December 15, 2013
Trojans Fall in OT at Illinois-Springfield
SPRINGFIELD, Ill. - The Taylor women's basketball team erased a 15-point second half deficit to force overtime but NCAA Division II Illinois-Springfield held off the Trojans 75-72 for an overtime victory.
Senior Kelci Freds led all scorers with 25 points while fellow senior Becca Daniels added 17 point and 14 rebounds for Taylor but Illinois-Springfield utilized a balanced attack to hand Taylor its third consecutive loss.
Six straight points from Daniels helped the Trojans build a 20-13 lead with 7:45 to play in the first half before the Prairie Stars closed the opening stanza on a 14-0 run to claim a 27-20 halftime advantage. Illinois-Springfield continued its run after intermission as the Prairie Stars eventually build a 48-33 lead with just over 12 minutes to play. Sophomore Taylor Degenkolb knocked down 3-pointers on the next two possession for Taylor as the Trojans began to slowly chip away at the lead.
Back-to-back triples from Freds sliced the UIS lead to 57-40 before Degenkolb connected on her fourth 3-pointer of the afternoon at the 6:14 mark of the second half to bring the Trojans to within 57-53. Taylor continued its surge when freshman Savannah Bley added two free throws and Daniels scored in the paint as TU pulled even at 57-57 with 3:43 to play. Daniels added yet another basket on the next Taylor possession as the Trojans took its first lead since midway through the first half.
The Trojans (3-8, 0-3) appeared poised to complete the comeback with a victory as sophomore Emma Brattain headed to the line for two shots with TU leading 64-63 with 18 seconds to play. Brattain missed the first but hit the second to give Taylor a 65-63 lead before the Prairie Stars Alyssa Palmer connected on a layup with two seconds to play to force overtime.
Illinois-Springfield scored the first give points of the extra period and never allowed Taylor to pull even as the Prairie Stars held off the Trojans 75-72.
"Our largest task at this point is to remain diligent in our work ethic and hopeful in seeing the rewards of an earned victory that demonstrates our growth," Taylor coach Kelly Packard explained. "We were so close today and I witnessed growth."
Along with Freds and Daniels, Degenkolb was the third Trojan in double figures with a career-high 16 points, including 4-of-6 shooting from beyond the arc. Taylor connected on a season-high 12-of-32 3-pointers as Degenkolb and Freds combined for 11-of-25 shooting from long range.
Taylor shot 43.3 percent (26-60) from the floor and 8-for-10 from the free throw line while Illinois-Springfield shot 43.1 percent (28-65) from the floor, including 27.1 percent (5-18) from 3-point range. The Trojans dominated the glass, out-rebounding UIS 41-31 but TU committed 20 turnovers compared to just ten from the Prairie Stars.
Taylor is back in action on Tuesday night when the Trojans host Wilberforce in a non-conference match-up at 6:00 pm in Odle Arena.