“Marcie Taylor brings devotion to athletes, coaches and programs, and to the wider mission of Anderson University,” said Dr. James L. Edwards, president of Anderson University. “Over these years as a teacher and coach, she has equipped herself to take on this assignment and to move our intercollegiate athletic programs to greater successes. We are delighted to have her leadership in this major institutional role.”

“I am excited to be part of the process by which we can name one of our own to this important position,” said Dr. Carl Caldwell, vice president for Academic Affairs and Dean of the College. “Marcie has demonstrated great leadership ability as head women’s basketball coach and associate athletic director and we look forward to her bringing this ability to leadership of intercollegiate athletics.”

“I am honored and feel very blessed to be named the athletic director at Anderson University,” said Marcie Taylor. “As an alumna, I know what a special and unique place Anderson University is and I’m grateful for this opportunity. I look forward to continuing to work with my coaching colleagues and the administration to promote the athletic program and to enhance its overall value to the institution.”

In addition to her role as associate athletic director, Taylor has served as head women’s basketball coach since 1990 and head women’s golf coach since 1995. She has taught in the Kinesiology Department at Anderson University—namely Exercise Physiology, Kinesiology, and Team Sports and Instructional Strategies for Middle School Health and Physical Education.

Under her guidance, the AU women’s basketball posted a winning record in five of the last eight years, including a 21-7 record in 2002, when they won the HCAC title and advanced to the NCAA Div. III national tournament. The women’s golf team, led by Taylor, posted a second place finish in the HCAC tournament in their first season as a varsity sport in 1998.

Taylor came to AU in 1980 from Bowdon, N.D. where she attended the Bowdon Church of God. She graduated from Anderson University in 1984 with a bachelor of arts in Secondary Education/Physical Education and a minor in Biology. During her student days at AU, Taylor was a guard for the Ravens.

She earned a master’s degree in Exercise Physiology from Ball State University in 1988. Before returning to Anderson in a staff role, Taylor was the head basketball coach at Bismark Junior High School for two years. She also spent one year as an assistant coach at AU before taking over the program.

Taylor is a member of several national organizations including the National Association of Collegiate Women Athletic Administrators, Women’s Basketball Coaches Association, Indiana Basketball Coaches Association, National Golf Coaches Association and the American College of Sports Medicine.

Anderson University is a private Christian university of 2,700 undergraduate and graduate students in central Indiana. Anderson continues to be recognized as a top Christian college: in 2008, U.S. News and World Report ranked Anderson University among the best colleges and universities in the Midwest for the fourth consecutive year. Established in 1917 by the Church of God, Anderson University offers more than 65 undergraduate majors and graduate programs in business, education, music, nursing and theology.

Martin led the Ravens in scoring (13.5 ppg), total rebounds (203) and blocked shots (41). She also ranked second in rebound average (7.8) and third in assists (40) and steals (26). She shot 46 percent from the field and 63 percent from the free throw line.

Head coach Marcie Taylor was named the Coach of the Year after leading the Ravens to the HCAC regular season title. AU finished as the runner-up in the HCAC post-season tournament and had a record of 18-8 overall and 12-4 in HCAC play. It was the second Coach of the Year award for Taylor (2001-02).

In addition to Martin, junior Mandy Seward and sophomore Tiffany Bowsher were also named to the 12-player All-HCAC team for the 2007-08 season.

Seward averaged 8.1 points, 3.2 rebounds and a team-high 121 assists and 59 steals. Bowsher led the team in rebounding (8.1 rpg) and was second in scoring (9.3 ppg).

Mel Hawthorne was All-HCAC Honorable Mention. The junior averaged 8.8 points, 5.9 rebounds, 2.4 assists, 1.5 steals and 1.3 blocks per game.

The final jumper came after the Ravens had rallied from a 17-point second half deficit to tie the game at 50 on a pair of free throws by Mel Hawthorne with 17 seconds left. The free throws capped a 7-0 run by the Ravens - all by Hawthorne - including a bank 3-pointer in the final two minutes.

