Trojans Honor Five Graduating Players Before Senior Day Defeat

UPLAND, Ind. – The Taylor women's basketball team honored five graduating players Saturday prior to its tilt with Spring Arbor (16-8, 9-5 CL), which it dropped, 77-62.

Ava Henson, Kacey Ott, Ellie Vermilion, Kendall Wayne and Maycee Woods were each presented with a jersey and flowers for the pregame Senior Day ceremony. It's a group that, entering play Saturday, had combined to make 373 appearances in a Trojan uniform, scoring 2,078 points.

Henson was also given a commemorative 1,000-point basketball as part of the festivities, recognizing the five-year senior's accomplishment of reaching the 1,000-point mark on Oct. 29, 2024, in a 97-59 win over IU Columbus. The Westfield, Indiana, native sits at 1,342 career points, which is 15th on the program's all-time scoring list.

Despite a disjointed start to the game, the teams managed to go back-and-forth until Taylor broke an 8-8 tie on a layup by Kendall Sietsema and a three-pointer from Woods. The Trojans maintained their five-point lead by the end of the first quarter, ahead 16-11.

TU struggled to generate good looks in the second frame, shooting just 2-of-11 in the quarter. Both makes came from beyond the arc, with Sietsema and Warfel cashing in on triples. The overall poor offense, however, allowed the Cougars to enter halftime with a 32-24 lead.

A high-scoring third period played out but ultimately worked to SAU's advantage after it ended the quarter with a steal and a layup at the buzzer to make it 57-43. Warfel, Henson and Fohl accounted for 17 of Taylor's 19 points in the stanza, which was highlighted by a completed four-point play by Henson.

Wayne also was fouled on a made three-pointer early in the fourth quarter that cut the Trojans' deficit to 13 points, but TU struggled to get stops until the game was out of reach. The hosts kept fighting, though, closing the day on a 7-1 burst to make the final score 77-62.

Henson led the Trojans in scoring with 17, while Warfel and Wayne added 12 and 10 points, respectively. Each member of that trio made two treys, with Wayne increasing her Crossroads League-best rate from deep to an astonishing 50.8 percent.

Ott provided team highs with six rebounds and two blocks off the bench, while Sietsema led all reserves with eight points.

Taylor (6-18, 1-13 CL) travels to play cross-county rival, No. 2 Indiana Wesleyan (23-1, 13-1), on Wednesday, Feb. 12. Tipoff is slated for 5 p.m.