Rams' Taylor comes through in the clutch from arc
At halftime in the Glenbard East locker room, the discussion focused on the need for the players to step up in the second half of Saturday's girls basketball game against Willowbrook.
Rams guard Kelsey Taylor took that message to heart.
Taylor hit a pair of clutch 3-pointers in the third quarter to help Glenbard East overcome a deficit and the junior also led the way from the foul line in the final quarter as the Rams prevailed for a hard-fought 40-38 nonconference victory over the visiting Warriors in Lombard.
In the final eight minutes, Glenbard East (5-3) did all of its scoring from the foul line, sinking 9 of 12. Taylor was 3 of 4 and finished with a game-high 15 points.
"We've been working a lot on free throws," Taylor said. "We've had trouble with that in the past. We wanted to make sure that we got those going in.
"A win like this is really big. This is a big rivalry. It's really intense. This was a really good team effort."
After a steal and layup by guard Collette Williams, Willowbrook (5-3) led by 8 points with 47 seconds to play in the second quarter.
Williams had an outstanding game. She scored 8 of her team-high 13 points in the second quarter and had 8 steals in the first half.
Guard Ashley Kanelos also chipped in 10 points for the Warriors, including two 3-pointers in the first half. Willowbrook, however, did not get much additional offensive support.
"(Williams) is our best player," said Willowbrook coach Troy Nelson. "We need to get some people to rally around her. We are not getting offensive help."
The Rams chipped away in the third quarter. Taylor finally tied it at 26 with a 3-pointer from the left wing with 1:29 remaining.
"I had to get open and get this done," Taylor said. "I wanted to do what I could to help the team."
The teams traded buckets the rest of the way, with the Warriors' Kanelos banking in a shot from the right side as the buzzer sounded on the third quarter, tying the score at 31.
Taylor gave Glenbard East the lead it would never lose early in the fourth quarter by sinking a pair of free throws. The Rams took advantage of getting in the bonus situation early and were aggressive at taking the ball to the basket.
Willowbrook kept fighting. Guard Taylor Nelson scored on a strong drive to the basket to pull the Warriors to within 39-38 with 24.8 seconds left in the game. Glenbard East got a free throw from guard Jackie Foreman. Willowbrook did have a chance at the end, but its last-ditch shot was off the mark.
"We held our composure," said Glenbard East coach Nicole Miller. "We drew a lot of fouls and played good defense. We had to put it together in the fourth quarter."