For the defending national champion Transylvania Pioneers, the road to this year’s Final Four begins in Beck.
The women’s basketball team — which has the longest current winning streak in college basketball at 60 games — takes on Chatham University at home tonight at 8. Get the details like how to watch live and ticket info.
Ohio Wesleyan vs. Emory is the other matchup today in the Beck Center, also the site of tomorrow’s game pitting the winner of that contest against either Transylvania or Chatham.
“Any time we get to play at home, we feel good about it,” coach Juli Fulks told the Lexington Herald-Leader. “I think at the end of the day, we always rely on our defensive rebounding. And that travels, so whether we go on the road or whether we’re here, we know we can rely on that part.”
Her team leads the NCAA in scoring defense, with their opponents scoring an average of only 42.1 points per game.
The Pioneers also go into tonight’s game tied for the fifth longest winning streak in DIII women’s basketball history.
“The excitement is still there every game,” forward Laken Ball told the Herald-Leader. “I mean, that’s what we’re fighting for all season. Every game we step on the floor anywhere we know, like whoever we’re playing, we’re fighting to play for home at the end of the season. It’s what our fans want; it’s what we want.”
These fans got to see the Pioneers win their sixth straight HCAC championship last weekend.
To honor Transylvania’s superlative season, the HCAC named Fulks as Women’s Basketball Coach of the Year — also, forward Dasia Thornton earned Player of the Year and guard Kennedy Stacy is Defensive Player of the Year.
Check out this WKYT feature on Transylvania hosting the NCAA tournament:
The Pioneers got a shout-out from the mayor too: