December 21, 2013
IU Southeast Outlasts Trojans
UPLAND, Ind. - The Taylor women's basketball team saw a halftime lead evaporate as the Trojans fell to IU Southeast, 82-75 in the Trojans' final game before Christmas.
Taylor (4-9, 0-3) connected on 7-of-12 (58.3 percent) from beyond the arc in the opening stanza and built a lead that ballooned to as many as nine points in the first half but IU Southeast trimmed the lead to 40-38 at intermission thanks to some Taylor foul trouble.
After the Trojans scored five straight points to build a 45-38 lead in the opening minute of the second half IU Southeast responded with a 14-0 run, holding Taylor scoreless for nearly six minutes to build a 52-45 lead. The Grenadiers pushed the lead to 70-57 with 6:21 but Taylor clawed its way back into the game, hitting back-to-back 3-pointers with just over a minute to play to pull within 78-75 before IU Southeast sealed the game at the free throw line.
Senior Kelsey Bryant led three Trojans in double figures with 19 points while freshman Savannah Bley added a career-high 14 points on 6-of-7 shooting and senior Kelci Freds finished with 13 points. Ashley Fouch turned in another solid performance as the TU point guard with six points and nine assists while committing just two turnovers.
The Trojans struggled to contain the explosive IU Southeast backcourt of Heather Wheat and Megan Cureton who combined for 50 points on 18-of-25 shooting from the field. Wheat led all scorers with 27 for the Grenadiers, who outscored Taylor 65-39 in the paint.
After shooting 55.6 percent (15-27) from the floor in the first half the Trojans cooled off slightly after halftime, connecting on 14-of-30 (46.7 percent) from the floor and just 3-of-11 (27.3 percent) from beyond the arc after intermission.
Taylor was outrebounded for just the third time all season as IU Southeast collected 27 rebounds compared to just 26 for Taylor while the Trojans committed 16 turnovers and IU Southeast suffered 12 miscues.
The loss was Taylor's fourth in its last five games and the Trojans will now have nine days off before returning to action on Dec. 30 for the first day of the Taylor Christmas Classic as Taylor hosts Saint Mary-of-the-Woods at 6:00 pm in Odle Arena.