Coming into the Cal State Fullerton matchup, junior guard Taylor Pierce was fourth on the Idaho women’s basketball all-time 3-point leaderboard. Then, she moved to third.
Monday night, Pierce jumped a spot in the Idaho record books and it came in astonishing fashion. The second 3-pointer she made gave her sole-possession, but she wasn’t done there.
The first half ended perfectly for Pierce. She had 24 points, went 8-8 on 3-point opportunities and did not miss a single field goal.
Teammates continued to feed Pierce the ball, and she continued to shoot.
The dominating performance made Pierce a target going forward, but she still splashed buckets the entire night. There is a reason she is known around town as one of the splash sisters. She was virtually unstoppable for the Vandals.
Those eye-popping 3-point statistics Pierce amassed should not completely shadow the little things she did well.
Pierce also tallied four rebounds and four assists in the winning effort.
Aside from her physical play, the lively attitude of Pierce shined even during pregame warmups. She waved her hands as if she were beating drums for a heavy metal rock band.
Pierce was in the zone, and it didn’t seem she would slow down anytime soon. That energy even ignited her fellow Vandals – one of which was junior guard Mikayla Ferenz.
Pierce and Ferenz were going shot-for-shot at one point, and it seemed every one was a made 3-point opportunity.
The duo even made facial expressions at one another, after sinking shots. It was as if Pierce and Ferenz were having a friendly competition within the actual game.
Second half play featured even more success. The Vandals’ first shot opportunity of the half went to none other than Pierce. Just as expected, she recorded another 3-pointer.
Pierce’s shooting percentage on the night was perfect, until two consecutive misses in the third quarter, her only missed shots in the game, broke the hot streak.
The first miss from behind the arc ended Pierce’s perfect night and kept her one shot short of tying the NCAA record for consecutive 3-pointers made in a game.
After exiting the game late in the third quarter, Pierce’s night was over. She finished one 3-pointer shy of claiming the Idaho record for most made in a single game and one point short of a new career high.
Zack Ozuna can be reached at [email protected] or on Twitter @OzunaZack21