Woods’ 25 Not Enough as Early Deficit Sinks Trojans

BOURBONNAIS, Ill. – Maycee Woods scored a career-high 25 points Saturday, but the Taylor women's basketball team could not overcome an early 15-0 hole in a 92-76 loss at Olivet Nazarene.

ONU (1-3) blitzed the visiting Trojans in every way to begin Saturday's contest, using an aggressive press laden with backcourt traps to fuel a 15-point lead under three minutes in.

TU found ways to crack the Tigers' defense following a timeout, however, as it came out of a frenetic first quarter facing a still-manageable 30-13 deficit.

A rocky start to the second period left Taylor trailing by 24 with 6:30 remaining in the half.

Woods soon gave the Trojans a much-needed boost with multiple-level scoring, and the ball movement started flowing for the visitors as they cut the lead to 16 at halftime, 49-33. Kacey Ott helped that cause, as she notched a pair of late buckets, including a fastbreak, free-throw line runner at the buzzer.

Head coach Cassie Wiseman went to a four-guard lineup in the second half, a move that paid dividends for the Purple and Grey in a big third quarter.

A baseball pass from Quinn Kelly to Ava Henson for a layup broke ONU's press a few minutes into the second half, and Woods made a swift move to the hoop a possession later to trim the lead down to 10. Moments later, Henson brought the Trojans to within nine points on a left-wing triple. 

The Tigers kept the visitors at arm's length, however, as they held a 68-56 lead entering the fourth quarter.

Woods opened the final period with two early baskets in an eventual 10-point quarter for the senior, but ONU produced enough offense to close out the game.

Henson and Ott joined Woods in double figures with 15 and 12 points, respectively.

Ellie Vermilion delivered a strong performance off the bench with seven points on perfect accuracy, 10 rebounds and five assists – the latter two of which were team highs.

Taylor (3-1) looks to bounce back Tuesday when it stays on the road for a contest at Michigan-Dearborn (0-4). Tipoff is scheduled for 5:30 p.m.