Gill St. Bernard's Taylor Rooks shoots as Franklin's player defends during the Somerset County Tournament girls basketball finals in Franklin.
Daniel Gibson, nj.com, March 6, 2014
This spring Taylor Rooks will graduate, this fall she'll attend Stanford University and suit up for the Cardinal. Her playing days at Gill St. Bernard's will be over but her legacy will remain.
On February 25th Rooks drained a free throw versus Bridgewater-Raritan that etched her name into the Gill St. Bernard's record books. It was her 18th point of the game but on the larger scale it was the 2,489th point of her career, giving her sole possession of the top spot on Gill St. Bernard's girls basketball career scoring list.
Daisha Simmons had set the record with 2,488 career points before her graduation in 2010. At that time, Simmons and Catherine Carr, also of Gill St. Bernard's, were the only two girls in Somerset County history to compile 2,000 career points.
Gill St. Bernard's coach Josuf Dema reflected on Rooks' career, which he hopes to see extend with a deep run in the state tournament.
“Taylor is a unique talent and it's been a pleasure coaching her these last few years,” Dema said. “The scoring record is great and for her an even bigger accomplishment because she has done it while playing against some of the best competition out there year in and year out.”
Rooks and her teammates have been winning while she has racked up stats and Dema views that as an indicator of the type of player she is.
“She also plays on a great team with great players, so for her to have such great individual success while also maintaining a winning culture just shows how unique her talents are,” Dema said. “This is not a situation where it's one player just compiling stats on an average team. She earns everything she gets out there and I could not be more proud of her.”
Rooks currently has 2,532 career points after finishing the Bridgewater-Raritan game with 19, scoring 19 in the county final victory over Franklin on Saturday and putting up 22 versus Moorestown Friends in Tuesday's first round State game. Rooks began her college career at Nichols School in Buffalo, New York, where she recorded 522 points as a freshmen. She has since registered 2,010 points and counting in three season at Gill St. Bernard's.
Another testament to Rooks' focus and consistency is that she has averaged more than 20 points and 10 rebounds per game in each of her four years while playing for four different coaches over that time. Rooks is averaging 24 points, 10 rebounds and three assists per game for her senior year.
Taylor Game Updates
nj.com, March 8, 2014Taylor Rooks chalked up 22 points and six rebounds as Gill St. Bernard's, No. 2 in The Star-Ledger Top 20, defeated Patrick School, 82-24, in the semifinals of the South Jersey, Non-Public B tournament in Gladstone. Gill St. Bernard's will host No. 6 St. Rose in the South Jersey, Non-Public B final on Tuesday.
nj.com, March 6, 2014
Taylor Rooks had 19 as Gill St. Bernard's defeated St. Joseph, 60-57, in the quarterfinal round of the South Jersey, Non-Public B tournament.
nj.com, March 4, 2014
Taylor Rooks had 22 points and four rebounds as Gill St. Bernard's, No. 2 in The Star-Ledger Top 20, defeated Moorestown Friends, 82-24, in the first round of the South Jersey, Non-Public B tournament in Gladstone.
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