Sports

Taylor Named Region Finalist for 2023 WBCA NCAA Division 1 Coaches’ All-America

Lawrence Davis III @LawDavis13 @SpecMagSports

ATLANTA, Ga. — The Women’s Basketball Coaches Association (WBCA) announced the region finalists for the 2023 WBCA NCAA Division 1 Coaches’ All-America team Wednesday morning, with senior Celeste Taylor earning a nod to the Region 1 list.

The 2023 WBCA NCAA Division 1 Coaches’ All-America team will be announced later this month.

Recently tabbed to the AP All-America Honorable Mention team and named a finalist for the 2023 Naismith Women’s Defensive Player of the Year, Taylor helped lead the Blue Devils to a 26-7 overall record featuring a 14-4 mark in ACC play, and an appearance in the second round of the NCAA Tournament.

The 2023 ACC Women’s Defensive Player of the Year was an instrumental part in helping the Duke women’s basketball team boast one of the nation’s top defenses throughout the season. She led the squad in total steals (72) and steals per game (2.2) – both marks that check in at third in the ACC. The Blue Devils finished the 2022-23 campaign ranked third in the NCAA in scoring defense (51.0) and 10th in field goal percentage defense (35.2) while holding each of their opponents below its season scoring average, including 17 to 50 points or less.

Taylor tallied two-plus steals in 17 games this season, including nine games with three or more thefts and four games with at least five takeaways. In the second-round game vs. Colorado, she set the Duke NCAA Tournament record for steals with 10 thefts in the game. Per HerHoopStats, the Valley Stream, N.Y., product is 10th nationally in defensive win shares with an average of 2.6 per 40 minutes while her player defensive rating of 73.0 is good for 28th in the country.

On the offensive end, Taylor was the team’s leading scorer throughout the season with an average of 11.4 points, pairing that with 4.8 rebounds and 2.5 assists per game. The engine that makes the Blue Devils go, Taylor scored in double figures 19 times over the season, including two games of 20-plus points.

With her near quadruple-double of eight points, eight assists, 10 rebounds, and 10 steals against the Buffaloes, Taylor became the first player in the history of the women’s NCAA Tournament to record a stat line of at least 8 pts, 8 rebs, 8 assists, and 8 steals since 2000, as well as the only player to record at least 10 steals and 10 rebounds. Earlier this season, she joined the ranks of Chelsea Gray (3X), Haley Gorecki (4X), and Lexie Brown (4X) as the only Duke women’s basketball players since 2009-2010 to post multiple career games of 15+ Points, 5+ Rebounds, 4+ Assists, and 4+ Steals, according to HerHoopStats.