Taylor WBB Set New Program-Record with 123-76 Win at Home vs Bethel
UPLAND, Ind. – On Saturday afternoon, the Taylor University women’s basketball team set a new program-record for single-game point total, as the Trojans trounced the Bethel Pilots (9-16, 4-9) by a score of 123-76. A plethora of season- and career-bests were scattered throughout the scoresheet along the way, highlighted by Merideth Deckard’s season-best 24 points.
The sharpshooting senior from Martinsville, Indiana, tied a career-best with her 24 points, as Deckard shot 9-13 from the field and 6-10 from deep, three of which came in an 11-point second quarter.
While Deckard tied a career-best, junior Gretchen Moll firmly established two career-bests of her own, dropping 20 points in tandem with 10 rebounds for her first-career double-double. Moll simply played too tall for the Pilot defense, as the Nebraska native shot a perfect 9-9 from the field.
Meanwhile, fellow post-player, Taylor Westgate, collected her 13th double-double of the season, now achieving such a feat in six-consecutive games as she pocketed 12 points along with 13 boards.
The starting lineup was rounded out by seniors, Lauren James and Kayla Kirtley, and sophomore, Claycee West, who contributed a combined 40 points en route to Taylor’s historic 123-point total.
Tonight’s point total surpassed the previously held Trojan program-record of 120 points, oddly enough also posted against Bethel back in February 2020. Taylor knocked down 23 three-point field goals in that game, just a handful more than tonight’s 18.
The bulk of tonight’s baskets were gathered in the second and third quarters, as Taylor posted two-consecutive 40-point frames to bookend intermission, both of which were kick started by lengthy Trojans runs.
The Trojans burst forth on an 18-3 run to open the second, 10 of which were scored by Deckard. The third quarter, then, was ignited by an even more astounding 24-3 Taylor run, this time the points being well-balanced by the Trojan starting-five.
By the end of the third frame, Taylor was leading Bethel by a score of 101-63, a 38-point lead that was swiftly expanded to a 47-point victory in the final 10 minutes of play.
Moll scored 12 of her career-best 20 points in the final frame of the game, yet there was one more career-best not to be neglected.
Junior, Haley Harrison, scored a career-high 11 points on a career-best three made three-point field goals.
The plethora of Trojan season- and career-best numbers paved the way for Taylor’s program-record 123-point night, securing its fifth win in six games, a stretch of play throughout which the Trojans have averaged 88.2 points-per-game.
Taylor (12-10, 6-4) returns to the court for an exhibition matchup with Division I opponent, Purdue Fort Wayne, on Monday, February 7th, when the Trojans will make the short trip to Fort Wayne for a 6:00 pm tip.