STATING HER CASE: Stuart Country Day School basketball player Taylor States heads to the hoop in recent action. Last Thursday, forward States posted a double-double with 17 points and 11 rebounds in a 72-41 loss to Morristown-Beard. The Tartans, who moved to 2-3 with the defeat, play at the College Achieve Central Charter on January 17 before hosting the Pennington School on January 23. (Photo by Frank Wojciechowski)

By Bill Alden

Taylor States has set the bar high for herself this winter in her sophomore season for the Stuart Country Day School basketball team.

Last Thursday, forward States posted a double-double with 17 points and 11 rebounds in a 72-41 loss to Morristown-Beard, but she was not satisfied by her performance.

“Others may think it is a good game, but for me personally I feel I could have done better,” said States. “I feel like I could have made a bit more points and I feel like I could have been more aggressive towards the other team.”

The Tartans didn’t do well in the early going against Mo-Beard as they fell behind 23-6 by end of the first quarter in the defeat which left them with a 2-3 record.

“We had a rough start, most of the time it takes us time to get used to the other team before we start getting into our own groove,” said States. “We started to warm up a bit in the second quarter and started getting used to our plays and getting used to the other team.”

In the second quarter, States scored six points to help Stuart find a groove as they got outscored 14-11 in that frame. The Tartans kept fighting in the second half, scoring 24 points over the last 16 minutes of the contest.

“We kept up with what we have got,” said States. “It is hard to keep up the same pace when others may feel down and starting to feel defeated. We try to keep a good pace and keep each other’s heads up.”

As the most experienced player on the squad despite being just a sophomore, States has assumed responsibility to keep her teammates’ heads up.

“It is really good, it is definitely changing,” said States of leadership role. “Once our captain last year, Emily Ix, went to college and we all miss her dearly, the leadership role is starting to shift. Me and Annarose [Bourgoin] and Abby [Chirik] are starting to lead our team as some of the oldest players because our team is pretty young.”

States has made changes in her game to help her be more versatile.

“It is definitely more ballhandling and definitely more shooting,” said States. “I have gotten better in those two realms. In the shooting, I feel like I have topped what I was last year.”

Starting the week with a 54-12 win over Central Jersey College Charter on January 8 gave Stuart a boost.

“We got time to put our thought into the game and start running our plays,” said States. “I think that kind of lifted our heads a lot.”

Stuart head coach Tony Bowman saw the loss to the Crimson as a valuable learning experience for his young team.

“We had trouble initiating because Annarose is out — she is our point guard so that puts us under the gun a little bit,” said Bowman.

“Most of my kids are freshmen, Taylor is a sophomore and I have got one junior so we are teaching. I am teaching more than coaching sometimes. When you have such a young team and it is inexperienced, you train more than coach. You are trying to get the kids to do the basic stuff. You are playing teams that are past that stage, they had some nice players.”

Going forward, Bowman will be working to get his players to concentrate on fundamentals at both ends of the court.

“As I said to the kids, we are going to work on defense and finishing,” said Bowman. “We have got to let this go by. They give me effort but the effort has to show in the game and execution.”

States has been giving the Tartans a great effort on a daily basis, carrying the scoring load for the squad, averaging 21.4 points a game with 107 of the team’s 210 points through five games.

“Taylor has been awesome, she is doing a great job,” said Bowman. “If she had a complementing cast, then the game is different for everyone.”

Freshman Myah Chennault did a good job against Mo-Bread, scoring 10 points with five rebounds.

“Myah is a bright spot, she is always asking questions,” said Bowman. “She is always asking to learn, she is always wanting to do more. She is athletic, she is our best jumper.”

With Stuart playing at the College Achieve Central Charter on January 17 before hosting the Pennington School on January 23, Bowman is looking for his players to apply the lessons he has been imparting to them.

“They take criticism well and they work hard every day,” said Bowman. “I am going to critique, but then I am getting to tell you what you can do to make yourself better — that is the other side of it. We just have to play harder together and finish and run our offense.”

In the view of States, maintaining an upbeat approach is the key to the Tartans getting better.

“We have to keep playing strong,” said States. “We have to keep getting used to our plays and getting more confident on the court, no matter what team it is. We have to just keep our heads up.”