Taylor-made triumph as Prospect tops Glenbrook South
Less than 24 hours after sitting out nearly an entire half due to foul trouble at Rolling Meadows, Taylor Will played one of the greatest halves in Prospect girls basketball history.
The 5-foot-11 senior guard scored all 18 of her team's points in the second half of Saturday's matinee to help the state-ranked Knights hold off visiting powerhouse Glenbrook South 42-33 at the Jean Walker Field House in Mt. Prospect.
Will finished with a game-high 32 points, converting all 11 of the Knights' free throws (11-of-12) in her first 30-plus scoring game of the season.
“I joked with her that I didn't play her a lot on Friday night so she could play a lot this game,” said Knights coach Ashley Graham, whose team improved to 22-1 and will celebrate Senior Night on Tuesday when Elk Grove visits. “Taylor carried us on her back in the second half.”
The “Taylor Will Half” got interesting when the Titans (19-4) cut a 10-point halftime deficit to 35-33 on layup by 6-foot-2 senior forward Ashley Oldshue (team-high 20 points) with 4:56 left in the game.
But Will answered with a 3-pointer and the Knights' tenacious man-to-man defense forced a couple of turnovers to set up two more free throws by Will with 1:41 left for a 40-33 lead.
“Prospect is a fantastic team,” said South coach Steven Weissenstein, a former guard for the Knights whose last coaching appearance in his high school field house was 2004, when the Titans won the sectional. “They're probably the best defensive team we've played.
“They make it hard for you every possession. We had to be patient on our offense but you realize how tough it is to do that against team like Prospect because once you stop your dribble, they're all over you.”
Taylor Will was all over the floor, hitting 9 baskets, of which three were from 3-point range.
“Taylor Will is ridiculous,” said Weissenstein, whose team's only other losses are to New Trier, Hinsdale Central and Hersey. “Just a fantastic player. Every time we made a run, she made a big shot or hit free throws. And (Catherine) Sherwood is a ton. You watch her from the stands and you don't realize how quick she is.
“There is a reason Prospect is 22-1. They just out-hustled us in the first half. We didn't match their intensity. I thought we did better in the second half.”
Taylor Will did better, too, scoring all 18 of the Knights' points.
“That just tell you what kind of player she is,” said the future Hall of Famer Weissenstein, whose IHSA induction ceremony will in May. “We knew where she was. We tried to stop her. Obviously, we couldn't.”
Will's teammates know where she is, too.
Her sister Haley (2 points), Nikki Matters (2 points), Brenda Kendziera, Hannah Grott and Sherwood (6 points) all know how to find Taylor on the floor.
“It just happened that I was hitting my shots,” said Taylor, who will be attempting them at Brown University next season. “And my teammates kept feeding me the ball.
“Defensively, we were really worried about trying to stop Ashley (Oldshue) because she does a good job taking the ball to the basket.”
The Knights' defense came up huge, limiting the Titans to a season low in scoring.
“Our man-to-man defense has really been our trademark,” Graham said. “We've been keeping most teams in the lows 30s. Brenda (Kendziera) and Taylor did a great job on (Caitlin) Morrison and Carie Weinman.”
On the offensive end, Taylor Will took care of business.
“She picked the team up,” Graham said. “That's for sure.”