Broadcast Highlights
UPLAND, Ind. – The Taylor (4-2) women's basketball team took the court Friday evening for its second home game of the season, a game in which Trojan center, Gretchen Moll, fueled Taylor down the path of victory.
Moll posted a career-high 19 rebounds, alongside a 20-point effort that matched a career high, as Taylor held on for a 76-71 win over IU-Kokomo (0-6). Moll, a senior from Seward, Nebraska, posted at least four points and four boards in each quarter, as she pocketed her second double-double of the 2022 campaign.
The entire TU starting five proved pivotal by game's end, especially as Moll fouled out with just under three minutes remaining in the game. The Trojan starters combined for a whopping 74 of Taylor's 76 total points, as each one of the five scored 11 points or more.
Guards, Ariel Dale and Ava Henson, each finished with 15 points, while Taylor Westgate combined 13 points with 13 boards, and Claycee West placed in tandem 11 points and seven assists.
Along the path to victory, the second quarter proved to be an especially significant moment in the game. After trailing 17-14 at the end of the first quarter, TU outscored the Cougars 22-10 in the second to establish a nine-point lead heading into the half.
Moll had already secured a double-double by halftime, as she scratched 10 points and 10 rebounds into the book in the opening 20 minutes of play. Throughout a momentous second frame of basketball, Taylor shot 40 percent from the floor as a team while limiting IU-K to a mark of 21.1 percent.
IU-K managed to outscore Taylor 44-40 in the second half, but the nine-point deficit at half proved too wide a gap to cover down the stretch, especially as the Trojans found ways to capitalize at the free throw line.
By game's end, the Cougars hit more field goals than Taylor but the Trojans made 28 trips to the charity stripe, where they feasted on 20 uncontested points. Alongside such an abundance of free throws, Taylor enjoyed a 16-point edge in the rebounding column, which allowed TU to maintain possession throughout much of the game.
Back in the win column, Taylor (4-2) is now set to open Crossroads League play next Wednesday, November 16, when the Trojans host No. 7 Marian (5-0) inside Odle Arena at 7:00 pm.
