Girls Basketball: Taylor off to strong start with faster offense, new defense
Coach Blair Ary's Mustangs are 14-4, 5-1 in district play, thanks to a retooled open offense and the introduction of a stifling press defense
A reconfigured offense. A new defense. Only two returning starters.
“Everything is drastically different,” Taylor girls basketball coach Blair Ary said of this season’s team.
And, still, 18 games in, the Mustangs have not lost a step. Truthfully, they’ve gained a few, picking up where they left off last season when they won 28 of 35 games.
Taylor is 14-4 overall, including 5-1 in District 19-6A following Friday’s impressive 62-51 win over upstart Jordan. The Mustangs are 7-1 in their last eight games and boast a plus-11.6 average point differential.
“Surprised? Yes and no,” Ary said. “We knew what we had but we didn’t know how quickly we would turn the corner. It was always about how quickly we could put this together and make it work.
“But the best thing about being at Taylor is phenomenal kids who come from phenomenal parents who offer great support. They’ve just turned that corner quick because they’ve bought into what we’re doing, so we’re lucky.”
Last year’s Mustangs were led by 6-foot-5 center Timya Grice, an all-state talent now playing at Arizona State. Everything and anything ran through Grice, which suited Taylor just fine. Ary has typically preferred a methodical, halfcourt offense and a zone defense.
This season, however, demanded change.
Taylor has one rotation player standing taller than 5-9 in 5-11 senior Kara Hart. So this offseason, Ary opened up the offense, encouraging more tempo and perimeter shooting. Speed became an emphasis, with Ary bringing in Taylor track coach Erick Quiroz as a “speed guru” to implement proper training methods.
Perhaps more staggering, she introduced a press defense for the first time in her 13 years at the helm of Taylor.
“Everything switched up for us,” Hart said.
It’s working. Taylor is averaging 62.3 points per game this season, almost five more than last year’s 57.7. Against Jordan, which entered Friday a half-game back of Taylor in the district standings at 4-2, the Mustangs forced 29 turnovers, the majority of them the live-ball variety.
“It took time to work together and for everything to flow well,” junior guard Casey Scherpereel said. “But we’ve gotten it down pretty quick. We have a great mindset going into games of fighting and giving it our all. As long as we put in the effort and work, the game will turn out how it turns out.”
Scherpereel played a key role in Ary’s decision to speed things up. Scherpereel is a gifted, tireless runner, an all-state qualifier in cross country and talented track athlete.
Ary gave her point guard control of the offense and let her go.
“Everybody around her has just picked up the pace,” Ary said.
Freshmen Callie Schmaltz and Addison Middleton, both starters, are fellow speedsters. Not only are they perfect for Ary’s press defense but their outside shooting adds a dynamic often unassociated with Taylor teams.
Against Jordan, the Mustangs’ press inspired easy shots at the rim by Hart (19 points), fouls at the rim from a retreating defense (Taylor made 14 of 21 free throws) or open 3-point looks in transition, mostly from Middleton (13 points).
Taylor made eight of 22 3-point attempts, a healthy 36.4%. Middleton was 4-for-11. Scherpereel (11 points), Schmaltz (seven points) and junior Kolbi Carnes (seven points) were each 1-for-3. Junior forward Tyarie Jack made her only triple attempt.
Defensively, the Mustangs scramble and fly around, a picture of controlled chaos, largely because they “depend so well on each other,” Scherpereel said. “Because of that, we can take risks.”
“All we do is speed, speed, speed, speed,” Hart said. “We’ve been working on it since the beginning of the year. It’s really paid off.”
And it’s still a work in progress, perhaps discomforting news to the rest of 19-6A.
Hart said players can afford to be faster and quicker to spots, cutting off opponents better. While Taylor jumped out to a quick start against Jordan, building a 20-8 lead off nine Warrior turnovers after the first quarter, Scherpereel said the Mustangs can be more consistent “being at our best early.”
“In previous games, we don’t start off well, and in the end we have to really fight for it,” Scherpereel said. “Whenever we start fast and really push, it gives us time and confidence and more room to breathe.”
All things considered, however, Ary would be hard-pressed to ask for anything more from her girls.
“We thought it was going to be hard,” Ary said. “We’ve played the same way the majority of the time I’ve been here at Taylor, from the zone that we’ve run for a lot of years to an offense that’s methodical and tries to wear people down. We thought change would take some time but these kids jumped on it. They love it.
“Yes, it’s hard, but the kids have bought in pretty quick, so the transition hasn’t been as hard as what we thought it was going to be.”