Taylor Grabs CL Title, Bradbury Nabs Scoring Record
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UPLAND, Ind. – The Trojans picked up a comfortable home victory over Grace on Saturday, which clinched a share of the Crossroads League regular season title for the squad. Kendall Bradbury added to the historic day, becoming the Crossroads League all-time career scoring leader.
A 92-66 rout on Senior Day extended TU’s winning streak to 17, while pushing the team’s win total to 25 on the season, marking the most in a single season since the 1996-1997 campaign. Taylor (25-4, 16-2 CL) also landed its first Crossroads League regular season title since 1996 and its second all-time with a program record 16 league victories. With the win, TU secured home-court advantage as the top seed for the Crossroads League Tournament and also locked up a spot in the NAIA National Tournament.
Kendall Bradbury picked up 23 points in the afternoon contest, reaching another milestone with 2,700 career points. In the process, Bradbury passed Taylor assistant coach, Natalie Young, to become the Crossroads League all-time leading scorer.
Three point shooting was the key for success for Taylor on Saturday, as the team shot at a 58.8 percent clip from downtown. The TU squad knocked down a program record 20 triples in the contest. Becca Buchs was prolific from beyond the arc, draining a career-high eight treys, coming up one shy of the program record.
Taylor utilized its strong long range shooting to gain an early advantage, nabbing a 20-8 lead during the first quarter. The Lancers (16-14, 10-8 CL) fought back in the second stanza, grabbing a one point lead of their own. TU answered immediately with a 17-4 run to close out the half.
Becca Buchs put together a spectacular first half performance with 22 points and six three pointers. The junior guard finished with a career-high 29 points, six rebounds and 10 field goals.
The Purple and Gold maintained a double-digit lead throughout the second half, as they converted on 68.2 percent of their shots from the floor compared to a 33.3 percent rate from the field for the Lancers.
Three Trojans contributed 20 points with Becca Buchs leading the way with 29, Bradbury following with 23 and Abby Buchs adding 22. Abby Buchs had an efficient afternoon going eight-for-13 from the planks, while sinking five triples on nine attempts.
Experience at the guard position helped TU to an astounding 25 assists. Senior Aubrey Wright led the team with nine assists, nearing a triple-double with 12 points and eight rebounds. Another senior, Lacey Garrett, dished out a career-high eight assists in Saturday’s game.
No. 8 Taylor will return to action in Odle Arena in the opening round of the Crossroads League Tournament, as the team will take on Spring Arbor (9-21, 5-13 CL) on Tuesday at 7:00 pm.