The Aquinas women's basketball team got back into the win column against Taylor University on Saturday afternoon (Dec. 11) in Sturrus Center. The Saints were lead by Brighton Miller who scored 15 points on 5-6 three-point shooting. The Saints shot 50% from downtown to push them to a 65-50 point victory.
Aquinas' overall record improves to 10-7 on the season, while Taylor, an NAIA school out of the Crossroads League, record falls to 6-9 on the year.
The Saints came out on fire and led 12-3 before the Trojans took a timeout to regroup. After the Trojans rallied back by scoring six points, then Saints scored eight unanswered points to close out the first quarter leading 20-9. THe Aquinas defense then locked down again in the second quarter to hold Taylor to only 10 points. The half closed out with the Saints up 39-19.
Aquinas came out of the half with their best quarter of the game where they shot 61% from the field on 8-13 shooting. The Saints also shot 75% from downtown by making 3-4, to bring the score to 60-35. In the final quarter, Taylor's defense intensified as the Saints were only able to score five points compared to the Trojan's 15. It was too little, too late as the score showed 65-50 at the final buzzer.
Aquinas finished the game with a 41.1% field goal percentage after making 23-56 attempts. Over half of those field goals came from downtown as the Saints shot 12-24 from behind the arc and 7-12 from the free throw stripe. AQ held its opponent to under 30% from the field as Taylor went 17-60 for a 28.3% shooting percentage. The Trojans made 9-31 from the three-point line and went 7-10 from the charity stripe
To go along with her five three-pointers and 15 points, Miller also had three rebounds, three assists, and a steal. Marissa Brady tallied 13 points along with 16 rebounds to add another double-double on the season, along three blocks. Mauriya Barnes was the only other Saint with double-digit points at 10 and grabbed three boards as well. Jordan Wigg was the main distributor with six assists.
Aquinas outrebounded Taylor 45-36 and both teams had five steals in the game. Aquinas had more assists (20-11) and blocks (4-2), while creating 12 turnovers and giving up possession 15 times themselves. The Trojans lead in second chance points (11-8), tied in points in the paint (12-12) and lost in bench points (19-16).
Aquinas will return to action when they play Grand Valley State, on Friday, December 17. Tip off is scheduled for 6:00 PM
