SOUTHFIELD, Mich. – The Trojan women's basketball team (3-1) took to the court for day two of the Blue Devils Classic at Lawrence Tech (1-1) on Saturday evening, when Taylor defeated its host by a final score of 60-55.
After a loss to Siena Heights on Friday, Taylor re-entered the win column on Saturday even while navigating 22 turnovers that set up 22 Lawrence Tech points on the other end. The decisive factor for Taylor in overcoming such adversity was an absurd advantage over the Blue Devils in the rebounding column, outrebounding Lawrence Tech by a mark of 54-22 by game's end.
The Trojans grabbed a remarkable 21 offensive rebounds, just one rebound shy of their opponent's total rebounds, which then set up 15 second chance points for Taylor.
Junior center, Gretchen Moll, played a large role in developing Taylor's advantage in this way, as she secured a career-high 17 rebounds, alongside 13 points for her first double-double of 2022.
Though a trio of other Trojans posted seven rebounds or more as well, including Taylor Westgate who combined a team-high 16 points with nine boards. Claycee West and Ava Henson, meanwhile, each scratched seven rebounds in the stat book, while West tallied 14 points and Henson contributed 12 herself.
For the second night in a row, West dropped eight points in the first quarter, at the end of which Taylor led 14-13. Moll, then, took over in the second frame, a period of play in which she posted six points and six rebounds as Taylor outrebounded Lawrence Tech 17-5. In large part due to its rebounding advantage, Taylor limited Lawrence Tech to just nine second-quarter points and entered the half with a seven-point lead.
Lawrence Tech bounced back in the third, however, as the Blue Devils cut the Taylor lead to three heading into the fourth.
Moll and Henson helped TU secure the win down the stretch, though, as Moll combined five more points and six rebounds in the fourth quarter, while Henson scored seven of her 12 points in the game's final four minutes.
By weekend's end, Westgate was named to the Blue Devil All-Tournament Team in recognition of an average of 19.0 points and 7.5 rebounds-per-game throughout Taylor's two-game stretch of play.
Taylor finished its four-game road trip to start the 2022 season with a record of 3-1, and now the Trojans set their gaze on Odle Arena where they will play their home-opener against RV Midway on Tuesday, November 8, at 7:00 pm.
