LIVONIA, Mich. – The Taylor women's basketball team opened the 2022 season on the road Thursday evening, when the Trojans handedly defeated Madonna by a final score of 81-51.
Taylor (1-0) led each and every second of play, scoring the first six points of the game and at one point establishing a 35-point cushion over its host. En route to their first win of the season, Taylor Westgate led the Trojans with a career-high 30 points on 12-24 shooting, alongside four rebounds, two assists, and two steals.
Westgate was dynamic inside and outside the paint, scoring 18 of her points from the free-throw line in while adding four three-point baskets from beyond the arch.
Meanwhile, Ariel Dale played a strong supporting role, posting 12 points in tandem with eight rebounds, while Gretchen Moll missed out on a double-double by one point with a nine-point, 10-rebound performance of her own.
As a team, Taylor outshot Madonna by nearly 17 percentage points, as the Trojans maintained a clip of 44.1 percent from the floor. Taylor capitalized on 12 Crusader miscues, pocketing 24 points off turnovers which funneled into a 34-14 Taylor advantage in points in the paint.
Though it was an advantage in the rebound category that drove the Trojans to an 18-9 first-quarter lead. Thanks in large part to seven first-quarter boards snagged by Moll, Taylor outrebounded Madonna 17-9 in the first set. Meanwhile, Taylor limited the Crusaders to 3-18 shooting from the floor, while Westgate and Moll singlehandedly outscored their opponent.
TU then worked a 38-22 lead at half, after Taylor scored 12 points off Madonna turnovers in the second frame, supporting at one point a 9-0 Trojan run in which Westgate contributed seven points herself.
The third quarter unfolded with a series of significant runs, the first of which went Taylor's way with a 16-1 scurry that crafted a 28-point TU lead. Madonna responded with a run of its own, however, trimming the Taylor lead to 17 with a 13-2 momentum swing.
That momentum quickly landed back on Taylor's side, as Ariel Dale sunk a graceful heave at the buzzer, placing an exclamation point on a quick 6-0 Trojan run to close the third. As a team, Taylor shot 64.3 percent from the floor in the third quarter, which marked its best clip of the night.
Seven different Trojans then scored throughout the fourth frame, as the Trojans went to win their season-opener by a commanding score of 81-51.
Taylor (1-0) returns to the court on Tuesday, November 1, when the Trojans travel to Cornerstone for a 6:00 pm matchup.
