Season Comes to a Close as Taylor Falls to No. 4 Marian in CL Semis

INDIANAPOLIS – In the Crossroads League Semifinals, the Taylor women's basketball team lost to No. 4 Marian (27-3) by a score of 79-48. Taylor Westgate collected her 15th double-double of the season, but turnovers and sharp Marian shooting were too much to overcome for the Trojans, as their 2021-2022 season came to a close.

Marian started the game 3-3 from the floor, after which the Trojans coughed up three-consecutive turnovers as the Knights went up 15-6 midway through the first quarter. Taylor finished the frame, though, with a 7-2 run, drawing within four points heading into the second.

Taylor went on to score the first five points of the second quarter to take a 19-18 lead, before Marian answered with a bucket of its own to stop a 9-0 Trojan run. A flurry of Taylor turnovers, then, fueled a 12-0 Marian run as the Knights posted a 29-18 lead with six minutes to play in the half.

Merideth Deckard sunk a three out of a timeout to make it an eight-point game, though Marian answered with another run, this time to the tune of 12-4 to close the first half with a 41-25 lead.

In the first 20 minutes of play, Marian shot 57 percent from the floor, in comparison to a 39.3-percent mark put forth by Taylor. High-pressure defense made it tough for Taylor to find many open looks, as the Knights racked in three blocks and three steals throughout the half. This defensive pressure catalyzed 10 first-half Trojan turnovers, which then cultivated 13 points in return for the Knights en route to its 16-point lead at intermission.

Ava Henson and Lauren James led the way on offense through the first two quarters of play, each scoring six points, while Westgate was active in the paint and grabbed five rebounds in tandem with five first-half points.

Out of the half, a similar script continued to unfold, as five third-quarter Taylor turnovers carved space for Marian to extend its lead to 22 heading into the fourth.

In the final 10 minutes of play, Marian's 22-point lead morphed into a 31-point win. Taylor finished with 20 team turnovers, which set the stage for 24 Marian points in return. As a team, the Knights shot 51 percent from the floor, outpacing the Trojans by 13 percent.

Westgate's 15th double-double of the season took the shape of 10 points and 10 boards, granting the sophomore more double-doubles in a season than any other Trojan to play in the last two decades other than All-American, Kendall Bradbury.

Taylor's 2021-2022 season comes to a close with a final record of 15-13, losing in the Crossroads League Semifinals for the second-straight season.