Second-Half Surge Paves Way to Victory at Home

Broadcast Highlights | Courtside Highlights

UPLAND, Ind. – The Taylor University women's basketball team (5-4, 1-2 CL) picked up its first Crossroads League win of the season on Wednesday evening, when the Trojans defeated Huntington (3-7, 0-3 CL) at home by a final score of 76-56.

A second-half surge paved the way toward victory for Taylor, as the Trojans outscored Huntington 45-31 in the final 20 minutes of play. Claycee West scored 12 of her 19 points in the second half, shooting a sharp 55.7 percent from the floor along the way.

Senior center, Gretchen Moll, stole the show when it came to shooting percentage, however, as the 6-4 native of Nebraska posted a 66.7-percent clip on 12 shots en route to an 18-point performance on Wednesday evening.

Moll added 12 rebounds to her 18-point effort, which marked her fourth double-double of the season. Taylor Westgate notched her fourth double-double as well, placing in tandem 19 points and 13 boards, alongside six assists and a pair of blocks. Taylor is now 2-0 this season when Westgate and Moll each scratch a double-double into the scorebook.

Led by this Trojan frontcourt duo, Taylor outrebounded Huntington 41-24. Meanwhile, the Trojans tallied assists on 22 of their 30 total shots made from the floor, though turnovers early in the game invited the Foresters to hang tight.

At the end of the first quarter, the score read 14-13 with Taylor owning the slightest of edges as Huntington capitalized on six first-quarter Taylor turnovers.

Moll helped the Trojans come alive in the second quarter, however, as she posted eight points while West and Westgate combined for nine more. This Trojan trio combined for all of Taylor's 17 second-quarter points, five of which came from the free-throw line. The Taylor offense drew seven Huntington fouls throughout the second period, which created seven trips to the charity stripe.

Taylor owned a 31-25 lead heading into the half, out of which Taylor soon doubled its lead to 12. West and Westgate combined for 13 of Taylor's 21 third-quarter points, while Ava Henson pocketed six more as the Trojans pulled away.

Throughout the fourth and final frame, Taylor shot its best shooting percentage of the night with a 55.6-percent clip on 18 total shots taken from the floor. Senior guard, Ariel Dale, played a large role for the Trojan offense down the stretch, as she scratched seven points into the scorebook to boost her game-total to 10.

Dale has posted double-digit point performances in six games this season, while Westgate has now done so in each of Taylor's nine competitions. Meanwhile, West finished with five assists, which marks the sixth time she has dished out five-or-more assists in a game.

West ranks second in the league with an average of 5.4 assists per game, while Westgate sits third with a mark of 18.4 points per game. Moll, meanwhile, is one of just five players in the Crossroads League to average 10-or-more rebounds per game, as she currently ranks second with an average of 10.4.

Jillian Osswald and Maycee Woods played meaningful time off the bench of the Trojans, Osswald matching a career-best four assists while Woods tallied four rebounds.

Taylor (5-4, 1-2 CL) returns to Crossroads League action this Saturday, December 3, when the Trojans travel to play Bethel (4-7, 0-3 CL) at 1:00 pm.