Hawthorne finished with a game-high 23 points and seven rebounds, hitting 8-of-16 shots and 6-of-7 from the free throw line. She was named to the All-Tournament team.

Leading scorer Kayla Martin was also named to the All-Tournament team. She finished the tournament with 19 points and 12 rebounds.

Ellen Thompson was the only other player in double figures, finishing with 10 points and four rebounds. Mandy Seward added six points, four rebounds, three assists and three steals.

Manchester finished at 37 percent from the field, including 48 percent in the first half when it led 36-21. The Ravens finished at 34 percent shooting, outscoring the Spartans 29-16 in the second half.

AU had a 36-26 advantage on the boards, including 13-7 on the offensive glass. However, Manchester had the edge in assists (9-4), turnovers (9-14), blocks (2-1) and steals (6-4).

The Ravens finished the year at 18-8 overall and 12-4 in the HCAC, winning the regular season title for the first time since 2002.

The top-seeded Ravens (18-7) will host No. 2 Manchester in the championship game on Saturday. The game will be carried live on the internet broadcast from O.C. Lewis Gymnasium at 2 p.m. The winner will earn the automatic bid to the NCAA Div. III national tournament next week.

The Ravens and Spartans have split their two regular season meetings, including a 71-44 AU victory on Mar. 20 in the regular season finale.

Against Hanover, Tiffany Bowsher led the Ravens with 17 points and seven rebounds, hitting 7-of-10 shots from the field and 3-of-4 from the free throw line.

Kayla Martin had 15 points, eight rebounds and three steals, hitting 7-of-11 field goals. Ellen Thompson and Mel Hawthorne also reached double figures with 12 and 10 points, respectively. Thompson had five rebounds, two steals and Hawthorne added five rebounds, five assists and two blocks.

Lauren Vail had six points, three rebounds two assists and Mandy Seward chipped in with five points, four steals and a game-high nine assists.

The Ravens shot 53 percent from the field, including 61 percent in the second half when they outscored the Panthers 34-21. Hanover finished at 29 percent shooting, including only 26 percent in the first half when they were outscored by the hosts 38-18.

AU also had the advantage on the boards (39-36) as well as assists (19-8), turnovers (13-21) and steals (12-1).

The proof of that can be found in the team’s activities in the nine days since the Ravens (17-7) were last on court for a competitive contest. It was Feb. 20 when AU smothered
Manchester to secure the HCAC title and the right to host the tourney.

“The team voted not to take any days off,” said Ravens coach Marcie Taylor, now in her 18th season at the AU helm. “It’s been business as usual. We’ve had seven practices.”

“We’re used to just having Sundays off,” said Lauren Vail, the lone senior on the squad. “We want to work hard and stay focused. We don’t want to be too satisfied with the win over Manchester.”

It would be hard not to be impressed with the 71-44 win in that title-clinching game.

“We came in the Thursday after the game and looked at the whole game,” Vail said. “We enjoyed it. But there are still things we can do better.”

Improvement might be necessary to secure a win in the 6 p.m. game against Hanover (15-10). The Ravens defeated the Panthers 71-66 in overtime on the O.C. Lewis Gymnasium floor, but then lost on the road, 61-58.

“They have a fairly young team, so when we played them the first time, we didn’t know much about them,” Taylor said. “We made some adjustments as the game went on. When we played them down there, they played very well, but we weren’t focused for that game.”

The AU focus defensively for the game will be 6-foot-1 freshman center Molly Martin, from Terre Haute North High School. She leads the HCAC in scoring at 15.8 points per game. Martin also leads the team by averaging 11.8 rebounds per contest.

“She’s a big body,” Taylor said. “When we lost to them, we didn’t rotate well and got beat on dribble penetration.”

Only three times in the past dozen games have the Ravens allowed 60 or more points.
Offensively, the Ravens have five players averaging more than 7.5 points, but nobody averaging more than 13.8.

“We don’t have any superstars on the team,” Taylor said. “We have balance, and we get production out of a lot of players.”

