Chris Yingling | Echo
College basketball is a sport of 40 minutes. Unfortunately for the Taylor women's basketball team, playing for only 20 didn't do the job against No. 7 Marian University in Tuesday night's playoff matchup. Marian defeated TU 93-70, ending Taylor's season on the road.
Taylor's passing attack was perfect in the first frame. Assists from freshman forward Cassidy Wyse led to early buckets for junior forward Jackie Osenbaugh, keeping Taylor's offense moving fast. A few efficient offensive runs gave Taylor a 37-31 lead at halftime as Wyse and Osenbaugh had 10 points apiece.
Defeating the seventh-best team in the country in its gym was a reality-until the first few seconds of the second half.
A few timely three-pointers from the Marian offense immediately swayed the tide of the game in Marian's favor. The Knights orchestrated a 21-7 run, dicing up the Trojan defense. Head coach Kelly Packard and her team had no answers for the sudden offensive explosion.
Taylor's squad was unable to keep up with the full-court press from Marian. The Trojans committed in 21 total turnovers, resulting in 31 Marian points. The Knights consistently battered and controlled the ball. Taylor couldn't run its offense against Marian's blistering defensive pressure.
The Trojans could not stop Marian. Though Taylor managed a few points, Marian scored nearly every time the ball was in their position. Marian took the game 93-70 and put a stamp on Taylor's season.
"We had some costly turnovers and miscommunications on defense that allowed them to get back into the game and take the lead," Wyse said. "They are a good shooting team, so once they get some confidence it's hard to come back from that."
Osenbaugh managed a double-double on 19 points and 14 rebounds. She also found two assists from her wing position. Wyse scored 16 points for the Trojans and dished out five assists to boot. Freshman guard Josie Cobb also found some success behind the arc, grabbing 10 total points along with a pair of three-pointers.
Marian scored 31 points off turnovers compared to Taylor's 11 points. While Taylor did crash the boards well, outrebounding Marian 41-30, Marian dominated in nearly every other statistical category. The Knights recorded six blocks to go along with their 22 forced turnovers.
Taylor concludes its season 16-15 with a 9-9 Crossroads League record. Despite having to battle through injuries and transfers, Taylor was able to still grab a spot in the Crossroads League tournament, and the 16 wins is an improvement from just 12 wins last year.
"I'm still processing the feelings that are tied to the season ending," Packard said. "I find it takes time to process with proper perspective the efforts and outcomes of a five month long season. Ultimately the program did see growth."Photograph by Josh Adams
