Gallery • 8 Photos

Gabriela Martinez

Junior Ava Rivera happily hands her gift to senior Morgan Taylor to honor her last year on the team. This has been a tradition for the Girls' basketball team for years, however this year was different: there was only one senior.

Being a senior can be hard. While this is widely considered a universal truth for many, being a senior athlete brings its own special set of challenges. No one knows this to be true more than Morgan Taylor, captain of and sole senior on our Lady Jaguars girls basketball team.

Monday night was the girls basketball Senior Night, unique from most senior nights this year in the sense that there was only one senior to celebrate. “Being the only senior on the team can create a lot of pressure. You have so many younger players on the team and players that don’t have as much experience as you do. And it’s up to you to guide them.” Morgan shares. 

Before the game, Morgan got ready just the same way as she does before every game. In her mind, this was just another night. However, once she arrived at the gym, and saw all of her friends filling the stands holding flowers and posters, she knew she had to bring her A-game and she most certainly did not disappoint. 

Neck-and-neck with our NSU Sharks, the excitement on the court was clear. The Lady Jaguars knew they needed the win for Taylor. Come halftime, Morgan’s parents joined her on the court, wearing her jersey number on the back of their embroidered jackets. Aunts, uncles, and cousins had come out in droves to see her, cheering and screaming alongside her friends. The gym almost seemed to burst with love and support, the stands shaking with stomping feet and clapping hands. “My favorite part of the night was getting to hug my friends and family after the game and thank them for their support. My cheeks hurt from smiling.”, Morgan remembered fondly.

This moment seemed to be just what Morgan needed. Almost like a catalyst, in the second half the tide of the game changed dramatically. The Lady Jags started to pull away, stretching far ahead of the other team by the end of the third quarter. The scoreboard reflected this, racking up the points as the time went by. And no one was more on fire than our own Morgan Taylor. 

She dominated the court, making shot after shot. Her confidence seemed to grow exponentially, as she scored 25 points. Celebrating with her teammates and almost seeming to glow, not with beads of sweat but with the happiness of playing a game she loves.

As the game came to a close, 55-36, Morgan couldn’t seem to shake a bright white smile as she moved swiftly on the court, soaking in the victory of an undeniable blow out, one of the last in her high school career.