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A RESOLUTION honoring the Transylvania University women's basketball team, 1
2023 National Collegiate Athletic Association Division III National Champions and 2024 2
Final Four participants. 3
WHEREAS, on April 1, 2023, at the American Airlines Center in Dallas, Texas, the 4
Transylvania University Pioneers defeated the Captains of Christopher Newport 5
University by a score of 57 to 52 to win the 2023 National Collegiate Athletic 6
Association (NCAA) Division III Women's Basketball championship; and 7
WHEREAS, the Pioneers trailed the number-one-ranked and previously unbeaten 8
Captains by as many as nine points in the first quarter, but turned up the defensive energy 9
with great success to lead by two points at halftime, allowing Christopher Newport to 10
score only six points in the second quarter and forcing 13 first-half turnovers; and 11
WHEREAS, Transylvania began the second half on a 13-2 scoring run and built a 12
lead as large as 13 points. The Captains slowly chipped away at that advantage though, 13
and the game was twice tied inside the final three minutes, until a Dasia Thornton layup 14
with 43 seconds remaining broke a 49-49 tie; and 15
WHEREAS, playing prominent roles in the 2023 championship game win were 16
senior guard Madison Kellione, who scored 17 points and had seven rebounds; senior 17
forward Dasia Thornton, who posted a double-double with 13 points and 10 rebounds; 18
and senior guard Kennedi Stacy, who had eight points, 11 rebounds, and eight steals; and 19
WHEREAS, the national championship, the first in the history of the school in any 20
sport, capped off a perfect 33-0 season for the Pioneers; and 21
WHEREAS, in 2024, the Pioneers were again in the spotlight, winning their first 31 22
games before falling to eventual national champion New York Unversity in the Final 23
Four; and 24
WHEREAS, these results, combined with the Pioneers' Elite Eight appearance in 25
2022, have solidified Transylvania as a force to be reckoned with in the sport, with a 26
record of 130 wins against only 11 losses in the last five seasons, as well as six 27 UNOFFICIAL COPY 24 RS BR 2210
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consecutive Heartland Collegiate Athletic Conference Championships; and 1
WHEREAS, the architect of this Pioneers renaissance in women's basketball is 2
head coach Juli Fulks, who in 10 years at Transylvania has compiled a record of 242 wins 3
and 39 losses. Fulks also won the Pat Summit Trophy in 2024 when she was named 4
National Coach of the Year in Division III by the Women's Basketball Coaches 5
Association; and 6
WHEREAS, the achievements of the Transylvania women's basketball program 7
have shone a bright light on the talent, dedication, and teamwork of a remarkable group 8
of young women who have brought positive attention to the school and the 9
Commonwealth, and who are worthy recipients of public acclaim; 10
NOW, THEREFORE, 11
Be it resolved by the Senate of the General Assembly of the Commonwealth of 12
Kentucky: 13
Section 1. The members of the Senate join Senator Reginald Thomas in saluting 14
the Transylvania Pioneers for their 2023 NCAA Division III Women's Basketball 15
championship and their 2024 Final Four run, applauding their tremendous run of 16
excellence, and wishing all of the teams members, coaches, and staff good fortune in all 17
future endeavors. 18
Section 2. The Clerk of the Senate shall transmit a copy of this Resolution to 19
Senator Reginald Thomas for presentation to the team. 20