Slow Start Sinks Trojans at RV Spring Arbor

SPRING ARBOR, Mich. – The Taylor women's basketball team (10-14, 5-9 CL) fell behind early and could not slow down RV Spring Arbor's offense in an 84-68 loss Saturday afternoon.

The Cougars (19-5, 10-4) began the contest with a 6-0 run before TU kept mostly pace through the rest of the quarter and trailed 20-12. Taylor Westgate was dominant in the early going, as she scored or assisted on every Trojan basket in the first period.

Taylor struggled to score early in the second quarter while its defense kept the game within reach before Jillian Osswald, Westgate and Hope Custer each had small scoring bursts to cut the deficit to five points at 30-25 late in the first half. SAU went into the break scoring on its final three possessions, however, to take a 36-26 advantage.

TU's offense was flowing well from inside and outside the three-point arc as well as at the foul line throughout the third period, but it could not cut its deficit back to single digits after the five-minute mark of the quarter.

The Trojans took care of the ball and continued their balanced scoring in the fourth frame, but the Cougar offense was too much to contend with as they cruised to victory.

Four players ended the game scoring in double figures for Taylor, led by Osswald's 17 points and team-high four assists. With three made triples on the day, Osswald has now connected on multiple three-pointers in 11 consecutive games. Westgate poured in 16 points on 7-for-12 shooting, while Ava Henson and Custer contributed 14 and 13 points, respectively.

TU made 16-of-22 shots at the charity stripe and committed only 13 turnovers to best SAU in both those categories, but the Cougars held major advantages on the glass and inside the paint.

Taylor travels to play cross-county rival, No. 4 Indiana Wesleyan (22-2, 13-1 CL) on Wednesday, Feb. 14. Tip-off is scheduled for 5 p.m.