Taylor Drops Trojan Classic Finale to OCU

UPLAND, Ind. – Whitney Warfel scored 23 points Wednesday night and Quinn Kelly added 16 off the bench, but their efforts were not enough in a tight, 74-70 loss to Ohio Christian (6-7) in the Trojan Classic finale.

Taylor (5-8, 0-4 CL) rode the hot hand of Warfel early on as she tallied TU's initial nine points of the game. A pair of buckets from Kelly sandwiched a three-pointer from Ava Henson as the Trojans raced out to a 16-4 lead.

Ohio Christian answered with a 17-2 run to close the first and open the second quarter to erase the deficit and go ahead, 21-18.

Both teams settled in offensively for the rest of the half, with Kacey Ott finding her shot and Kelly staying in rhythm as TU brought the halftime score to 37-all.

Taylor and OCU traded buckets through much of the third period, with the Purple and Grey again turning to Warfel early in the half for easy offense.

The Trojans trailed by three, 56-53, entering the fourth quarter, but Henson buried a triple on Taylor's first possession to once again tie the game. Henson and Kelly each made a shot over the next few possessions that gave the hosts the lead by one point both times.

TU's last lead came at the 7:19 mark of the final frame, however, as it kept the game within reach but could not get the defensive stops or offensive baskets it needed down the stretch as the contest's physicality increased.

Henson joined Warfel and Kelly in double figures with 12 points, and she tied for the team high in assists with Emma Fohl, as the backcourt partners recorded three dimes apiece.

Kendall Wayne grabbed a game-high nine rebounds, which helped the Trojans to 42-36 advantage on the glass.

Defensively, Kelly notched a career-high three blocks to lead all players on the night.

Taylor closes out the calendar year on the road versus No. 23 Indiana Tech (8-4, 5-1 WHAC) on Dec. 30 at 6 p.m.