MONROE - Two former prep basketball standouts from the area have joined forces and are starters for the University of Wisconsin-Stevens Point women's basketball team.
Both junior Taylor Barrett, a 2014 Monroe High School graduate, and senior Taylor Douglas, a 2013 Brodhead High School graduate, are starring for a UW-Steven's Point team that is one of the contenders to win the Wisconsin Intercollegiate Athletic Conference along with UW-Oshkosh and UW-Whitewater. All three teams were ranked in the preseason D3hoops.com rankings. Oshkosh is ranked 13th now and UW-Whitewater is 21st. Stevens Point is not ranked in the top 25, but it is receiving votes.
Barrett has started every game this year for UW-Stevens Point at center, and Douglas has started every game at guard.
UW-Stevens Point is 8-3 and will play at UW-Oshkosh in the team's WIAC opener today.
At 6-foot-1, Barrett has developed more strength than she had in high school. She continues to hone her skills in the post and on the perimeter.
"I came into a program knowing I would probably be a practice player for two years and then get a chance at a bigger role," Barrett said. "The biggest adjustment for me is I'm not the biggest person. In high school, I was able to get by with that. In the WIAC, the play is so much more physical and the game is at a much faster speed. You don't know how much faster until you are out there. If I wanted to play in college I had to put on weight."
Barrett is averaging 8.2 points, 5.2 rebounds and 1.3 blocks per game. Barrett scored a season-high 21 points in a 95-72 win over North Central College on Dec. 13 and 20 points in a 76-66 win over Rochester College of Holland, Michigan, on Dec. 16.
"I feel like I got off to a slow start," Barrett said. "I got into foul trouble the first couple of games. The last few games I have stayed out of foul trouble, stayed on the court and got some things done."
Barrett said the five starters are doing so well at communicating on the court it makes her job as a post player easier.
"It's not like I'm doing it all one against five," she said. "I have been able to run the floor well and our guards are good at penetrating and getting me the ball."
There have been a couple recent changes in women's college basketball. The game has switched to four 10-minute quarters instead of two halves and the one-and-one free-throw situations have been eliminated. For every foul, a player receives two free throws.
That has motivated Barrett to excel at free-throw shooting, and she leads the team at 80 percent.
"When I have a bigger player on me, my coach wants me to take them off the dribble and get to the basket and when I have a smaller player on me I have to get the ball in the post," Barrett said. "Since you get two free throws on every foul and since I'm a post player, it's important I take it up strong and make my free throws. If you shoot just 50 percent on free throws you are leaving points out there. It's just an important part of my game."
In addition to getting stronger, Barrett has improved her ball-handling and shooting.
"It was made clear to me by the coaches and experience that nothing is going to be handed to you," she said. "It's a big difference from high school. If they recruit you to the school you have to get the job done or it's next man up."
Stevens Point is guided by four-time WIAC Coach of the Year Shirley Egner, who is in her 28th season with the Pointers.
Douglas is averaging 7.6 points, 6.9 rebounds and one steal per game this season. She scored a season-high 14 points in a 69-61 loss to Williams College in the Arizona Shootout tournament Dec. 29 in Phoenix.
Douglas averaged 5.6 points in 28 games last season and six starts. She suffered a wrist injury and battled migraine headaches later in the season that prevented her from starting. She came off the bench later in the season for a Stevens Point team that went 21-8 and lost in the second round of the NCAA Division III tournament to George Fox 62-59.
"A lot of the migraines I had were muscle tensions that came on," Douglas said. "Now, I started to do stretching before the game to prevent them."
Douglas has worked to become a better rebounder and ball handler. She's one of the top rebounders on the team from the guard position.
"Going into my last year as a player I want to go out the best I can every game," Douglas said. "Win or lose if we compete for 40 minutes we have to be happy with that."
Douglas has learned how to become a leader on and off the court. She has adapted to the increased speed of the college game. She's become more a student of the game in her final season at Stevens Point.
"Every person is a good player in college," she said. "There are no weak players. You have to use your voice and make sure you have spacing on the court. You not only have to know your matchup, but everyone else's matchup."
When Douglas is on the court, she gets an escape from her studying and school work as a biology major with a double minor in chemistry and psychology with an emphasis as a physician's assistant.
"When I'm at practice, basketball is the only thing on my mind," she said. "It frees my mind from the college work."
Douglas was a big reason Barrett elected to play basketball at Stevens Point. She took Barrett out for lunch when she made her official visit.
"Taylor (Douglas) definitely had an influence in my decision to come to Point," Barrett said. "She has helped me balance school, family and basketball. Knowing the kind of person, player and friend she is made me comfortable."
The friendship is mutual for Douglas.
"We have a connection," Douglas said. "I have played basketball with her for more than eight years. We know how each other plays on the court. She's one of the top post players I always look for down low."
When Stevens Point plays at UW-Oshkosh tonight, Douglas and Barrett will face Kylie Moe, a 2016 Brodhead graduate who is playing for the Titans.
"I'm really excited," Douglas said. "The last time I played with Kylie was my freshman year in high school. We will both always be Brodhead Cardinals. We will compete in the game and try to beat each other. After the game, we will be friends like we were in high school."
Both Barrett and Douglas expect a test in their first conference game at UW-Oshkosh.
"It's going to be a test playing a team like Oshkosh on their home floor," Barrett said. "It will be a good test. It's always a battle and a grind, but I'm looking forward to it."
