SMITHVILLE — The Taylor Lady Ducks varsity basketball team closed the Smithville Tournament with a strong finish, going 4-2 over the week after dropping its first two games.
Taylor rebounded from an early setback to rattle off four consecutive victories, showing defensive improvement and late-tournament momentum.
Taylor opened tournament play with a 42-31 loss to the Smithville Lady Tigers.
Junior forward Tiana Candee led the Lady Ducks with 10 points, shooting 5 of 12 from the field, but Taylor struggled to find offensive rhythm throughout the game. Offensive inconsistency continued in the second matchup as Taylor fell 51-31 to the Fort Bend Homeschool Christian Academy Eagles. The Lady Ducks shot just 26 percent from the field, a seasonlong issue that again proved costly despite solid defensive stretches.
Taylor responded with its first win of the tournament, defeating the Marion Bulldogs, 32-18.
The Lady Ducks followed that effort with a dominant 33-13 victory over the Elgin Wildcats to close the day, using stifling defense to limit Elgin’s scoring opportunities.
The Lady Ducks carried that momentum into the final day of play, picking up a 37-20 win over Smithville before closing the tournament with a decisive 29-7 victory over Marion.
Defense continued to be the standout for Taylor, holding opponents to fewer than 20 points in three of its four wins.
With the tournament results, the Lady Ducks improved to 5-10 on the season.
Taylor was scheduled to travel to Lake Belton on Tuesday before returning home to host Smithville on Friday, Dec. 19, with tipoff set for 4 p.m.
