As a sophomore, Waubonsie Valley’s Taylor Curry faced a pivotal crossroads.
No longer on the Warriors’ roster, she needed to earn her spot back — both in trust and ability — to get her high school career on track again.
“I knew I wanted to continue to play basketball, so it was a bump in the road,” Curry said. “I had to overcome that and grow into a better person.”
The results have been better than ever. The 5-foot-9 Curry returned to the Warriors, leading them last season to their first regional title in a decade.
Now, the senior guard is the veteran on a team full of youngsters and newcomers.
Meeting the challenge, Waubonsie (14-3) is off to its best start since going 25-3 and winning the program’s sixth straight regional championship in the 2011-12 season.
“I don’t give up on players,” Waubonsie coach Brett Love said. “We were able to build trust. You have to have a relationship on both ends with trust. When she was willing to do that, things started to turn around.
“I knew she’s a good player and a player that deserved an opportunity. I never wanted to give up on her.”
Curry has rewarded Love’s patience with performance.
She averaged 15.8 points and 2.9 assists last season, both tops on the team, as the Warriors went 16-14 and won a Class 4A regional title.
On top of that, Curry saved one of her best performances for the championship game, scoring 31 points in a 68-66 victory over Plainfield North.
“Having a big regional championship game was huge for us,” Love said.
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There were challenges heading into this season, however.
Junior forward Hannah Laub, who is being integrated again into the lineup, returned just last week from a torn ACL. She was the second-leading scorer last season behind Curry.
Senior guard Khaliah Reid also transferred in from Metea Valley. Freshman guard Danyella Mporokoso has emerged as one of the area’s breakout stars.
Fellow freshman guard Arianna Garcia also plays a big role. Sophomore guard Lily Newton, already in her second varsity season, is a key contributor as well.
“We don’t run the same things we ran last year,” Love said. “We had to quickly find what our strengths and weaknesses would be. We had to help them realize it.
“I knew we would be athletic and talented, but we were smaller.”
Curry was the rock in the middle of all the chaos.
“We knew we could get further this year,” Curry said. “Now, we’re just taking it game by game. Since we have a smaller team we had to make some adjustments.
“We’re a better team than we were before. It’s all about team chemistry. Our record is very good, and that was one of our goals, to come together and win every game we can going into the postseason.”
Love knew he had to help Curry prepare for a season that much of the roster would be looking her way not only for production but guidance.
“It was trying to help her be more of a leader,” Love said. “Those are the things we talk about — being somebody that other players can go to, then continuing to be more efficient with what she brings to the table offensively and defensively.
“We need to continue to hone in on that.”
Mporokoso is averaging 17.5 points this season to lead the way for Waubonsie, but Curry and Reid aren’t far behind, averaging 16.2 and 15.4, respectively.
Two years ago, Curry becoming a team leader and also looking to continue her career in college was a distant thought. With the guidance of Love, however, here she is.
“He’s helped me,” Curry said. “It’s been much smoother in school, too. I had to change some things around, but I knew my chance would come.”
Paul Johnson is a freelance reporter for The Beacon-News.