A women’s basketball dynasty: Undefeated Transylvania headed back to NCAA Tournament
Juli Fulks stood Saturday night with nylon between her fingers and a smile on her face, patiently answering questions and nodding along with every accomplishment listed for her recent Transylvania women’s basketball teams.
This is her eighth season as head coach of the Pioneers, one that has produced unprecedented recognition and success but also some of the same results.
And it was the most recent result — a fourth straight conference tournament title that continued an undefeated season and allowed her to once again cut down a net— that served as the main catalyst for Fulks’ demeanor.
Transylvania improved to 24-0 on the season with an 81-51 victory over Anderson University on Saturday in the title game of the Heartland Collegiate Athletic Conference Tournament, which Transy hosted inside the Clive M. Beck Center on its downtown Lexington campus.
“It’s kind of a mixture of awe and excitement and (being) grateful for a group that has pushed as hard as they have through two really hard years to get to this point,” Fulks told the Herald-Leader while standing on the Beck Center’s court, still clutching the net she removed from the rim.
The Pioneers now have 16 wins this season against HCAC opponents by an average of more than 24.5 points each.
Fulks said she spoke with her team earlier this season about disregarding any outside expectations about how many points Transy should beat its opponents by.
“We don’t feel the pressure to have to have these outlandish games and scores, but I think taking that pressure off is what really helped them have such convincing wins,” Fulks explained.
Overall, Transy has recorded 18 wins this season by 20 or more points.
Despite the often large margins of victory that accompany Transy’s games, Fulks usually remains the same figure on the sideline throughout all 40 minutes: Calling out plays, applauding when an open shot is taken and made and sternly standing in place when something goes awry.
“In all these games we get a lot of players in. So the end of that game is all of our freshmen who will play roles in a few weeks, but in a year, two years, who knows, they’re the next ones up,” Fulks said. “We’re trying to make sure every game they are getting experience and going to be ready when it’s their turn … Kind of always building that next team culture.”
Saturday’s latest lopsided result confirmed Transy’s spot in the NCAA Division III women’s basketball tournament as the HCAC’s automatic qualifier, a significant accomplishment this year after last season’s NCAA Tournament was canceled at the Division III level.
Transy is one of just three women’s basketball teams at the NCAA Division III level that are still unbeaten, along with Christopher Newport (Virginia) and Webster (Missouri).
In the latest D3hoops.com women’s basketball Top 25 poll, the Pioneers were ranked No. 4 in the country, continuing to occupy the same top-five spot they’ve had since the new year.
The Pioneers are destined to get a top seed in this year’s NCAA Tournament, with the selection show scheduled for Monday afternoon and first round games set for Friday.
Fulks was rewarded for this overwhelming success earlier this week when she was named the HCAC Women’s Basketball Coach of the Year. It’s the third time she has received this honor while at Transy.
A quartet of junior Transy players also received all-conference honors: Guards Madison Kellione and Kennedi Stacy (first team), forward Laken Ball (second team) and forward Dasia Thornton (honorable mention).
In a vacuum, Transy’s 2021-22 season is as impressive as it gets.
When placed in the context of recent history for Transy, though, it’s fair to call the Pioneers the most consistent basketball team in Central Kentucky.
Dating back to the 2018-19 season, Transy has a 90-12 overall record, four straight HCAC Tournament titles and the deepest postseason run in school history with a trip to the 2019 NCAA Sweet 16.
Transy has not lost at home to an HCAC opponent since Dec. 9, 2017, a 1,541-day streak that will significantly grow after Saturday’s championship game win.
“We are riding four years of players who have worked so hard in the offseason so that we could all have this kind of success and we just need to always remember that none of this happened by chance,” Fulks said. “Every year we have the players do what they need to do out of season so that we can do this again … They’ve earned this, it wasn’t just happenstance or luck.”
This year’s Transy team has a good chance to continue to make history by advancing to the NCAA Elite Eight for the first time and beyond (this year’s NCAA Division III Final Four will be March 18 and March 19 in Pittsburgh).
“The NCAA Tournament, the lights go on and everybody’s got to show up and you’ve got to make shots,” Fulks said, noting that Transy’s shot diet skews toward three-pointers (45.9% of Transy’s field goal attempts come from long range).
The vindication of an undefeated regular season, along with another conference tournament title, is evident for Fulks and her players.
But does it feel different with the promise of potential NCAA Tournament glory still in front of them?
While still clutching the nylon net in her hands, Fulks is quick to say yes.
“Last year we knew heading into it that there wasn’t (an NCAA Tournament) and that was heartbreaking for our seniors because we knew they weren’t coming back for a fifth year,” Fulks said. “In some ways that might be motivating for this team. The last two years have shown everybody that big moments can be taken away and there’s nothing you can do about it. So every day we’ve got to come to practice we’re grateful to be here.”
