

HCAC LEADERS
Dasia Thornton leads the HCAC in rebounds, with 100 total and averages 8.3 a game. She also leads in field goal percentage with .576 (72-125) and blocks with 20. 

Sadie Wurth leads the HCAC in assists with 56 and averages 4.7 a game.


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.

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. 

Awards the Pioneers accrued throughout the 2022-23 season is as follows: 

-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 374-142.

HCAC PLAYER OF THE WEEK HONORS
Dasia Thornton was named HCAC Player of the Week on December 4th, 2023 for her performances in the wins over Wittenberg and Defiance. She averaged 13.5 points and 7 rebounds while earning her 750th rebound and 1000th point. RELEASE

TRANSY STATS 'N STREAKS

• Transy has the longest winning streak in NCAA at 45 games
• Transy has outscored opponents 71.7 to 43.3 this season
• Transy has started 12-0 for the 3rd consecutive season 
• Transy has won 20 or more games 8 different times in the last 10 seasons
• Transy is second in the NCAA in scoring margin (28.3)

UP NEXT
Transy continues their home stand against Hanover on January 10th.


 NCAA DIII TOP 25 (WBCA)

Rank	School (Record)	Total Points	First-Place Votes	Previous Rank
1	NYU (11-0)	246	7	1
2	Transylvania (11-0)	242	2	2
3	Scranton (11-0)	224	0	4
4	Rhode Island College (12-0)	219	0	5
5	UW-Whitewater (11-0)	210	0	6
6	Christopher Newport (13-1)	201	1	3
7	Gustavus Adolphus (9-1)	176	0	9
8	Hope (12-1)	172	0	12
9	Emory (10-1)	149	0	14
10	Hardin-Simmons (11-2)	140	0	10
11	Wartburg (11-2)	131	0	7
12	Washington and Lee (11-1)	130	0	15
13	Catholic (11-0)	119	0	17
14	Millikin (10-2)	107	0	13
15	Smith (8-2)	101	0	8
16	Whitman (9-2)	95	0	16
17	Illinois Wesleyan (11-2)	91	0	19
18	Tufts (8-3)	68	0	21
19	Amherst (9-0)	65	0	22
20	UW-Stout (10-1)	55	0	23
21	Johns Hopkins (10-1)	52	0	RV
22	Mary Hardin-Baylor (11-1)	51	0	24
23	Trine (9-3)	50	0	18
24	Loras (10-2)	49	0	25
25	UMass-Dartmouth (9-1)	20	0	RV

Dropped out: No.10 Trinity (9-4); No. 20 Chicago (7-4).

Others receiving votes: DeSales (9-2) 17; Trinity, TX (9-4) 14; Chicago (7-4) 11; Baldwin-Wallace (8-3) 8; MIT (8-2) 7; Ohio Northern (6-4) 6; Marietta, OH (8-3) 5; SUNY New Paltz (7-2) 5; Vassar (9-1) 5; Puget Sound (8-3) 4; Messiah (7-3) 2; Trinity, CT (7-4) 1; UW-Stevens Point (11-0) 1; Wittenberg (7-3) 1.

The WBCA NCAA Division III Coaches Poll Committee is composed of one head coach from each of the 10 NCAA Division III regions. The committee for the 2023-24 season: Samantha Crough, Regis (MA); Drew Gaeng, Hendrix; Karin Harvey, Montclair State; Melissa Kolbe, Wittenberg; Casey Kushiyama, Puget Sound; Jen McCormick, Illinois College; Bobbi Morgan, Ursinus; Mia Smith, Illinois Wesleyan; Daphne Thompson, SUNY Oneonta; Kelly Thompson, Roger Williams.

2023-24 HCAC Women's Basketball Standings
 

2023-24 Women's Basketball Standings

SCHOOL	CONF	CPCT.	OVERALL	PCT.	STREAK
Transylvania	5-0	1.000	12-0	1.000	W12
Hanover	5-0	1.000	7-5	.583	W1
Mount St. Joseph	4-1	.800	10-2	.833	W2
Franklin	4-1	.800	9-3	.750	W1
Anderson	2-3	.400	6-6	.500	L1
Rose-Hulman	2-3	.400	5-7	.417	L1
Manchester	1-4	.200	4-8	.333	W1
Earlham	1-4	.200	3-7	.300	L1
Bluffton	1-4	.200	3-9	.250	L1
Defiance	0-5	.000	0-12	.000	L12

