WBB Preview: Defiance prepares to entertain No. 3 Transylvania on Saturday
January 6, 2023

WBB Preview: Defiance prepares to entertain No. 3 Transylvania on Saturday

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DEFIANCE, Ohio – The Defiance College women's basketball team hosts the No. 3 team in the country at the Weaner Center on Saturday with a 1 p.m. tipoff against 13-0 Transylvania. The Pioneers are also 5-0 in conference play as they match up against 6-6, 1-4 Defiance.

The Yellow Jackets are coming off their first loss since winning five in a row with an 81-48 letdown at rival Bluffton on Wednesday. The Pioneers dropped Earlham by rolling to an 86-31 win on the road.

Transylvania has won the HCAC tournament the last three years it has been played and has also claimed at least a share of the last three regular-season crowns. Transylvania reach the D-III Elite Eight last season before a regional final loss to Trine ended a previously unbeaten season (27-1).

Transylvania features four senior players that were All-HCAC selections in 2021-22, including first-teamers Madison Kellione and Kennedi Stacy. Kellione leads the squad with 13.5 points per game and her 4.2 assists per game lead the HCAC. Stacy is second on the team in scoring at 12.3 per contest and a team-best 19 3-pointers. Dasia Thornton, honorable mention HCAC last year, is the teams leading rebounder at 8.7 per game and second-best in the league.

As a team, the Pioneers score 72.6 points per game, second-best in the conference, while holding opponents to a league-low 45 points per contest, third-lowest nationally at the D-III level. Defiance is third in the conference in defensive scoring at 58.6 per game. Transy's 27.6-point average margin ranks fifth-best in the country among D-III programs.

The Yellow Jackets lead the conference in team free throw percentage by making 73 percent of their shots at the charity stripe. DC is scoring 61.3 points per and letting up 56.2 while being led by Taylor Steinbrunner with 9.8 points per game and Taylor Day at 8.7 per contest, closely followed by Lexie Sparks and Kalista Friday at better than seven points each.

-JACKETS-