Scarlet Sunrise: Ohio State's Celeste Taylor set for Duke reunion in Round of 32
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Ohio State’s Celeste Taylor set for Duke reunion in Round of 32
Ohio State kept the main thing the Maine thing, cruising past the Black Bears Friday and opening the NCAA Tournament with an 80-57 win after two straight losses and two weeks off.
Except, before the 2-seed Buckeyes (26-5, 16-2 Big Ten) can get back to the Sweet 16, they have to take care of 7-seed Duke (21-11, 11-7 ACC) Sunday.
It’s not just any Big Ten-ACC showdown, either. For Ohio State’s Celeste Taylor, it’s also a reunion with her former team.
Taylor began her college career at Texas, however, she spent the last two seasons at Duke prior to her transferring to Ohio State. Before Taylor was the Big Ten Defensive Player of the Year, she was the ACC Defensive Player of the Year. The 5-foot-11 grad transfer guard averaged 11.4 points, 4.8 rebounds, 2.5 assists and 2.2 steals per game in her final season with the Blue Devils.
“I’m still close with a lot of them there, so it’s no bad blood there,” Taylor said postgame, when asked about facing Duke in the NCAA Tournament. “But honestly, you treat it like any other game, another competition. Obviously, people would assume there’d be high emotions.
“For me, it’s just another competitor on the court. Because at the same time I go against my teammates in practice all the time, so, for me, it’s just nice to see some familiar faces. It will be really exciting.”
Duke head coach Kara Lawson said after her team’s second-half comeback win over 10-seed Richmond Friday that squaring off against former players is “just the nature of our sport right now.”
Lawson pointed out that the Blue Devils also played Vanderbilt guard, and one-time Duke contributor, Jordyn Oliver earlier this season, as well as Miami guard Shayeann Day-Wilson, who was at the Duke the first two years of her career.
“It’s something that happens with everybody kind of bouncing around,” Lawson said. “So it doesn’t change our approach or anything like that. They’re a great team. She’s a great player. We’ve got our hands full, I’m sure, when I look at them of what we’re trying to do.
“But we’re aware of it. It’s not something that’s going to be at the forefront.”
Taylor has fit right in at Ohio State, where her active hands lend a hand to a press-heavy Buckeyes defense. She leads the Big Ten with 2.5 steals per game, and head coach Kevin McGuff’s team is first in the league with 10.6 steals per game.
“Being in that environment, that’s a great team. Celeste is great,” Duke sophomore guard Ashlon Jackson said. “I think the biggest thing will be just how competitive we are. She’s very competitive. That team is very competitive.”
‘We looked much more like ourselves’: Ohio State gets back on track in NCAA Tournament opener
Ohio State returned to the win column two long weeks after its embarrassing, 21-point defeat to Maryland in the Big Ten Tournament quarterfinals.
“We looked much more like ourselves today,” Buckeyes head coach Kevin McGuff said.
That’s after a reflective 14-day window, which star guard Jacy Sheldon believes brought her team together.
For the full story, go here.
RELATED
Bruce Thornton expected for Virginia Tech game, Scotty Middleton still with family
Ohio State head men’s basketball coach Jake Diebler provided updates about two key contributors Friday.
Starting point guard Bruce Thornton, who sprained his ankle against Cornell Tuesday, has been practicing this week, and the Buckeyes anticipate him being available for Saturday night’s second-round NIT matchup against Virginia Tech.
Freshman wing Scotty Middleton, on the other hand, is still at home attending to a family matter.
For more details, head on over here.
Counting Down
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