Taylor McCarley has emerged as one of the stars on the women’s basketball team in her second season as a Retriever.
McCarley started her UMBC career off with an excellent freshman campaign that included three America East Conference Rookie-of-the-Week awards. She capped of the year with a selection to the conference All-Rookie team. In 29 games, McCarley averaged 9.5 points per game and scored 276 points overall, which was in the top ten among UMBC freshman all-time.
Not only did she make school history with her points, but McCarley became the first Retriever to record a triple-double last season, when she did so against Binghamton University. Despite her successes, the team only managed to pick up four wins in her freshman season, but she has been a part of a nice turnaround this season. The Retrievers have already doubled their win total from a year ago, with six games still left on the schedule.
She continued her success into her sophomore season where she is currently averaging 10.4 points per game through 23 games. She is not just scoring points, but also helping her teammates score as she leads the team in assists per game with 4.3.
When McCarley is on her game she is a nearly unstoppable force for UMBC and she is often the key to victory. When McCarley scores more than nine points, the Retrievers have a winning record. In the Retrievers’ recent win over the University of New Hampshire, McCarley scored a career high 29 points, and added 10 rebounds and four assists. She led the team in all three categories.
It was not just that one game where McCarley dominated. Against Binghamton, McCarley picked up 24 points and five assists in UMBC’s 71-55 win over the Bearcats. Of those 24 points, 16 came in the second half, which more than doubled any other player on the court.
McCarley’s college career was preceded by four excellent years at the Academy of Holy Cross where she was a three time team captain and three time All-Conference player. She was also successful outside of her school team as she helped her United States Junior Nationals team win the silver medal in 2011.
The Retrievers and McCarley have just six games remaining before the conference tournament in Binghamton. The Retrievers currently hold the number six seed, but with six games to go, they could still shake up the standings. If McCarley can continue to play at a high level, then the Retrievers will be hard to stop.
