RV Trojans Tripped Up at Arizona Christian
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PHOENIX, Ariz. – The Taylor women’s basketball team opened its final two games of the calendar year with an 84-65 loss at Arizona Christian, an NAIA Division I opponent, on Friday night.
The Trojans led, 8-6, at the 7:32 mark of the first quarter, after Josie Cobb drained a three-pointer, but the Firestorm (10-2) notched a 10-0 run to take a 16-8 lead with 3:26 to play in the period. Cobb hit back-to-back triples to pull TU within four, 18-14, less than a minute later, and Kendall Bradbury’s bucket kept Taylor within striking distance, as ACU led, 20-16, after the first quarter.
TU trailed by 10 with 87 seconds left until halftime, until Aubrey Wright converted a deuce and three free throws over the final minute to cut the deficit to 39-34 going into intermission.
Bradbury opened the second half with a basket to make it a one-possession game and brought the Trojans back to within three, 43-40, on a three-point play at the 4:46 mark. Arizona Christian ended the stanza with a 14-5 scoring burst to take a 12-point, 57-45 lead into the final period.
Over the final 10 minutes, the Trojans could not cut the deficit under nine points, before falling to the host Firestorm.
TU holds an average rebounding margin of plus-seven per game, but ACU posted a 49-39 advantage over the Trojans on the boards in the contest. Arizona Christian also outshot Taylor, 45.2-percent to 33.9 percent from the floor on the evening.
Bradbury led all scorers with 25 points, while also collecting 10 rebounds for her NAIA Division II-leading 11th double-double of the season. Cobb matched her career-high with 21 points on eight-of-15 (53.3 percent) shooting from the field and a career-high-tying five-of-nine (55.6 percent) from three-point range.
Abby Buchs dished out a career-high four assists and grabbed five rebounds, while Cassidy Wyse pulled down eight rebounds and Wright tallied eight points and five rebounds.
RV Taylor (9-6) will close the calendar year with a matchup with No. 9 Dakota Wesleyan (13-2) on Saturday at 2:00 pm (Eastern Time) in its final game of the Arizona Christian Classic.
