HARTFORD, CT - The Smith College basketball team's historic season came to an end in the NCAA Division III semifinals Saturday night. The No. 4 Pioneers fell to No. 2 Transylvania 76-65 in the Final Four at Ray Oosting Gymnasium on the campus of Trinity College.

Smith, which was playing in its first NCAA Semifinal in school history, sees its season come to a close at 30-2. Transylvania (32-0) will play Christopher Newport for the National Championship on Saturday, April 1 in Dallas. 



By the Numbers

• Morgan Morrison (Detroit, Mi/Detroit Country Day) led Smith with 24 points, shooting 11-of-13 from the floor with eight rebounds
• Katelyn Pickunka (Westhampton, Mass./Hampshire) followed with 21 points and 14 rebounds for the double-double
• Jane Loo (Saratoga, CA/Saratoga) and Ally Yamada (Seal Beach, Calif./Fairmont Prep Academy) each added eight points off the bench
• Smith held the 38-37 edge in rebounds 
• The Pioneers shot 40-.3% from the field and 64.3% from the free throw line but struggled from three-point range going just 2-of-21
• Transylvania shot 51.9% from the floor, 26.3% from three-point range and 68.2% from the free throw line

Game Highlights

• The Battle of the Pioneers started with an offensive showcase in the first quarter. Transylvania jumped out to a 6-0 lead and shot 50 percent from the floor and All-Region guard Madison Kellione went 3-for-3 from the field, but Transylvania trailed 17-14 at the break due in part to the pair of Morrison and Pickunka who totaled 17 points on 8-of-8 shooting. 
• The game turned midway through the second period when the WBCA National Player of the Year Morrison was called for her second personal foul and forced to sit with 6:23 left in the half. From that point, Transylvania ended the half on a 16-6 run to hold a 38-31 advantage at the break. 
• Foul trouble continued to be a factor as Morrison had two more called on her in the opening 1:30 of the third. Transylvania was able to take advantage in her absence and lead 57-42 after the third. 
• Facing elimination, Smith put Morrison back on the floor and the rest of its offense started to come alive. Yamada and Loo knocked down back-to-back threes that pulled Smith within 57-48 early in the fourth quarter. Late in the period, Yamada drilled another three that pulled Smith within 69-64. With the large contingent of Smith fans cheering loudly, Kellione drained a three from a couple steps behind the arc. Transylvania was back in front by eight with two minutes left.  A reversed call by the official after video review resulted in Morrison picking up her fifth foul with 1:13 to go and Smith was unable to score again for the remainder of the game. 

Head Coach Lynn Hersey - "I just reminded them, they're competitors. They've competed all year long. Ultimately, we have a community who really believed in us, and I think being able to, in that moment, just make sure they looked at the crowd and to feel the support from parents, families, friends, professors, our president, our athletic director," Hersey said on the last huddle. "We did a lot of special things this season, and I wanted to make sure that they felt that. I also wanted them to make sure they felt the loss too. There's a part of both of those things that are really healthy for our program. So we're going to take both pieces, and stick together and take care of each other."

Katelyn Pickunka (Westhampton, Mass./Hampshire) - "I haven't really been able to reflect on the season as a whole. We're having these amazing historical moments that Coach (Hersey) is talking about, and that happens, and then we're prepping for the next day. So there's very quick turnaround," Pickunka said. "I haven't quite experienced that reflection period. But there's a lot of amazing memories and moments to reflect upon once I have that." 

About Smith Athletics: Smith College is a NCAA Division III member of the New England Women's and Men's Athletic Conference that sponsors 11 intercollegiate sports. For more information log on to smithpioneers.com and follow us on Facebook, Instagram, and Twitter.