MOUNT VERNON – When Mount Vernon Nazarene University got hold of basketball player Taylor Gregory, they knew just what they were getting. After four years in the post for Mount Vernon High School, it was clear that Gregory would make a difference – on and off the court.
“We knew when (Gregory) came in as a freshman that she was going to be an impact player,” MVNU women’s basketball coach Amanda Short said. “In her freshman year, she was one of the best players in the conference. Obviously, from a coaching perspective, it is nice to have a player like her, who can drastically change the game. She has been huge for us. Obviously, the program has been built around her for the last four years.”
Now a senior, Gregory is a biology and pre-physical therapy major and continues to prepare for her first student-teaching assignment. She also continues to build some impressive career stats.
Gregory, the Cougars 10th-leading career scorer (1,358 points), ran into a very tough assignment on Tuesday, Dec. 8, against visiting No. 3 Marian.
Currently the top team in the Crossroads League, Marian (8-4, 4-0) defeated the Cougars, 80-67 at Aerial Arena. The 6-foot-2 Gregory spent the evening tangling with Knights 6-foot-4 post Imani Guy (20 points). Both Gregory and Guy had eight rebounds.
Plus, Gregory added a couple of blocked shots to raise her career school record to 176. She also chipped in with a steal and an assist to go with her six points. The Cougars (0-4, 0-2) got 19 points from Hope Custer and 14 each from Maggie Coblentz and Rylee Pireu.
“We had a game plan coming in,” Gregory said. “The plan was (Guy) really likes to go baseline to score, so our goal (was) to force her in the middle and help from the back side, which is definitely a challenge with Marian because they’ve so many shooters.”
With the continuing COVID-19 pandemic, Gregory and her teammates are happy to just be playing at all.
“It’s definitely been a challenge,” she said. “We’ve had different people out at different times. We got a couple of games in, and then half our team tested positive. Then, we were off for about two-and-a-half weeks. We got canceled (Dec. 5) because someone on the other team tested positive.”
Gregory’s contributions are everywhere — her outlet passes, her positioning on offense and defense, and her versatility. But it isn’t just on the court.
“She is just one of those players you want as a coach,” Short said. “She is just so encouraging to the girls on the team. She is just a genuinely nice person. We love having her around, whether she could play basketball or not.”
