Taylor’s Balanced Effort Fuels 77-63 Road Victory

MISHAWAKA, Ind. – RV Taylor (9-0, 3-0 CL) kept its perfect record intact and continued its best start since 2019, as the Trojans defeated Bethel (7-2, 1-2 CL) Wednesday night by a final score of 77-63 inside Gates Gymnasium.

Kaycie Warfel led a balanced scoring attack for the Trojans with 18 points and four assists, while Madi Allen and Celina Blount each filled the stat sheet. Allen recorded 12 points, eight rebounds and five steals. Blount posted 12 points, four boards, three blocks, three steals and two assists.

Emma Fohl dished a season-best eight assists, which also tied a career high, while adding seven points in the scoring column. Kendall Sietsema knocked down three treys for nine points off the bench.

With the victory, TU logged its fifth straight win over Bethel and ninth consecutive victory as the road team in the all-time series against the Pilots.

TU jumped out to a quick 5-2 lead on Warfel's 3-pointer and fastbreak layup to spark a fast-tempo, back-and-forth contest in the early going of the contest.

The game was tied 13-13 at the first media timeout, before Whitney Warfel converted the old-fashioned three-point play after the stoppage to put the Trojans ahead 14-13. Bethel followed up with a 5-0 spurt to grab a brief four-point advantage at 18-14, but the threat was quickly erased by the Trojans and that ended up as the last lead of the night for the host Pilots.

TU closed the first period on a 12-0 run, sparked by a pair of 3-pointers from Sietsema, while limiting Bethel to four missed shots and a pair of turnovers during the three-minute span, which gave the Trojans a 26-18 lead after one quarter of play.

The Trojans shot 64.7 percent (11-17) with nine points off five steals in the first quarter.

Fohl extended the run to 15 unanswered points, opening the second quarter with a trey to put the Trojans ahead 29-18. TU maintained an 11-point lead, moving ahead by a 41-30 margin near the two-minute mark until halftime when Sietsema drilled her third triple of the night.

Streaky shooting continued up until the closing moments before intermission when Katie Moyer knocked down a 3-pointer. The Trojans converted six of their eight made 3-pointers on the night before halftime, shooting a combined 6 of 13 (46.2%) across the first and second quarters.

The Trojans punished the Pilots in the first half of action by outscoring the hosts 18-2 in points off turnovers. TU doubled up Bethel 30-15 in the same category overall in the contest.

Coming out of halftime, Blount started the scoring back up with a three on the opening possession of the third quarter. A few moments later, Quinn Kelly knocked down a smooth turnaround jumper and found Blount for an open layup to extend the Trojans' lead to 52-38.

The closest Bethel would get the rest of the way was nine points in the third quarter, until TU countered on both occasions. The Trojans outscored the Pilots 21-12 in the third stanza, with a Marissa Trout 3-pointer sparking momentum at the four-minute mark. Fohl closed the third period with a five-point swing of her own, giving TU a comfortable 65-48 cushion heading into the final quarter.

In the fourth quarter, TU's lead swelled to 21 points when Blount's putback layup capped a 14-2 run that spanned over seven minutes of game time, putting the Trojans ahead 71-50 with under eight minutes to play.

Overall, TU shot 47.6 percent from the field and 32 percent from three-point range, with 19 assists on 30 made field goals. The Trojans held the slight advantage in turnovers 21-18, while the Pilots logged a 42-35 edge in rebounds.

Olivia Nickerson led all scorers with 21 points on 8-of-12 shooting as the only Bethel player in double figures. The Pilots shot 39.1 percent overall and 20 percent from three-point range.

TU returns to action Saturday afternoon when it hosts Goshen (1-9, 0-3 GL) for a 1 p.m. tipoff inside Odle Arena.

The Trojans will look to remain atop the league standings, where they are one of only two remaining undefeated teams with No. 5 Marian, after No. 19 Indiana Wesleyan dealt No.6 Saint Francis its first loss of the season on Wednesday.