LEXINGTON, KY. -- Rose-Hulman Institute of Technology came within inches of overcoming a four-point deficit in the final 5.3 seconds in a 53-52 women's basketball loss at Transylvania University in the Heartland Collegiate Athletic Conference Tournament on Tuesday.

Transylvania freshman Sara Sexton buried two free throws with 5.3 seconds left to make the score 53-49. 

On the ensuing inbounds pass, freshman Rebecca Bowermaster (Wood River, Ill./Roxana) tossed a three-quarter court baseball pass to junior Liz Ridgway (Grosse Pointe, Mich./Northwestern U.), who buried a three-pointer with 2.9 seconds left to bring the Engineers within 53-52.

Ridgway then stole the following inbounds pass and missed a six-foot shot just long at the buzzer as Rose-Hulman nearly stole the victory in the first round of the league tourney.

Rose-Hulman rallied from an 11-point second half deficit to take the lead at 49-46 on a three-pointer by Floyd with 5:58 remaining.  The two defenses then made a major stand, capped by a three-pointer by freshman Olivia Akridge of Transylvania to tie the score at 49-49 with 1:32 left.

Kelsey McCarty and Brittany Henderlight each hit one of two free throws to give Transylvania a 51-49 lead with 24 seconds left.  Floyd had a layup blocked with 11 seconds left, but the Engineers retained possession with eight seconds left. 

Ridgway narrowly missed a jumper on the next play and Sexton was fouled on the rebound to set the stage for the final seconds.

Floyd capped her career with 1,067 points with her 15-point effort on 6-8 from the field that led all scorers.  Ridgway also reached double figures with 11 points and eight rebounds.

Senior Katie Tharp (Linton) came off the bench for nine points, while sophomore Bethany Brisco (Alexandria) poured in seven for the Engineers, while senior Candace Procter (Southfield, Mich./Groves) pitched in five points and four assists.

McCarty and Henderlight led the Transylvania offense with 13 points each, with Sexton contributing 10 points.

With the victory, Transylvania improved to 15-11 on the season and advances to the HCAC Tournament Semifinals against Manchester College on Friday night at Anderson University.  Rose-Hulman completed the campaign with an 11-15 mark.