![Taylor Rallies Past No. 18 NCU to Advance to NAIA Round of 16](/images/2017-18/WomenBasketball/BuchsA_NAIAFirstRound.jpg)
Taylor Rallies Past No. 18 NCU to Advance to NAIA Round of 16
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SIOUX CITY, Iowa – After trailing by as many as 15 points in the second quarter, Abby Buchs' triple with 4:30 remaining in the fourth gave Taylor its first lead of the game and the Trojans never trailed again, securing the 61-54 win over Northwest Christian on Wednesday afternoon at the Tyson Events Center.
Northwest Christian (23-7) scored the game's first 10 points and held the Trojans scoreless, until Lauren James' three-pointer at the 2:53 mark finally put TU on the board. James' trey was the only made shot by TU in the quarter, as Taylor went 1-of-11, for a season-low five points on a season-low 9.1 percent shooting in the period and the Beacons held a 15-5 lead after 10 minutes.
Taylor cut the lead to nine with 5:32 left in the second quarter on a three-pointer by Buchs, but Northwest Christian recorded six-straight points to push the lead to a game-high 15 points, 30-15, at the 2:53 mark.
The Purple and Gold responded with a three-pointer by Josie Cobb, followed by a Becca Buchs' triple and a hoop-and-harm by Cobb over the final three minutes to make it a 30-24 NCU edge at the intermission.
TU raised its shooting percentage from the dismal first-quarter performance to 28 percent from the floor at halftime, after going 6-of-14 in the second period, including 4-of-8 from beyond the arc. The Trojans also turned the ball over 10 times in the half, but Northwest Christian cashed in just four points off TU's miscues.
Cobb led the way with eight points and four rebounds, after knocking down all three of her shot attempts from the floor and her only free throw attempt in the opening 20 minutes.
After the Beacons began the second half with a deuce, Kendall Bradbury scored five consecutive points for the Trojans, capped by an and-one at the 7:45 mark, to pull TU within three, 32-29. NCU built the lead back up to seven in the final minute, but Bradbury scored the final bucket of the quarter to cut the deficit to five entering the final quarter.
Taylor quickly tied the score at 44-44 early in the fourth with a three-pointer by Aubrey Wright and another basket from Bradbury.
The Trojans trailed by three with 5:55 to go after a basket by Northwest Christian, but then TU ripped off a 9-0 run to take a six-point lead at the 1:15 mark. Wyse opened the spurt with a bucket, followed by Abby Buchs' three-pointer to give Taylor its first lead of the game, 52-50, with 4:30 to go. Buchs capped the run with a putback layup, after Bradbury added a basket as well.
The Beacons scored with 35 seconds left to cut the TU lead to four, but the Trojans made 5-of-6 at the free throw line down the stretch to secure the 61-54 win in the opening round of the NAIA National Championship Tournament.
TU finished the game shooting 33.3 percent from the floor and knocked down 10 threes for the 15th time this season.
Four Trojans cracked double-digits in the scoring column, as Bradbury netted 15, Cobb and Wyse added 13 apiece and Abby Buchs scored 10.
Wyse led the Trojans with nine rebounds and six assists, while moving up to ninth on TU's all-time scoring list with 1,515 career points, passing Jennifer Bottom's 1,507 points from 1991 through 1995.
Cobb and Bradbury each grabbed eight boards for Taylor, and Cobb moved into 17th place on the Trojans' all-time scoring list with 1,165 points, passing Bethany Ballard's 1,153 from 2006 to 2010.
The win was the fourth all-time for Taylor at the NAIA National Championship and punched TU's ticket to the Round of 16 for the third time in program history and the first since 2007. The Trojans' 24 wins are the most in a season since the 2000-2001 squad also won 24 games.
No. 15 Taylor (24-10) will play No. 2 and top-seeded Concordia (33-1) on Friday, March 9 at 11:15 am (ET) with a trip to the NAIA National Championship Tournament Quarterfinals on the line.