Henson Shines but Lancers Take Over Late to Claim Victory
WINONA LAKE, Ind. – The Taylor women’s basketball team (6-8, 1-3 CL) returned to Crossroads League action Wednesday night at Grace (6-8, 1-3) where it fell 82-65. The Lancers’ zone press and halfcourt two-three zone caused TU miscues early and often to spoil an otherwise effective shooting night at 42.1 percent (24-of-57) from the field for the Trojans.
Despite a bevy of turnovers and missed shots to open the game, Taylor’s defense was active and Ava Henson was scoring from every level in the first quarter as the ever-steady senior tallied the Trojans’ initial 11 points of the night. Henson pushed her total to 16 points in the first half to keep TU within striking distance at 40-31 entering the intermission.
A three-ball from Henson cut GC’s lead to just four midway through the third period, with six Lancer turnovers and some better-balanced Trojan scoring in the quarter keeping the game within reach. Grace’s offense got hot late in the period to close the third ahead by 11 points, however, and it would not be stopped over the final 10 minutes as it came away with the victory.
After a slow start to the game, Taylor Westgate was a bright spot for TU’s offense in the post with 10 second-half points to give her a dozen points on the night. Jillian Osswald made exactly one three-pointer in each of the final three quarters to help run her scoring total to 13 on the night. Kacey Ott gave the Trojans a scoring lift off the bench with six points in 16 minutes.
Despite a quiet fourth period, Henson managed to hit a season-high four treys en route to a team-best 19 points. Wednesday evening marked the third consecutive game Henson has connected on at least three triples, and her four-of-six performance from beyond the arc increased her three-point percentage to 36.9 percent on the season.
Four players – Westgate, Hope Custer, Maycee Woods and Quinn Kelly – each contributed three assists as the Trojans bested the Lancers 18-12 in that category. Westgate also grabbed a team-high eight rebounds.
GC’s Maddie Ryman, who surpassed the 2,000-career-point mark in the second quarter, spelled trouble for the Trojans all night with a game-high 30 points that proved to be too much to overcome for TU, who committed 18 turnovers that led to 18 Lancer points.
Taylor returns home Saturday at Odle Arena to face RV Spring Arbor (11-3, 2-2 CL) at 1 p.m.