Trojans Top Rochester 88-70

UPLAND, Ind. – Taylor women's basketball came away with its fourth consecutive win in the opener of the Taylor Christmas Classic against Rochester Tuesday, as the Trojan offense produced their second-highest scoring output of the season.

Taylor was able to establish a 17 point advantage at the intermission, holding the Warriors to just 23 points on 9-of-29 shooting in the first half. Taylor went on a 16-0 run in about a five minute span, capped off by a Josie Cobb basket in the paint with a Rochester foul.

Taylor extended its lead to its largest of the game at 21 points early in the second half, but the Warriors battled back. Rochester went on a big 16-4 run of its own to cut the Taylor lead to single digits, but the Trojans then regrouped to pull away for the comfortable win on their home court.

The Trojan offense was clicking all night, as Taylor was able to post its second highest shooting percentage of the season at 53.7 percent from the floor. When a shot was missed Taylor often came away with offensive rebounds for second-chance opportunities, as evidenced by its 17 offensive rebounds and 50 points in the painted area.

The Trojans held a big rebounding edge, outrebounding Rochester 44-27. 24 Taylor paints came on the fast break, while Rochester was held scoreless in that category.

Sam Charney paced Rochester with a game-high 23 points on 5-of-8 shooting from beyond the three-point line. Taylor had five players score in double-figures. Megan Richardson led the way with 20 points while grabbing seven rebounds. Cassidy Wyse had a magnificent all-around game with 16 points on 7-of-9 shooting while also recording eight rebounds, five assists, and three steals.

Junior Taylor Degenkolb provided a spark off the bench and went 4-of-5 from deep, scoring nine consecutive points for the Trojans in the middle of the second half. Degenkolb went on to score a season-high 15 points while grabbing seven rebounds, tallying three assists, and recording three steals. Emma Brattain and Cobb also were in double-figure scoring with 13 and 12 points respectively, while Cobb led the Trojans with six assists.

Taylor (8-6, 1-2 CL) will take on The University of the Cumberlands tomorrow at 2:00 pm inside of Odle Arena in what will be the final game of the 2014 Taylor Christmas Classic.