Taylor makes history in win over Arlington Baptist

It was a historic night for graduate senior guard Kennedy Taylor as Texas State not only beat Arlington Baptist 101-32 but also saw Taylor become the all-time leader in assists in Texas State Women’s Basketball history.

As Head Women’s Basketball Coach Zenarae Antoine explained, although the win was important and many of the basketball players stepped up dealing with a short staff, Tuesday was all about Taylor breaking the record.

“What a great day it is to be a Bobcat,” Antoine said. “It was for a lot of different reasons, but [Kennedy Taylor] to become the all-time assist leader here at Texas State is really special. For me to be a part of that journey is truly special. To have her parents here is just exciting.”

It was also a special night for Antoine considering the similarities between another set of great Texas State basketball players who broke records for the program.

“Tonight, took me back to a time when another player broke records for us,” Antoine said. “Taeler Deer and Toshua Levitt and Toshua did the same thing as Tianna (Eaton) did tonight in that she wanted the ball because she was going to make her shots for Kennedy. I thought for Kennedy to be able to achieve this career milestone at home, in front of her friends and family, is truly remarkable.”

As for Taylor, breaking the record was a special accomplishment. She thanked her teammates for helping reach that goal.

“It feels amazing to be able to accomplish this,” Taylor said. “I really just have to shout out all of my teammates I currently have and had during my time here at Texas State. I also have to shoutout (Tianna Eaton) for hitting the basket that pushed me ahead, too.”

Taylor also thanked Antoine and the Texas State Women’s basketball staff for not only allowing her to succeed in her position but also trusting her to lead the Bobcats to success.

“I appreciate the coaches for believing in me,” Taylor said. “For putting me in the system that I am able to succeed in and surrounding me with great players who can score. It’s all just an amazing feeling.”

Tianna Eaton, who not only led the team in scoring with 24 points, also scored Taylor’s record-breaking assist. Eaton said she was excited for the teammate to break the record.

“I wanted her to get it (the record) so bad,” Eaton said. “She (Taylor) is such a good player and person. I’ve played college basketball for six years and she is without a doubt the best point guard I’ve ever played with. She is so selfless that we wants everybody to win and the type of person you want to see succeed.”

Focusing on the game, Antoine made it a point to continue coaching up her players despite what the score was.

“Looking at the game itself, The one thing we kept stressing was that we never took a break from coaching,” Antoine said. “It’s important to play with a level of discipline regardless of who the opponent is. There was obviously a size disadvantage and things that we needed to do in this particular game …overall I’m proud as we are now one less player down than we were last game.”