Both junior Taylor Barrett, a 2014 Monroe High School graduate, and senior Taylor Douglas, a 2013 Brodhead High School graduate, are starring for a UW-Steven's Point team that is one of the contenders to win the Wisconsin Intercollegiate Athletic Conference along with UW-Oshkosh and UW-Whitewater. All three teams were ranked in the preseason D3hoops.com rankings. Oshkosh is ranked 13th now and UW-Whitewater is 21st. Stevens Point is not ranked in the top 25, but it is receiving votes.
Barrett has started every game this year for UW-Stevens Point at center, and Douglas has started every game at guard.
UW-Stevens Point is 8-3 and will play at UW-Oshkosh in the team's WIAC opener today.
At 6-foot-1, Barrett has developed more strength than she had in high school. She continues to hone her skills in the post and on the perimeter.
"I came into a program knowing I would probably be a practice player for two years and then get a chance at a bigger role," Barrett said. "The biggest adjustment for me is I'm not the biggest person. In high school, I was able to get by with that. In the WIAC, the play is so much more physical and the game is at a much faster speed. You don't know how much faster until you are out there. If I wanted to play in college I had to put on weight."
Barrett is averaging 8.2 points, 5.2 rebounds and 1.3 blocks per game. Barrett scored a season-high 21 points in a 95-72 win over North Central College on Dec. 13 and 20 points in a 76-66 win over Rochester College of Holland, Michigan, on Dec. 16.
"I feel like I got off to a slow start," Barrett said. "I got into foul trouble the first couple of games. The last few games I have stayed out of foul trouble, stayed on the court and got some things done."
Barrett said the five starters are doing so well at communicating on the court it makes her job as a post player easier.
"It's not like I'm doing it all one against five," she said. "I have been able to run the floor well and our guards are good at penetrating and getting me the ball."
There have been a couple recent changes in women's college basketball. The game has switched to four 10-minute quarters instead of two halves and the one-and-one free-throw situations have been eliminated. For every foul, a player receives two free throws.
That has motivated Barrett to excel at free-throw shooting, and she leads the team at 80 percent.
"When I have a bigger player on me, my coach wants me to take them off the dribble and get to the basket and when I have a smaller player on me I have to get the ball in the post," Barrett said. "Since you get two free throws on every foul and since I'm a post player, it's important I take it up strong and make my free throws. If you shoot just 50 percent on free throws you are leaving points out there. It's just an important part of my game."
In addition to getting stronger, Barrett has improved her ball-handling and shooting.
"It was made clear to me by the coaches and experience that nothing is going to be handed to you," she said. "It's a big difference from high school. If they recruit you to the school you have to get the job done or it's next man up."
Stevens Point is guided by four-time WIAC Coach of the Year Shirley Egner, who is in her 28th season with the Pointers.
Douglas is averaging 7.6 points, 6.9 rebounds and one steal per game this season. She scored a season-high 14 points in a 69-61 loss to Williams College in the Arizona Shootout tournament Dec. 29 in Phoenix.
Douglas averaged 5.6 points in 28 games last season and six starts. She suffered a wrist injury and battled migraine headaches later in the season that prevented her from starting. She came off the bench later in the season for a Stevens Point team that went 21-8 and lost in the second round of the NCAA Division III tournament to George Fox 62-59.
"A lot of the migraines I had were muscle tensions that came on," Douglas said. "Now, I started to do stretching before the game to prevent them."
Douglas has worked to become a better rebounder and ball handler. She's one of the top rebounders on the team from the guard position.
"Going into my last year as a player I want to go out the best I can every game," Douglas said. "Win or lose if we compete for 40 minutes we have to be happy with that."
Douglas has learned how to become a leader on and off the court. She has adapted to the increased speed of the college game. She's become more a student of the game in her final season at Stevens Point.
"Every person is a good player in college," she said. "There are no weak players. You have to use your voice and make sure you have spacing on the court. You not only have to know your matchup, but everyone else's matchup."
When Douglas is on the court, she gets an escape from her studying and school work as a biology major with a double minor in chemistry and psychology with an emphasis as a physician's assistant.
"When I'm at practice, basketball is the only thing on my mind," she said. "It frees my mind from the college work."
Douglas was a big reason Barrett elected to play basketball at Stevens Point. She took Barrett out for lunch when she made her official visit.
"Taylor (Douglas) definitely had an influence in my decision to come to Point," Barrett said. "She has helped me balance school, family and basketball. Knowing the kind of person, player and friend she is made me comfortable."
The friendship is mutual for Douglas.
"We have a connection," Douglas said. "I have played basketball with her for more than eight years. We know how each other plays on the court. She's one of the top post players I always look for down low."
When Stevens Point plays at UW-Oshkosh tonight, Douglas and Barrett will face Kylie Moe, a 2016 Brodhead graduate who is playing for the Titans.
"I'm really excited," Douglas said. "The last time I played with Kylie was my freshman year in high school. We will both always be Brodhead Cardinals. We will compete in the game and try to beat each other. After the game, we will be friends like we were in high school."
Both Barrett and Douglas expect a test in their first conference game at UW-Oshkosh.
"It's going to be a test playing a team like Oshkosh on their home floor," Barrett said. "It will be a good test. It's always a battle and a grind, but I'm looking forward to it."
