No. 16 TU Cruises Past Goshen
UPLAND, Ind. – Sophomore Abby Buchs and freshman Lauren James combined for 13 three-pointers and 42 points on Saturday afternoon, leading Taylor to a 78-47 victory over Goshen at Paul Patterson Court, clinching a top-three seed in the upcoming Crossroads League Tournament.
The Trojans asserted control early and never looked back, as TU scored 13 consecutive points in the opening stanza to turn a 4-2 deficit into a 15-4 Taylor lead with less than three minutes left in the first quarter.
James scored 13-straight points for the Purple and Gold, knocking down three triples to end the first quarter and converting a rare four-point play to open the second period, as the freshman drained a three-pointer, was fouled and sank the foul shot. Taylor then led by 13 points and Goshen (1-27, 0-16 CL) never pulled closer than 13 the remainder of the contest.
TU shot 39.7 percent from the field and recorded a season-high 16 three-pointers, with Buchs and James accounting for 13 of the 16 makes in the win.
With the win, Taylor locked up at least the No. 3 seed in the league tournament at the conclusion of the regular season, guaranteeing a home game in the first round of the tournament on February 20.
James netted a career-high 24 points on 8-of-11 from the floor and 7-of-10 from long distance and grabbed a career-high six rebounds, while Buchs tied a career-high with 18 points on a career-high 6-of-7 from beyond the arc in pacing TU to victory.
Kendall Bradbury led the team with nine rebounds and netted 16 points, while Josie Cobb and Aubrey Wright each dished out five assists to lead the Trojans, with Cobb adding six rebounds.
Jamie Netzley handed out a career-high four assists and grabbed five rebounds, while Lacey Garrett pulled in six rebounds and Cassidy Wyse posted four assists and five rebounds.
No. 16 Taylor (19-9, 12-4 CL) will play its final home game of the regular season on Wednesday at 7:30 pm inside Odle Arena, as it hosts RV Huntington (16-11, 9-7 CL) on Senior Night. The three-member senior class of Cobb, Sierra Wilson and Wyse will be honored at the conclusion of the game.