Heartbreaking Finish Undoes Gutsy Road Performance

MOUNT VERNON, Ohio – A 9-0 Cougar run in the late stages of the fourth quarter spoiled a determined road showing from the Taylor women's basketball team in an 80-78 loss to Mount Vernon Nazarene (13-8, 5-6 CL) Wednesday evening.

Emma Fohl notched a game- and career-high 22 points in the loss to go with six rebounds and eight assists, both of which matched her career bests. Quinn Kelly also scored a career-high 18 in the game while making an abundance of hustle plays and clutch shots in the second half.

Taylor quickly shook off a slow start Wednesday by scoring at all three levels in a balanced first quarter to lead, 16-14.

The Trojans again took some time to find their groove in the second period as they trailed 25-23 with 5:33 remaining until halftime. Then, a missed shot by MVNU was rebounded by Kelly, who started a secondary break that ended in a trey for Emma Fohl, assisted by Ava Henson.

TU's backcourt took off from there, with fly-around defense from all five Trojans leading to decisive, fast-paced offense. Henson buried back-to-back triples just moments after a three-pointer from Kendall Wayne, and Fohl capped a stellar first half with a three that gave Taylor a 44-31 halftime advantage.

The second-quarter fury closed perhaps the most impressive half of basketball played by the Purple and Grey during the Crossroads League season, as the team generated 11 assists against just four turnovers while simultaneously scoring eight points off 10 MVNU turnovers.

The second half was not as kind to Taylor, as TU could not get a single three-pointer to fall in the contest's final 20 minutes.

Still, with MVNU having reclaimed the lead at 56-55 with under three minutes to go in the third quarter, Kelly found a way to swing momentum back to the Trojans by drawing two charges and knocking down a pair of buckets on broken possessions. The junior forward's efforts helped give TU a 61-56 edge with one stanza remaining.

Fohl and Kelly kept Taylor above water in a back-and-forth fourth frame, with a pair of free throws from the freshman guard holding the Trojans' lead at five, 74-69, with 1:42 left.

MVNU responded with its 9-0 burst, however, before ultimately closing out the game at the charity stripe.

In addition to her 18 points, Kelly added seven rebounds, three assists, two steals and two blocks in a complete effort.

Henson also had a strong night with 21 points, six rebounds, four assists and three steals. Whitney Warfel contributed 10 points to round out those in double figures.

Taylor (6-15, 1-10 CL) next hosts No. 15 Marian (15-5, 8-2) on Saturday at 1 p.m.