November 9, 2013
Trojans Fall at No. 4 Georgetown
GEORGETOWN, Ky. - The Taylor women's basketball team exploded for 47 points in the second half of its matchup with NAIA Division I fourth-ranked Georgetown College but it wasn't enough as the Tigers held off Taylor for an 88-75 victory.
Senior Kelsey Bryant scored a season-high 23 points while fellow senior Kelci Freds added 14 to pace four Trojans in double figures but the duo of Andrea Howard and Kourtney Tyra combined for 53 points as the Tigers picked up a victory in their season opener.
Georgetown (1-0) quickly jumped out to a 4-0 lead and never trailed as the Tigers took advantage of mounting TU fouls, cashing in at the foul line while building a 20-6 lead midway through the first half.
Taylor (0-3) clawed its way back to within eight of the Tigers at the 4:19 mark in the first half when freshman Savanneh Bley completed a 3-point play and one possession later corralled an offensive rebound and kicked the ball out to senior Freds who nailed a 3-pointer to pull the Trojans within 31-23. Georgetown closed the half on an 11-5 run to rebuild its lead to 14 at 42-28 at the half.
The Trojans briefly trimmed the lead to single digits midway through the second half when Bryant it a 3-pointer to trim the Georgetown lead to 60-51 with just under ten minutes to play but the Tigers quickly pushed the lead back to 21 at 79-58 to reclaim control and cruise to the victory.
"We improved on both ends of the floor tonight against a nationally ranked team," Taylor coach Kelly Packard said. "We got better and our energy and work ethic was obvious."
Along with 23 points from Bryant and 14 points from Freds the Trojans also got a career-high 11 points from junior Sara Waid and a career-high ten points from Bley in her third career game.
The Trojans shot 35.1-percent (20-57) from the floor, including 34.8-percent (8-23) from 3-point range while the Tigers shot 45.3-percent (29-64) and 37.5-percent (6-16) from 3-point range.
Taylor committed 19 turnovers while Bryant and Ashley Fouch each finished with four assists to lead the Trojans who were outrebounded 42-36.
Taylor returns to action tomorrow afternoon as the Trojans face Saint Catherine at 2:00 pm at Georgetown.