UPLAND, Ind. – In a big late-season showdown, No. 16 ranked Spring Arbor University earned a decisive 80-59 road victory over Taylor University, a team receiving votes in the national rankings, on Wednesday night.
 
With the win, the Cougars move to 22-5 overall and 13-4 in the Crossroads League.
 
The Cougars came out firing, racing to a 14-0 lead just five minutes into the contest. Taylor responded with a strong push of its own, rallying to take a narrow 34-33 advantage into halftime.
 
The back-and-forth battle continued throughout much of the third quarter. With the score knotted at 46-46 and 2:47 remaining in the period, Spring Arbor seized momentum with a 10-3 run to close the quarter and regain control.
 
SAU carried that energy into the fourth. Back-to-back layups from Megan Zeitz and Ashley Weller quickly stretched the lead to double digits, and the Cougars never looked back. Spring Arbor shot a blistering 73 percent (11-of-15) from the field in the final quarter while holding the Trojans to just 4-of-13 shooting. The lead swelled to as many as 21 as SAU pulled away and completed the season sweep of the Taylor.
 
Weller poured in a game-high 20 points to lead the way. Haven Chapman added 15 points and seven rebounds while Emma Smieska chipped in 13 points and eight boards. Zeitz finished with 10 points and seven rebounds.
 
As a team, the Cougars shot 53 percent from the floor and dominated inside, outscoring Taylor 50-26 in the paint. SAU also held a 38-27 advantage on the glass and limited the Trojans to just 2-of-18 shooting from beyond the arc.
 
Spring Arbor will close out the regular season on the road Saturday, Feb. 21 against No. 7 University of Saint Francis in Fort Wayne, Indiana.