BOX SCORE
LEXINGTON, KY. -- Rose-Hulman Institute of Technology knocked off the top women's basketball team in the Heartland Collegiate Athletic Conference with a 59-58 victory at Transylvania University on Saturday.
Nicole Coffman rimmed out a potential game-winning eight-foot shot at the buzzer as Rose-Hulman withstood a late charge from the Pioneers to earn their 11th win of the season.
Freshman Addie Johnson (Caledonia, Mich./Catholic Central) led Rose-Hulman players with 13 points and five rebounds off the bench. Freshman Carrie Morris (Altadena, Calif./Mayfield) also reached double figures with 11 points.
Freshman Cassidy Cain (Noblesville) scored nine points with four assists. Junior Kelsey Ploof (Noblesville) pitched in wtih eight points and 10 rebounds. Three players scored six points each for Rose-Hulman.
Coffman led all players with 26 points on 7-15 from the fiel;d and 10-12 from the free throw line. Madisen Webb also reached double figures for Transylvania with 15 points.
Rose-Hulman owned the boards as a key factor in the victory, outrebounding Transylvania 40-18 in the game.
The Fightin' Engineers jumped out to an 18-3 at the 10:48 mark of the first half after two free throws from Johnson and a three-pointer from Cain. Transylvania cut the deficit to nine points at 20-11, but another Rose-Hulman run capped by four straight points from Morris gave Rose-Hulman a 31-16 lead.
The Engineers maintained a 12-point lead at the half at 33-21 after another basket by Morris. In the second half, Transylvania rallied to within seven points at 39-32 after baskets from Webb and Coffman.
Rose-Hulman pushed the lead to 15 points once more at 53-38 on a three-pointer by Johnson at the 11:24 mark. Transylvania marched back with 12 straight points to move within 53-50 on a score by Katelyn Smith with 7:31 remaining.
Rose-Hulman held the lead for the rest of the game, with a five-point margin reached again at 57-52 on another Ploof basket at the 4:16 mark. Transylvania closed within 57-56 at the 1:01 mark on two free throws by Coffman, but sophomore Sheree Williams (Bluffton, S.C.) answered with a layup at the 41-second mark to give Rose-Hulman a 59-56 edge.
Coffman scored again with 33 seconds left to trim Rose-Hulman's lead to 59-58. Transylvania forced a turnover, but the Engineers forced a miss by Katelyn Smith with 13 seconds remaining. Rose-Hulman was fouled, but after a missed free throw Transylvania had one more chance to win the game.
The Pioneers called timeout with 1.2 seconds remaining to set up their final play from under the Engineer basket. Coffman was double teamed by the Rose-Hulman defense and forced to take a challenged eight-foot shot that fell out at the buzzer.
Rose-Hulman improved to 11-10 on the season and 7-7 in HCAC play. The Fightin' Engineers have recorded their first five-game winning streak since the 2006-07 season. Transylvania stands 16-5 overall and still leads the HCAC standings at 12-2 in league play.