Junior Kayla Martin leads the Ravens in scoring (13.8 points) and is tied for the lead on the boards (8 rebounds). Tiffany Bowsher is a sophomore with is averaging 9.4 points and 8.3 rebounds. Mandy Seward is a junior guard who averages 5.4 assists and 8.3 points.

“Our guard play is definitely better than last year,” Taylor said. “I give a lot of credit for that to (assistant coach) Mandy Harrison. She’s done a great job. We’re taking better care of the basketball.”

The Ravens also seem to have the ability to bounce back from adversity.

“When we lost in January (60-47 at Manchester) we bounced back with a string of wins (six),” said Taylor. “When we lost in February (61-58 at Hanover), we ran off a string of wins (three and counting).”

Tonight’s second game (scheduled for 8 p.m.) pits Manchester (17-8) against Transylvania (14-11).

The tournament winner earns an automatic berth in the NCAA Division III tournament.

“We had the choice to play in the 6 p.m. game or the second game,” said Taylor. “But with our championship at 2 p.m. (Saturday) instead of 7 p.m. like the men, we’d rather get the extra rest.”

Story written by Herald Bulletin Staff Reporter Rick Teverbaugh

The victory clinched at least a share of the HCAC regular season title, the Ravens first since the 2001-02 season. AU can win the title outright with a Spartan loss in their regular season finale on Saturday.

However, AU (17-7, 12-4) holds the tiebreaker over Manchester (16-8, 11-4) and will be the No. 1 seed and host the six-team HCAC post-season tournament on Feb. 29 and Mar. 1.

The Ravens will have a bye in the first round and play the No. 4/5 seed winner in the semifinals on Feb. 29 at either 6 or 8 p.m. The championship game is set for 2 p.m. on Mar. 1.
Against Manchester, Tiffany Bowsher led the Ravens with a double-double. The sophomore finished with 12 points and 11 rebounds, hitting 5-of-8 field goals and both of her free throws.

Mandy Seward also had 12 points to go with three rebounds, three assists and three steals, hitting 8-of-11 free throws and half of her four field goal attempts. Ellen Thompson gave the Ravens three players with 12 points and added six rebounds.

Leading scorer Kayla Martin finished with nine points, seven rebounds and Mel Hawthorne added eight points, six rebounds and three steals. Lone senior Lauren Vail finished with seven points and three assists in her final regular season home game, including a rare five-point play.

The Ravens shot 41 percent from the field, including 52 percent in the first half when they led 35-14. The Spartans finished at 29 percent shooting, including only 24 percent in the first half.

AU had a 42-32 advantage on the boards, including 12-11 on the offensive glass. The hosts also had the edge in assists (11-8), turnovers (12-18) and steals (11-5).

The key stretch in the game came over an eight minute span late in the first half when the Ravens used a 22-0 run to turn a tie game into a 34-12 lead. The lead was never under 20 the rest of the game and the Ravens led by as many as 30 points in the second half.

The victory sets up a dual with on Wednesday between the top two teams in the conference in Manchester (11-3) and Anderson (11-4). A Raven victory would assure them of at least a share of the HCAC regular season championship. The HCAC post-season tournament top seed will also be on the line.

The Ravens would win the tiebreaker with the Spartans with a victory combined with at least one win by Franklin or one loss by Mt. St. Joseph in their final two games. The HCAC tournament begins with first round games on Feb. 26 and the semifinals on Feb. 29 at the top seed.
Against Franklin, Lauren Vail led the Ravens with 15 points and five rebounds, hitting 5-of-7 field goals, including three 3-pointers.

Mandy Seward had 14 points, three rebounds, five assists and two steals and Ellen Thompson had 12 points in her first career start. Kayla Martin was also in double figures with 11 points and a team-high eight rebounds.

AU shot 49 percent from the field, including 56 percent in the second half when it outscored Franklin 35-30. The Grizzlies finished at 32 percent shooting, including 31 percent in the first half when they trailed 28-23.

The Ravens had a 33-31 advantage on the boards and also had the edge in assists (14-7), blocks (2-0) and steals (8-3).

