Taylor carries Horns to Sweet 16
On occasion, Texas coach Vic Schaefer has to remind himself Celeste Taylor is just a sophomore.
The New Yorker plays with a shrewdness beyond most second-year guards, and she set the bar exceptionally high in her first game under Schaefer back on Nov. 25. When Taylor opened this season by torching SMU for 24 points and tallying eight steals with two blocks, her new coach knew Texas had someone special in its backcourt.
Taylor was instrumental Wednesday night in No. 6 seed Texas’ 71-62 win over No. 3 seed UCLA at San Antonio in the second round of the NCAA Tournament. Texas is now set to face No. 2 seed Maryland (26-2) on Sunday in the Hemisfair Region semifinals.
The 5-11 Taylor finished with 24 points on 9-for-17 shooting, five rebounds and two assists while playing all 40 minutes.
“She does so many good things,” Schaefer said Tuesday. “And sometimes she might have a mistake or two, and I coach our team to practice perfect, play perfect. And with her, I think she can be great, she can be a special player. So I find myself really being demanding of her. Obviously, she’s my kinda player.”
Taylor starred in an impressive win over a UCLA team led by star senior forward Michaela Onyenwere (23 points) and sophomore guard Charisma Osborne (17 points). Taylor alone scored 12 first-half points, matching the combined total of Onyenwere and Osborne as Texas limited UCLA (17-6) to just 21.4 percent shooting.
It wasn’t just Taylor’s velvety shooting stroke that allowed Texas (20-9) to win the day, though the display was welcome for a team that’s looked offensively hopeless at times this season. Taylor has always been a plus rebounder for her size, able to snake into the paint for a few offensive rebounds or tap outs each game. And her tone-setting defense is just as important as the shotmaking.
“Celeste was really special today, made big shots,” Schaefer said Wednesday night. “She had a heat check two times in a row, you know, on the other end there in the first half, was just feeling it.”
Just take this first-half sequence, which came in the midst of a 12-0 Texas run.
Taylor duped UCLA’s post defense with an upand-under finish, then poked the ball free from Onyenwere, crashed to the hardwood to corral it and, while seated, flipped a pass to teammate Kyra Lambert for a f layup.
A couple minutes later, with UCLA now hoping a zone would neutralize the Longhorns, Taylor fired over the top of the 2-3 for back-to-back 3-pointers. Texas took a stunning 35-14 lead into halftime following a turnaround jumper by junior forward Lauren Ebo, a bench spark with seven points and six rebounds (three offensive), and late layup by Lambert.
“I know I'm a shooter, I know the work that I put in, I know what I do” said Taylor, who recovered from a 4for-16 shooting performance in Texas’ first-round win over No. 11 seed Bradley. “And I know I'm not just an offensive player. I play defense, I do all the little things as well. But at the end of the day, my teammates have my back at all times.”
UCLA came alive in the second half. Taylor pushed Texas' lead to 20 with an early jumper, after which the Bruins outscored the Longhorns 21-12 to end the third quarter.
With Texas’ physical tandem of Charli Collier and Audrey Warren sidelined by foul trouble, Onyenwere and Osborne were able to attack off the dribble. UCLA hit 13 of 15 free throws in the period as the Longhorns hacked and flailed.
“Today’s game was about toughness and resilience, y'all,” Schaefer said, his voice cracking with emotion. “Yeah, we're up 21 at half and they work their rears off to get that, but you know they're (UCLA) gonna make a run. And they did. But I loved our resilience. I loved our toughness and our competitive spirit. And things got going little sideways but we just wouldn't be denied.”
Aside from Taylor, Texas also received potent production from Allen-Taylor (16 points) and Lambert (17 points, 10 rebounds, four assists). Limited with four fouls, Collier finished with five points on 1-for-3 shooting and five rebounds in 26 minutes.