RV Taylor Opens Season With 79-71 Win at UNOH
LIMA, Ohio – The Taylor women’s basketball team opened its 2017-2018 season with a 79-71 win on the road at Northwestern Ohio, with NAIA All-American Kendall Bradbury leading the way with 30 points and a career-high 18 rebounds to give head coach Jody Martinez his first win at TU.
The Trojans played from behind most of the first half, trailing by as many as nine points at the 5:57 mark of the first half, but TU put together an 18-to-five run to take a 34-30 lead into halftime. Josie Cobb jump-started the run with a triple, and Taylor ripped off 15-straight points to turn a 27-19 deficit into a 34-27 lead.
TU never trailed throughout the final 20 minutes of the contest. Cobb opened the second half with another three-pointer to put Taylor up 37-30 on the first possession of the third quarter. Northwestern Ohio pulled within two points at the 1:36 mark of the period, but Lauren James converted a layup and Becca Buchs knocked down a pair of free throws to give the Purple and Gold a 58-52 lead after three quarters.
UNOH pulled within a single point at 70-69 with 4:06 left in the final stanza, but the Trojans netted nine-consecutive points, before the Racers added two last-second free throws to make the 70-71 final.
In addition to Bradbury’s big night, Buchs went four-of-six from the floor for a career-high 13 points, Cobb scored 12 points and Abby Buchs added a career-high nine points in 30 minutes for TU.
RV Taylor (1-0) will play its home-opener on Wednesday night at 7:00 pm, as the Trojans host No. 14 Indiana Tech (0-0) inside Odle Arena.