ANDREW SALMI [email protected]
The Taylor High School girls varsity basketball team welcomed some very tough competition Dec. 8-9 as the Lady Ducks hosted the Taylor Girls Showcase Tournament.
DAVENPORT LADY WOLVES 40, TAYLOR LADY DUCKS 38
Taylor opened up its first game of the tournament Friday morning against Davenport High School and the Lady Ducks fought hard in a backand- forth 40-38 loss to the Lady Wolves. This was a very tight battle in which both teams played intense defense throughout the game as Taylor Head Coach Lawrence Bailey continued to have his Lady Ducks squad keep potent opposing offenses in check.
Lady Ducks senior guard Asia Zackary had another game in which she did it all for Taylor as she had 11 points on 5-of-9 shots from the field, nine rebounds, four steals and one blocked shot in the twopoint loss to Davenport. Taylor sophomore Madyson Mitchell also scored in double figures with 10 points, nine rebounds, three assists and three blocks.
Tiana Candee continued her solid production as a freshman on varsity for Taylor as she had seven points and eight rebounds while senior Ansley Reed also had seven points, five rebounds and one steal for the Lady Ducks.
FREDERICKSBURG LADY BILLIES 40, TAYLOR LADY DUCKS 25 Against the No. 4 team in Class 4A, Taylor again played standout defense Saturday afternoon against Fredericksburg High School but could not get nearly enough going offensively as the Lady Billies went above and beyond to lock the Lady Ducks down with a 40-25 victory.
Taylor trailed 19-10 at the end of the first quarter, kept within striking distance down 28-15 at halftime and then Fredericksburg was able to keep the Lady Ducks at bay throughout the second TAYLOR LADY DUCKS 63, ROCKDALE LADY TIGERS 33
The rival Lady Tigers of Rockdale High School also came to town Saturday and the Lady Ducks used a huge second half that propelled Taylor to a blowout 63-33 win to conclude the tournament on a winning note.
Team defense was on display yet again for the Lady Ducks all game as Taylor had 21 total steals and pressed Rockdale to shoot just 29% from the field. Offensively, Taylor shot 47% from the field, was dominant in the paint and had 14 assists as a team.
Mitchell had a team-high 14 points on a highly efficient 6-of-7 shooting from the field, two three-pointers made, three assists and two rebounds. Taylor junior Kionayh Rivers was dominant as she had a double-double effort with 13 points on 6-of-11 shooting, 10 rebounds, four steals and three blocked shots.
Reed scored in double figures for the Lady Ducks with 11 points to go along with five steals, while Candee added nine points, three rebounds and three steals of her own.
After Taylor (6-7 overall record) opens 4A-District 22 play Dec. 12 at home hosting Austin Achieve High School for Teacher Night, the Lady Ducks will travel Friday night to take on another district foe with Manor New Tech High School.
