December 18, 2013
Trojans Cruise Past Wilberforce
UPLAND, Ind. - Four players scored in double figures as the Taylor women's basketball team utilized a balanced attack to race past Wilberforce 75-56 on Tuesday evening.
Seniors Kelsey Bryant and Becca Daniels each finished with 13 points while sophomore Taylor Degenkolb added 12 and Sara Waid finished with ten points to help Taylor snap a 3-game losing streak.
Taylor (4-8, 0-3) used an early 15-2 run to take control of the contest as the Trojans built a 19-6 lead midway through the first half and never allowed Wilberforce to close the gap to fewer than six points as the Trojans showed signs of growth for first-year head coach Kelly Packard.
"We've spent a lot of time in practice over the past few days just getting shots up because I think that's really important," Packard said after her team shot 53.6 percent (30-56) from the floor in the game. "We still had too many turnovers but I can see we're getting better defensively and we got a much-needed win."
Taylor still struggled with turnovers, committing 27 miscues that lead to 24 Wilberforce points, but the Trojans dished out 23 assists and shot the ball better than in any other game this season, including an impressive 6-for-13 (46.2 percent) performance from beyond the arc as TU's offense kept Wilberforce at bay most of the night.
After trailing by as many as 16 Wilberforce (4-12) used full court pressure to force Taylor into a handful of turnovers as the Bulldogs trimmed the lead to 52-46 with 9:22 to play in the game before the Trojans responded six straight points, including two buckets by Waid, to maintain a safe lead and cruise to the victory.
TU's senior guard combination of Ashley Fouch and Kelci Freds orchestrated the Taylor offensive attack with six and five assists, respectively while freshman forward Savannah Bley scored nine points and pulled down five rebounds for Taylor.
Paced by solid contributions from Degenkolb and Waid the Taylor bench outscored Wilberforce 39-11 while Taylor dominated the glass, winning the rebounding battle for the tenth game this season, outrebounding the Bulldogs 46-21.
Taylor returns to actions on Saturday as the Trojans host IU-Southeast for a 2:00 pm contest in Odle Arena.