To kick off the 2022-2023 season, the Pioneers traveled to Dallas to face Concordia University Texas (won 66-45) and UT Dallas (won 57-43) in the Texas-Dallas Tournament. They knew the National Championship site would be in Dallas as part of the Title IX celebration bringing DI, DII, and DIII together for the same championship site at the American Airlines Center. They did just that with a perfect 33-0 record, Texas to Texas.
Throughout the season, Transy never ranked lower than third in the country during their entire season. After the Texas-Dallas Tournament, they swept the Pat Deacon Classic hosted over the Thanksgiving break at Beck. In HCAC play, they went a perfect 18-0 with an average margin of victory of 33 points.
A late addition to the schedule for December was a road game at John Carroll, where Transy trounced the non-conference foe 82-39 giving more weight to their ranking. Over the winter break, Transy hosted Wisconsin Luthern and Berea for the Transylvania Holiday Classic, defeating both before continuing their dominance of the HCAC. They put an exclamation point on the regular season with a 61 point win over Earlham heading into the HCAC Tournament with their fifth straight regular season championship.
With wins over Bluffton (82-55) and Hanover (85-58), the Pioneers rolled to their fifth straight trip to the NCAA Tournament as the HCAC Champions. Transy earned the hosting bid and faced Rhodes (58-45) and Milikin (71-59) in two tough rounds the first weekend of the tournament. The following weekend, they hosted the Sweet 16 and Elite 8 rounds. In the Sweet Sixteen, they faced off with ONU, downing the Polar Bears 67-43. The Elite 8 brought NYU to Beck and yet again, the Pioneers kept Don Lane Court undefeated for the year.
For the Final Four, Transy traveled to Hartford, Connecticut to push past Smith College en route to punching their ticket to the national championship. They handled Smith with a 76-65 win and set their sights on Texas.
They did exactly what they set out to do, come full circle with their joyful journey of a Texas to Texas season. Christopher Newport defeated Rhode Island in the Final Four to advance to the championship and was the only other undefeated team in DIII women's basketball. The battle of the undefeated ended with Transy being one of the only undefeated women's basketball teams in the country, the other being DII National Champion Ashland University.
Dasia Thornton won the tip to start the game. Shortly after Kennedi Stacy pulled down a defensive rebound leading to Madison Kellione scoring the first points of the game on a layup. A steal from Thornton and a dish to Laken Ball put the Pioneers up 4-2. High pressure and shots just missing the net had the Pioneers fighting back in the first, having to work from behind. A huge three pointer from Kennedy Harris at 2:11 left in the first followed by a Thornton steal, and a Kellione one on one layup gave momentum back to the Pioneers pulling to within three; 12-15. Kellione picked the pocket of a CNU Captain to get one last possession before the half to keep the deficit at only three.
The Pioneers had the possession to start the second quarter and capitalized with a Thornton layup to bring the Pioneers within one at 14-15. Two very timely steals by Stacy gave an opportunity for the Pioneers to score two more from Ball making it 17-18.
A big time three from Kennedy Harris at 7:05 before the half gave the 20-18 lead to the Pioneers and electrified the large Transylvania contingent in the American Airlines Center.
Stacy at the line hit a free throw then turned around on the other end for a timely steal of the Captains. Kellione added her own steal putting more pressure on the Captains in the tied 21-21 ballgame with three minutes remaining in the first half. One more field goal from Stacy in the paint gave the 23-21 lead going into the half, that the Pioneers would never relinquish.
After the half, the Pioneers came out swinging with a Thornton layup and Stacy three put the Pioneers up 28-23. An added layup from Kellione made it 30-23 followed by Sydney Wright taking the offensive foul to get another possession back to get another Thornton layup that sent the Transylvania faithful into a frenzy. A defensive rebound on a missed CNU shot gave the Pioneers the opportunity for another layup by Thornton for the 11 point lead at 34-23, the largest lead of the game.
The Captains showed no quit, after mounting a couple stops of their own and adding some buckets to boot. With under one minute remaining in the third quarter, the ever composed Kellione nailed a three to put the Pioneers up 39-32 going into the fourth quarter with the seven point lead.
The Pioneers started with possession again to start the fourth quarter where Kellione buried another three, making it a 42-32 ball game. A steal from Wright at just over eight minutes to go gave Sadie Wurth the opportunity to make a nice layup for the 44-27 lead. Offensive rebounds from the Pioneers gave them second chances for points against the Captains. At 4:21 remaining a three from Wright made it 47-43.
Again, the Captains would not go away and pushed the Pioneers in the final moments. Tied at 47-47 with two minutes to go in the game a defensive rebound from Stacy gave the Pioneers the ball. At 1:30, Kellione was fouled and went to the line for two, draining both. In the final 90 seconds, the Pioneer crowd could be heard screaming defense.
A layup by Thornton with 43 seconds remaining gave the Pioneers the 51-49 lead. A massive defensive rebound from Thornton on the other end gave possession to Transy for the last 15.5 seconds. A foul by CNU with 13.4 remaining gave Kellione another chance for two, she drained both to give Transy the 53-49 lead. With nine seconds remaining, Stacy went to the line for two free throws after a CNU foul to put the Pioneers on top 55-49. A late three from CNU pulled the Championship game to within three at 55-52, but with only two seconds remaining on the clock. A quick foul by CNU put Ball at the line to seal it for the Pioneers, sinking both free throws, and any hopes of a comeback for the Captains.
Senior Madidosn Kellione led the Pioneers with 17 points, seven rebounds, and three steals. Senior Dasia Thornton finished the championship with yet another double-double at 13 points, 10 rebounds, and two steals. Senior Kennedi Stacy nearly pulled off the triple-double at eight points, eight steals, and 11 rebounds.
"33-0! What an amazing accomplishment for this team! They approached this season with a dream of being excellent and found ways to make their national championship goal a reality. I am so incredibly proud of the work they have put in this season and grateful to be a part of Transy's first national championship. The community support has been amazing all season and our last victory was propelled forward by the fantastic crowd and exciting atmosphere," said Head Coach Dr. Juli Fulks.
The Pioneers will have a welcome home rally on Wednesday, April 5th at 3:30 PM in the Clive M. Beck Center.
