BUIES CREEK, N.C. – During her five-year career with the Elon University women's basketball team,
Vanessa Taylor has always been a tenacious defender.
On Friday night against Campbell, Taylor's presence was felt throughout a smothering defensive performance that resulted in a nail-biting 45-44 victory for the Phoenix, its first conference triumph of the season.
In one of the signature performances of the graduate student guard's career, Taylor frustrated Campbell ball handlers all night, notching a career-high five steals, including three in a pivotal three quarter that saw the Phoenix erase its four-point halftime deficit and take the lead into the final frame. The five steals were the most for an Elon player since Raven Preston took the ball from Hofstra six times on Jan. 6, 2023.
As a team, the Phoenix stole the ball from Campbell 11 times and forced 15 turnovers. Elon also limited the Camels to 34% shooting from the field and just 26% in the second half.
Early in the second half, the Phoenix began capitalizing on its defensive pressure with scoring plays on the other end of the floor. Taylor's first steal of the third quarter led to an Iycez Adams basket which put Elon up by three. Later on, after another Camels turnover, Taylor cashed in on the offensive end, hitting a jumper to put the Phoenix ahead by four, the team's first multi-possession lead of the night.
Although Campbell battled back to take the lead in the fourth, Elon held the Camels scoreless for the final 4:48. Fittingly, a Regina Walton steal set up the go-ahead layup by Adams with 3:04 remaining, which put the Phoenix ahead 45-44.
"We always say that defense leads to offense and I think that really showed today," Taylor said. "We got a lot of steals and put pressure on the ball, which led to easy points offensively."
With the Phoenix up one in the closing seconds, Campbell secured a defensive rebound and called a timeout with seven seconds left to advance the ball and set up a final possession. However, the Camels opted for two more timeouts after two inbound passes, delaying their final shot.
With four seconds left, Campbell inbounded the ball a third time and put up a shot, which fell short. After yet another strong defensive stand, Taylor secured the game's final rebound to cap off the victory.
On a night where she earned the 200th win of her coaching career, head coach Charlotte Smith said she was proud of Elon's defensive effort and was especially impressed by Taylor..
"We talked about being disruptive so that we could get some momentum offensively," Smith said. "It felt like we did a really good job of getting out in the passing lanes and being disruptive without switches. Vanessa did a tremendous job for us defensively today."
Taylor, who added 10 points, eight rebounds and an assist to go along with her steals, missed five games earlier this season but said she is happy to be back on the court contributing for the team. For her, providing a spark on both ends of the floor in a win was rewarding.
"It feels good going out there and giving my all, especially defensively because that's what I like to do," Taylor said. "It was nice scoring as well."
As the Phoenix looks ahead to another CAA game tomorrow against William & Mary, Taylor believes keeping the defensive intensity high can help the team continue to have success.
"We can definitely take pride in our defense," Taylor said. "We need to execute more offensively, make our free throws, which we know already."
'Rising Phoenix' is a new student-led initiative to cover Elon Athletics. Through innovative content creation and storytelling, Elon University students will have the opportunity to highlight the moments, people and events that make an impact, leveraging the athletic department's various web and social media platforms for distribution. Follow Rising Phoenix on Twitter (@EURisingPhoenix) and Instagram (@elonrisingphoenix). Interested in joining this initiative as a content creator (video, graphics, writing, storytelling, or more)? Contact Jacob Kisamore at jkisamore@elon.edu.
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