Taylor dazzles in Bulldogs debut, Princeton sweeps Beddingfield
2 min readAnna Taylor’s debut at Princeton went smoothly and the Bulldogs got off and running in their season opener. The hosts took down Beddingfield, 61-43 at the Deacon Jones Gymnasium Tuesday after a long wait to play.
Princeton got off to a hot start early in the first with Taylor hitting the first basket of the new year. A couple of buckets from senior guard Meredith Wooten put them ahead, but the Bruins kept pace led by sophomore Daneesha Briggs.
After trailing by eight, Beddingfield close the gap to six late in the second quarter, but that’s where Taylor came in. Back-to-back threes to close the half gave Princeton a 35-23 advantage. Sophomore Hailey Tart made a couple of crucial baskets in the second and third quarters to keep the road team at bay.
With Wooten in foul trouble to start the second half, the Bulldogs struggled to score, but found their way through with their defense. London Cook and Kayleigh Klein set the tone on that end while Taylor brought it home. A half court shot to close the third quarter from their newcomer demoralized a good effort from Beddingfield.
Taylor led the way with 21 points, Wooten added 12, and Tart finished with eight. Cook, Klein, and LeOnna Nelson added six points a piece with all of Nelson’s points coming in the fourth quarter. Briggs led all scorers with 26 points for the Bruins.
In the boys game, the Bulldogs never looked back in a 91-47 victory to open the season. Princeton saw the return of Jaheim Taylor, who missed the last half of 2020 with a wrist injury and he was happy to be back. The senior guard began the game with four quick points while his fellow senior guard Tyrese Whitley got hot from distance. Aden Taylor and Hunter Bailey also provided a lot of excellent moments whether it was passing or defending.
Whitley had 19 of his 23 points in the first half as the Bulldogs built their advantage. Beddingfield got an offensive spark from senior Raekwon Batts who kept them in it for a short time, but Princeton was too much. Aden Taylor connected with his older brother on an alley-oop that ignited their offense en route to a running clock late in the fourth quarter.
Jaheim Taylor had 26, Bailey added 11 and Aden Taylor added nine. 10 Bulldogs scored in their opener and they look to take that to their conference opener. They’ll travel to face Neuse Charter on Friday while the girls face South Lenoir next Monday.