Trojans' Upset Bid Denied by No. 5 Marian
UPLAND, Ind. – The Taylor University women's basketball team held a seven-point lead with six minutes remaining in the game, but fifth-ranked Marian finished the contest on a 23-to-six run to hand TU a 76-66 defeat at Odle Arena on Saturday.
The Knights (15-3, 5-1 CL) got off to a quick start, scoring the first six points of the game, but Taylor responded with the next seven points to take a one-point lead. After trading possessions the rest of the period, Marian held a slim, 16-15 edge after the opening quarter.
In the second quarter, it was the Trojans who got off to the fast start, as the hosts rattled off eight-straight points to open the period as part of a 13-to-three run to take a 28-19 lead with 5:05 left until halftime. The defending NAIA national champions responded with nine unanswered points to tie the game with just over two minutes left in the quarter. After 20 minutes of play, TU held the slight, one-point edge, 33-32.
The Trojans held the halftime lead despite being outshot from the field, as Marian converted on 14-of-31 shots (45.2 percent) compared to 10-of-29 from the floor (34.5 percent) for Taylor. TU's edge came in points off turnovers, where the Trojans outscored MU, 10 to four. The Knights came into Saturday's matchup ranked sixth in the nation in average turnover margin per game (plus-8.6 turnovers per game), but Taylor held a plus-one advantage in the first half, as Marian had eight turnovers compared to the Trojans' seven.
After 6:13 of game time in the second half, the score was tied at 43 points apiece, but the remainder of the quarter belonged to the Trojans and their leading-scorer Kendall Bradbury. The sophomore scored TU's final 12 points of the quarter and outscored Marian 10 to two over the final 3:21 of the third period to give Taylor the 53-45 lead after three quarters of action.
TU continued to maintain its hold on the lead early in the final stanza, as Haley Stratman's three-pointer with 6:06 remaining in the game put the Trojans up by seven. However, the Knights compiled an 11-to-zero burst to take a 64-60 lead with and outscored Taylor 23 to six over the final six minutes of the contest to close out the 76-66 victory for the visitors.
Bradbury led the Trojans with 16 points and seven rebounds, Monica Compton added 13 points on six-of-nine shooting and Stratman chipped in 10 points off the bench.
Next on the schedule for Taylor (9-9, 4-2 CL) is a trip to Indiana Wesleyan to face the Wildcats (13-5, 6-0 CL) at 7:00 pm on Wednesday night.