Taylor Falls at Georgetown in NAIA First Round

NAIA Tournament Central 

GEORGETOWN, Ky. – Making its 10th all-time national tournament appearance, 12th-seeded Taylor fell 83-58 to fifth-seeded and host Georgetown on Friday afternoon at Davis-Reid Alumni Gym in the 2026 NAIA Women's Basketball Championship First & Second Round presented by Ballogy. The Trojans' season ends at 17-13, while the Tigers (23-8) advance to the second round.

Kaycie Warfel led Taylor with 20 points to go with five steals. Warfel finished her freshman campaign with 699 points, a Taylor single-season freshman scoring record. Madi Allen added 10 points and a team-high 10 rebounds for the double-double, while Emma Fohl contributed eight points and three assists off the bench. Marissa Trout finished with seven points and four rebounds, and Kendall Sietsema chipped in five points in reserve minutes.

Georgetown jumped out to a commanding start, racing to a 12-0 lead as Taylor opened 0-for-9 shooting from the field. The Tigers shot 50 percent in the opening quarter behind 10 first-quarter points from Kayra Freeman, who knocked down a pair of threes and added a layup as Georgetown built the early cushion. Trout finally got the Trojans on the board with a layup at the 5:17 mark, but the Tigers continued to push the advantage, stretching it to as many as 17 at 21-4.

Taylor found some life late in the period as Trout and Sietsema each connected from beyond the arc to trim the deficit to 23-11 before a Georgetown bucket made it 25-11 after one quarter.

The Trojans showed improved fight in the second period, outscoring the Tigers 16-15 in the frame. Fohl drilled a three-pointer from the top of the key to cut it to 30-15 at the 7:40 mark, and Warfel strung together a mid-range jumper and a three-pointer to pull Taylor within 13 at 35-22 heading into the under-five media timeout. Warfel then picked up a steal and converted a fastbreak layup with the foul to make it 35-25, but Georgetown answered down the stretch to take a 40-27 lead into the half.

Taylor came out with energy in the third quarter, trimming the deficit to single digits for the first time since trailing 9-0 near the start of the game. An Allen jumper at the 7:59 mark made it 40-31, and a Kelly basket at 6:11 cut it to 44-33 as the Trojans hung around.

Georgetown, however, responded each time Taylor made a push. Daysha Reid hit a pair of third-quarter threes, and Daisy Gale worked her way to the free throw line to help the Tigers rebuild the lead to 59-42 entering the fourth.

Georgetown pulled away in the final period behind continued production from Gale and Freeman. Gale finished with a game-high 20 points and 14 rebounds, while Freeman matched her with 24 points on 9-of-15 shooting to go with four assists and four steals. Reserve Laisha Lazu added 10 points and nine rebounds while going a perfect 5-for-5 from the field. The Tigers shot 46.3 percent for the game and held a 42-24 advantage in points in the paint.

Taylor shot 30.4 percent from the floor and 21.7 percent from three-point range while committing 17 turnovers that Georgetown converted into 19 points. The Trojans were outrebounded 47-42 but battled on the glass with 16 offensive boards.