Balanced Attack Leads Trojans to Victory

The Taylor women's basketball team wrapped up a successful weekend of games on Saturday afternoon as the Trojans claimed a 69-50 victory over Rochester (Mich.) on the final day of the Leah Whittaker Memorial Tournament held at Indiana Wesleyan University.

The 14^th ranked Trojans used a 14-4 run midway through the first half to build an 11-point halftime lead. Seniors Erin Guarneri and Tess Rudolph each knocked down 3-pointers during the run to propel Taylor to the halftime advantage.

The Trojans (10-1) also clamped down on the defensive end during the opening stanza, holding Rochester to just 9-for-35 (27.7 percent) shooting, including 2-for-16 from 3-point range.

"I was really proud of our effort and the way we played together as a team today," Taylor coach Tena Krause said. "We played with intensity on the defensive end and that allowed us to build and keep a lead."

Taylor opened the second half in much the same way it had ended the first, quickly pushing the lead to 21 when Ashley Fouch dished out an assist for another Rudolph 3-pointer before slicing down the lane on the next possession for a layup that made it 49-28 with 12:13 to play.

Junior Kelsey Bryant lead a balanced Trojan attack with 14 points and a team-high 17 assists while Rudolph and Kelci Freds each added 12 for Taylor.

Taylor shot 40.6 percent (26-64) for the game, including 7-for-16 from beyond the arc. Taylor committed 15 turnovers but forced Rochester into 21 miscues while holding the Warriors to just 28 percent (21-74) shooting.

Taylor travels to New Albany, Ind. to face IU South on Saturday with tip off scheduled for 2:00 pm.