Transylvania women, men playing for conference titles Wednesday
The Transylvania University men’s and women’s basketball teams will be playing for their sports’ highest honors in 2021 when they take part in Wednesday’s Heartland Collegiate Athletic Conference Tournament championship games.
The NCAA canceled this year’s Division III NCAA Tournaments because of COVID-19, so conference tournament championships are the end of the line for schools at that level.
The Transylvania men (8-8) host Franklin College (8-6) on Wednesday night at 7:30 at the Clive M. Beck Center. The teams did not meet during the regular season because their games scheduled for Feb. 5 in Indiana and Feb. 7 in Lexington were canceled.
The Pioneers, who will be making their third consecutive championship game appearance, advanced to the finals with a 76-75 victory over visiting Hanover College last Saturday. Michael Jefferson’s runner with two seconds left provided the winning points. Jefferson, a senior from Madison Southern, finished with 22 points, five rebounds and four assists. Fellow senior Lucas Gentry (Rockcastle County) added 26 points and 10 rebounds.
Gentry leads Transylvania in scoring (16.8 points per game) and rebounding (7.4) this season. Zach Larimore, a junior from Oldham County, also scores in double figures (15.3).
The Transylvania women (13-6) needed to win two tournament games to reach Wednesday’s finals. The Pioneers topped Manchester, 71-57, on March 3 then beat Anderson, 62-59, on March 6 to advance. Wednesday’s championship game against Hanover (9-3) is set for 5 p.m. Wednesday at the Beck Center.
The Pioneers swept their regular-season series against Hanover, winning 87-67 on Feb. 12 at Hanover and 99-78 on Feb. 14 in Lexington.
Madison Kellione, a sophomore from Harrison County, leads a balanced Transylvania squad in scoring at 11.3 points per game. She is one of six Pioneers averaging seven or more points per game this season, joining Dasia Thornton (9.3), Zenoviah Walker (9.1), Grace Shope (7.9), Laken Ball (7.2) and Calynn Jackson (7.0). Walker is a senior from Danville.