Trojans Complete Season Sweep of #13 Bethel

MISHAWAKA, Ind.- The Taylor women's basketball team pushed its winning streak to four games as the Trojans completed a season sweep of No. 13-ranked Bethel with a 68-65 win over the Pilots in Mishawaka this afternoon.

Erika Redweik scored 19 points and pulled down nine rebounds to pace five Trojans in double figures as Taylor climbed back into a three-way tie for fourth place at 6-6 in Crossroads League play.

Taylor (17-7, 6-6) built a 55-42 lead with just over eight minutes to play in large part because of the Trojans defensive and rebounding prowess where Taylor amassed a 44-26 advantage on the glass.

However, the 13^th-ranked Pilots unleashed a 15-4 run to quickly climb back into the game before the Trojans managed to get just enough defensive stops over the final four minutes to claim the upset.

"All I can really say about today is defense, defense, defense, and teamwork, teamwork, teamwork!" Taylor coach Tena Krause said. "We worked together and got enough stops to get a huge win."

The backcourt duo of Kelsey Bryant and Kelci Freds each scored 11 points. Freds hit two huge free throws with five seconds to pay to push Taylor's lead back to three after the Pilots had trimmed the Taylor advantage to 66-65.
Bryant stuffed the stat sheet for Taylor, adding four rebounds, four steals, and two assists while senior forward Erin Guarneri turned in another solid effort with ten points, five rebounds, and five assists to go along with two steals. Tess Rudolph was the fifth Trojan to manage double figures as the senior guard scored ten points and pulled down career-high nine rebounds in the victory.

Taylor's offense clicked to the tune of 45.6 percent (26-57) shooting from the floor and 33.3 percent (4-12) from 3-point range while the Trojans held Bethel to 39.3 percent (24-61) and just 28.6 percent (8-28) from beyond the arc.

Today's matchup was the first of back-to-back games against ranked opponents for Taylor as the Trojans host No. 6 Saint Francis on Wednesday with tipoff slated for 7:00 pm in Odle Arena.