LEXINGTON, KY. -- The Trine University women's basketball team had its eight-game winning streak come to an end following a 63-52 loss against Transylvania (Ky.) University in the championship game of the Transylvania Tournament in Lexington, Ky.
Trine had one player score in double figures in senior Brandi Dawson (Garrett, Ind./Garrett) with 12 points on five-of-10 shooting (50.0 percent).
The two teams played pretty evenly throughout the game, but Transylvania (9-2) took control in the second quarter by outscoring the Thunder, 16-9, going into the halftime break.
After trailing by three points after the first 10 minutes, Trine (10-2) began the second period with a three-pointer by sophomore Paige Reid (Grand Blanc, Mich./Holly) that narrowed the gap to a point, 14-13. But the Pioneers then scored six unanswered points as part of a larger 11-2 scoring run to post their first double-digit lead of the game, 25-15, with 2:44 left in the half.
Transylvania led by as many as 12 points in the second frame and took a 10-point margin into the locker rooms after Trine was able to get two points from a pair of free-throws from freshman Sophia Kreag (Westfield, Ind./Westfield) to end the scoring in the quarter to trail, 30-20.
The second half began with an 8-0 run by Transy resulting in the Pioneers' largest lead up until that point of 18 points, 38-20, at the 7:29 mark. The Pioneers continued to pull away and went on to lead by as many as 23 points, 47-24, with just under three-and-a-half minutes to play en route to having a 56-34 advantage heading into the fourth quarter.
Trine started the final period with nine straight points that ended in a layup by freshman Tara Bieniewicz (Chesterland, Mich./Dakota) and narrowed the gap to 13 points, 56-43, with 6:20 left in regulation. The Thunder cut into the deficit even more and got to within nine points with 1:20 remaining following a layup by freshman Rachel Stewart (Pekin, Ind./Eastern) that made it a 61-52 game. Transylvania then tallied the final points of the contest to extend the margin back to double digits and went on to the 63-52 final.
Following the game, Dawson was named to the All-Tournament Team following her individual efforts during the two-day event.
Trine will remain on the road and resume Michigan Intercollegiate Athletic Association play on Wednesday, Jan. 2 when it travels to Holland, Mich. to take on Hope College. The two teams are set to square off at 7:30 p.m.