Hitting the boards

By Staff
Taylor breaks Phil Campbell season rebounding records
Kim West
PHIL CAMPBELL – Off the court Jessica Taylor is quiet and deferential. But the Phil Campbell junior defers to no one when it comes to chasing down loose balls and collecting rebounds on the basketball court.
Taylor's dedication to rebounding paid off this season when she broke the school records for offensive rebounds (7.5 per game), defensive rebounds (5.6) and total rebounds in a season with 167.
"Jessica and her family moved here after Hurricane Katrina because they lost everything in that storm," Phil Campbell coach Amy Moss said. "When she came here in the ninth grade, she was so quiet, and I wasn't sure how she was going to fit in. She didn't get play much her first year but I think it helped her to practice against good, older players like Tanna Benford.
"She said last year she was going to break the record before she graduated, and she did it a year early. She never cares about points – she just wants to get a lot of rebounds."
After second-leading scorer Caitlin Stancil tore her ACL in the first game of the season, Phil Campbell looked for other players to complement senior guard Chasity Morgan, who averaged a team-best 19.4 points per game this season.
Taylor scored a career-high 10.4 points per game, while senior guard Alissa Smith was the second-leading scorer with a personal-best 10.8. Taylor proved she could be a scoring option early in the season against Hackleburg when she put on a 27-point, 21-rebound perforrmance.
"I didn't score much in the first half and had just started scoring at halftime when I made a 3-pointer at the buzzer," she said. "After halftime I shot the ball a lot, and I seemed to make everything."
Taylor's natural position is the post even though she only stands 5-8, which doesn't usually allow her a height advantage over most opponents.
"I'm not a sore loser but I'm pretty competitive, especially when I get rebounds against taller players because it's a lot harder," said Taylor, who is also a good student and a member of the National Honor Society and SADD. "With rebounding you have to be aggressive, and I think it's helped me be a better player."
Taylor is the daughter of Ken and Sheila Taylor and has three brothers, Justin, Jonathan and her twin, Jordan.