AU (16-7, 11-4 HCAC) hosts Manchester on Wednesday in the regular season finale. The game will be carried live on the internet broadcast at 7:30 p.m.

The victory gives the Ravens a season sweep over the Engineers, who they defeated 45-33 in Terre Haute in the first meeting of the year.

The Ravens have clinched a spot in the six-team post-season HCAC tournament and can clinch the No. 1 seed and a bye by winning their final two games against Franklin and Manchester.

The No. 3 and 4 seeds will host first round games on Feb. 26. The top seed will host the HCAC tournament on Feb. 29 and Mar. 1.

Mel Hawthorne led the Ravens with 12 points, 12 rebounds, four assists, three blocks and three steals, including a pair of 3-pointers.

Kayla Martin was also in double figures with 10 points, eight rebounds, four blocks and Mandy Seward had seven points, six assists and two blocks.

AU shot 38 percent from the field, including 50 percent in the second half when it outscored Rose-Hulman 28-14. The Engineers finished at 21 percent shooting, including only 19 percent in the second half.

Both teams finished with 35 rebounds while the Ravens had the advantage in assists (14-4), turnovers (19-22) and blocks (9-1).

Over the first 23 minutes of the game, neither team could pull away as the game was tied four times and no team led by more than four points. AU finally took the lead for good at 20-18 and used a 9-0 run over a two minute span to take control of the game at 31-20 with 12 minutes left in the game.

The lead was never less than seven the rest of the way and the Ravens led by as many as 16 points in the second half.

AU (15-7, 10-4 HCAC) travels to Franklin on Saturday at 3 p.m.

The loss snapped the Ravens six game winning streak as they dropped to 14-7 overall and 9-4 in the conference.

Mel Hawthorne led the Ravens with 15 points and three rebounds, including 6-of-8 free throws. Kayla Martin was also in double figures with 12 points and a team-high six rebounds and two blocks.

Mandy Seward had nine points, five assists and four steals and Lauren Vail added nine points and five rebounds. Ellen Thompson added seven points and four rebounds off the bench.

The Ravens had the advantage in shooting percentage (42-37 percent) as well as turnovers (11-12), blocks (4-1) and steals (7-4). However, the Panthers had a 46-31 edge on the boards, including 16-5 on the offensive glass.

AU hosts Rose-Hulman next Wednesday. The game will be carried live on the internet broadcast at 7:30 p.m.

The victory was the sixth in a row for the Ravens and the ninth in their last 10 games. The Ravens (9-3) trail Manchester (8-2) atop the conference standings by a single game in the loss column with four remaining in the regular season.

Kayla Martin led AU with 18 points, 12 rebounds, two assists and four blocks, hitting 8-of-21 shots from the field. Tiffany Bowsher was also in double figures with 12 points and eight rebounds.

Mandy Seward had five points, four rebounds, nine assists and three steals and Lauren Vail added six points, six rebounds and three assists.

AU shot 36 percent from the field, including 41 in the first half, despite trailing 28-26 at the break. Bluffton finished the game shooting 34 percent, including 28 in the second half when it was outscored 31-28.

The Ravens had a 41-34 advantage on the boards, including 17-11 on the offensive glass. AU also had the edge in assists (16-13) and turnovers (13-15).

The teams were tied three times in the first eight minutes before the Beavers used an 8-0 run to take a 17-10 lead. Bluffton led by as many as nine points in the first half at 21-12, but AU used a 7-0 run to tie the game for the fifth time at 24-24.

The Ravens scored the first 12 points of the second half to take a 38-28 lead with 17 minutes left in the contest. They led by as many as 15 points at 53-38 with 8:30 left in the game.

Bluffton used a 6-0 run to cut the deficit to nine and scored the final eight points of the game, outscoring AU 16-4 over the final five minutes. The Beavers had three shots in the final 30 seconds, including a missed 3-pointer at the buzzer.

AU (14-6, 9-3 HCAC) travels to Hanover on Wednesday at 7:30 p.m.