Osswald Impresses Again in Hard-Fought Loss at No. 20 FHU

HENDERSON, Tenn. – The Taylor women's basketball team (3-1) put together a strong effort at No. 20 Freed-Hardeman (3-1) Friday night before ultimately falling 72-56 in its first of two games at the Freed-Hardeman Classic.

A poor shooting start despite getting some good looks hurt TU early on as FHU raced out to an 18-8 lead late in the first quarter. A pair of threes from Ava Henson in the opening 10 minutes of play kept the Trojans in the game as her teammates looked to find their rhythm.

Taylor Westgate went on a personal 6-2 run to close the first and begin the second period as TU stormed back to make it 20-17. The Trojans twice cut the deficit to a single point before halftime thanks to three made second-quarter triples, four free throws and excellent defensive rebounding. The Lions closed the half strong, however, to make it 32-27 at the break.

FHU extended its lead to 11 just a few minutes in to the third period, but Jillian Osswald helped bring Taylor back in the contest with a third-quarter-high eight points to cut the lead to seven at 48-41.

Continued defensive pressure and a 61.1 percent-shooting final quarter from the Lions prevented TU from further closing the gap as it suffered its first loss of the season.

The Trojans were led offensively by Osswald with 18 points and four assists as the junior continued her superb, efficient play on the season. Henson and Westgate also finished the game in double figures with 12 and 10 points, respectively.

As a team, TU outshot Freed-Hardeman at the charity stripe, going 10-11 compared to FHU's eight made free throws. The Trojans also committed just nine turnovers on the night while they forced an equivalent nine takeaways.

Taylor stays in Henderson, Tenn., for a neutral-site game against Cumberland (1-0) at 3 p.m. eastern time Saturday.