2023-24 HCAC Players to Watch:
Transylvania

Name	Class	Hometown	Position
Sydney Wright	SR	Cynthiana, Ky.	Guard
Sadie Wurth	JR	Dixon, Ky.	Point Guard
Kennedy Harris	SR	Somerset, Ky.	Guard
Emilie Teall	JR	Lexington, Ky.	Center

 
Returning 2022-23 All-Conference Basketball Athletes to Watch in 2023-24:
 

Transylvania	Kennedi Stacy	SR	Salyersville, Ky.	Guard
	Dasia Thornton	SR	Cincinnati, Ohio	Forward
	Laken Ball	SR	Beckley, W.Va.	Center

STATS AS OF 1/5/2024
 

Overall Individual Statistics

#	Player	GP	GS	MINUTES		FG			3PT			FT			SCORING		REBOUNDS				PF	AST	TO	STL	BLK
				TOT	AVG	FGM	FGA	FG%	3PT	3PTA	3PT%	FTM	FTA	FT%	PTS	AVG	OFF	DEF	TOT	AVG
35	Thornton, Dasia	12	12	312	26.0	72	125	.576	4	11	.364	45	79	.570	193	16.1	36	64	100	8.3	17	23	19	23	20
24	Stacy, Kennedi	12	12	298	24.8	50	118	.424	25	65	.385	15	21	.714	140	11.7	11	36	47	3.9	11	37	26	22	3
15	Wurth, Sadie	12	12	311	25.9	35	81	.432	18	49	.367	14	16	.875	102	8.5	10	25	35	2.9	11	56	16	17	2
32	Ball, Laken	12	12	254	21.2	33	71	.465	7	31	.226	14	18	.778	87	7.3	9	29	38	3.2	14	20	9	15	3
23	Wright, Sydney	12	12	264	22.0	31	55	.564	12	28	.429	3	7	.429	77	6.4	17	29	46	3.8	10	8	12	9	8
33	Harris, Kennedy	12	0	169	14.1	16	47	.340	15	41	.366	0	0	.000	47	3.9	9	6	15	1.3	4	13	7	4	0
04	Flinn, Riley	9	0	81	9.0	9	27	.333	6	17	.353	8	11	.727	32	3.6	10	10	20	2.2	2	3	1	2	4
44	Teall, Emilie	12	0	159	13.3	17	45	.378	5	18	.278	0	7	.000	39	3.3	9	15	24	2.0	16	14	11	8	9
11	Bruner, Grace	9	0	62	6.9	9	22	.409	2	7	.286	5	7	.714	25	2.8	8	10	18	2.0	5	4	6	2	0
12	Kemelgor, Sierra	9	0	91	10.1	8	28	.286	3	14	.214	4	6	.667	23	2.6	8	5	13	1.4	2	10	6	4	0
22	Cornelison, Samantha	11	0	87	7.9	9	28	.321	5	18	.278	2	3	.667	25	2.3	3	8	11	1.0	5	11	8	2	1
30	Barrett, Raegan	10	0	60	6.0	7	16	.438	1	3	.333	4	5	.800	19	1.9	7	6	13	1.3	9	1	3	1	1
14	Littlejohn, Aubree	11	0	60	5.5	4	13	.308	3	6	.500	7	8	.875	18	1.6	7	9	16	1.5	3	7	4	5	1
21	Murphy, McLain	10	0	58	5.8	5	12	.417	3	8	.375	2	4	.500	15	1.5	1	7	8	0.8	2	1	2	1	0
41	Hurdle, Micayla	8	0	28	3.5	4	5	.800	0	0	.000	2	5	.400	10	1.3	4	7	11	1.4	8	2	6	0	0
02	Flores, Amara	9	0	36	4.0	0	11	.000	0	6	.000	4	6	.667	4	0.4	2	5	7	0.8	3	3	3	1	0
10	Hall, Keaton	9	0	70	7.8	2	14	.143	0	8	.000	0	4	.000	4	0.4	5	8	13	1.4	7	1	4	5	0
TM	Team	12	0	0	0.0	0	0	.000	0	0	.000	0	0	.000	0	0.0	12	24	36	3.0	0	0	8	0	0
	Total	12		2400	200.0	311	718	.433	109	330	.330	129	207	.623	860	71.67	168	303	471	39.3	129	214	151	121	52
	Opponents	12		2400	200.0	200	628	.318	46	191	.241	74	105	.705	520	43.33	117	267	384	32.0	186	145	240	69	35

To keep up with the defending national champions, follow Transy Women's Basketball on Twitter and Instagram (@TUWBX)