Royster set standard for Beachwood girls hoops

Taylor Royster recently became Beachwood’s all-time leading scorer. “I always wanted to get my 1,000th point. Once I got that last year, they told me about the record and how close I was to it.”

At the time, Taylor Royster probably wondered what she was doing.

Going up against older sisters Krystal and Courtney on the basketball court wasn’t working out for the aspiring young basketball player.

As expected, the big sisters could dribble around their little sis, block her shot and in general make life on the court difficult.

“They used to beat me all the time,” Taylor said with a laugh. “It was tough. I was the smallest one.”

But through those tough experiences — rough love, we’ll call it — something great came out of it.

Royster got good. Real good. How good?

With a first-quarter basket on Jan. 6 against West Geauga, Royster became the top scorer in Beachwood girls basketball history.

With her 28-point, ninerebound, three-assist outing against the Wolverines, Royster surpassed the previous record of 1,637 points held by Selena Budge.

Now Royster, that little girl who once was dominated in the back yard by her older sisters, holds the all-time scoring record over Budge and others, such as Mikah Aldridge (1,285), Anisha Hardin (1,085) and Aryana Jackson (1,067).

And with more than half of her senior year remaining, it’s safe to say Royster is going to significantly build on that record, making it that much harder for anyone to top it.

“Yeah, it’s very exciting,” Royster said. “I always wanted to get my 1,000th point. Once I got that last year, they told me about the record and how close I was to it. That’s been a goal for my senior year.”

Royster can do it all on the court. She leads The News-Herald area with her 22.7-point scoring average. She can score from the perimeter (she’s among the area leaders with 17 3-pointers), she can rebound (5.7 per game), and she’s also a big problem for the opposition in the open court in transition.

Her record-breaking bucket came in transition.

“I pride myself in being a complete player,” Royster said. “My driving is probably my strong suit.”

Coach Dwayne Morrow agreed that Royster is a complete player. He said she can score from all five positions on the court.

“Taylor Royster is one of the best pure scorers I have had the pleasure of coaching,” he said. “She has coined the new phrase ‘point-center’ because of the multiple positions she plays.”

But Morrow said Royster is much more than a basketball player.

“Taylor has been a varsity starter for four years and a captain for three years, earning all conference honors and all-state honors during that time,” he said. “Taylor is a very good student and is a very good leader.”

Down the road, Royster said she plans on attending Tiffin University and playing college basketball, while majoring in criminal justice. She said she wants to be an FBI agent and work in an investigative unit.

Until then, she wants her and her teammates to finish the season strong.

She said she will always look back fondly on her backyard basketball games with her sisters. After all, those moments made her the player she is today.

“Each person helped me with a piece of my game,” she said. “They motivated me . ... We played a year or so ago and I was able to beat them both.”

Royster