Trojans Dominate on Defense in Historic 42-Point Win Over Huntington
HUNTINGTON, Ind. – In the 2021-2022 Crossroads League season-opener, the Taylor University women’s basketball team defeated Huntington (2-6, 0-1 CL) by a score of 81-39, the largest margin of victory for the Trojans over the Foresters in series-history.
Taylor’s 42-point victory over Huntington exceeded the Trojans’ previously largest winning-margin by nine points, a mark dating back to 2006 when TU beat its Crossroads-foe by a score of 70-37.
The Trojan defensive effort was the decisive factor in the game, holding the Foresters to a mere 25.8 percent shooting percentage from the floor and a dismal 7.7 percent from three, as Huntington made just 2 of its 26 three-point shots taken.
Even more, Taylor snagged 13 steals, stirring 20 Huntington turnovers that led to 22 Trojan points on the other end.
Offensively for the Trojans, sophomore, Taylor Westgate, junior, Gretchen Moll, and senior, Lauren James, led the way, combining for 49 of Taylor’s 81 points. The Trojan trio not only accumulated a large quantity of points, but they did so in a manner of remarkable quality, shooting a combined 62.5 percent on 20-32 shooting.
James had her best game from three so far this year, knocking down five of her seven shots, while Moll dominated the paint, scoring on seven of 10 and securing nine rebounds. Meanwhile, Westgate contributed yet another double-double, her fifth of the season, by scoring 18 points in tandem with 11 boards.
Yet, it was Claycee West who ignited the Taylor offense in the opening frame, scoring seven-straight points en route to a nine-point, five-rebound quarter. As an encore to West’s seven-point run, Westgate carried the Trojan offense forward, finishing the frame with 11 points and four rebounds, as the Trojans crafted a 25-13 lead at the end of the first quarter.
Taylor, then, opened the second quarter with a couple of 8-0 runs, disrupted by a lone Forester bucket, yet propelling a 16-2 Trojan surge. Taylor finished the frame outscoring Huntington 22-6, as the game moved into the half with TU up 47-19.
At the half, the Trojans had only three team turnovers, a hopeful reversal of their season-average of 18.4 turnovers per game.
Huntington had a brief streak of buckets to start the third, cutting the Trojan lead to 20 before James squashed any ember of Forester momentum with her fourth three of the game. Soon after, James hit another three, capping an 8-0 run and bumping the lead back up to 28, a lead maintained throughout the completion of the quarter.
Taylor took the court for the fourth up 61-33. A 9-0 run, promptly extended to a 12-2 run, however, increased the Trojan lead to 38 before the final buzzer rung out with Taylor up 81-39.
Freshman, Kathleen Ahner, hit a couple three’s down the stretch, increasing her young career-high to six points while extending the Trojans’ largest margin of victory over Huntington in series-history to an astounding 42.
Taylor (5-4, 1-0 CL) will be back in action, looking to ride the wind of Saturday’s momentum, on Tuesday, November 23rd, when the Trojans host Goshen (3-5, 0-1 CL) at 5:00 pm inside Odle Arena.
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