44 rebounds in a game! Former Midlands star sets college basketball record
A record in women’s basketball fell on Thursday night. This one came in the state of South Carolina.
Lauryn Taylor, a forward at Division II Francis Marion, set the NCAA record for all divisions after pulling down 44 rebounds in an 85-62 win over North Greenville.
Taylor, who also scored 34 points, passed the Division I mark of 40 rebounds set by Delta State’s Deborah Temple in February 1983. The Division II record (36) was held by West Virginia Tech’s Christine DeSaine.
Taylor’s record came on the same night Iowa’s Caitlin Clark set the NCAA Division I career scoring record.
“I prefer to rebound over scoring anyway, so I was just doing what I like to do — having fun,” Taylor told The Florence Morning News after the game.. “… I’m excited, but that’s not what I was going into the game for. I was just trying to play the best game I could.”
Taylor’s record has been highlighted on ESPN.com’s front page and on ESPN’s “SportsCenter.”
Taylor’s previous high for rebounds was 21 set against Lees McRae last month. She leads Division II in rebounding at 15.0 per game. She had 44 of the team’s 61 rebounds in Thursday’s win. Her 18 double-doubles also are tops in the country for Division II.
Taylor was a standout at Spring Valley High school and part of the Vikings’ 2018 state championship and 2019 runner-up squad as a sophomore and junior. As a senior, she averaged 18.1 points and 12.8 rebounds a game.
Taylor is the daughter of the late Rodney Taylor, who starred at A.C. Flora and played college basketball at Villanova.
This story was originally published February 16, 2024 at 9:55 AM.
