Cape senior proves to be a 'tough cover' in reaching milestone

CAPE GIRARDEAU – Cape Central senior guard Taylor Horton has been perfecting her basketball skills “since she was six,” according to her mother, Sherry Horner, and all of her diligence paid off on Thursday, as she not only led the Tigers to a 65-48 thumping of Dexter at Cape Central High School, but she also scored her 1,000th career point in doing so.

“I dreamed of this,” Horton said, “but I never thought it would come true. It’s an honor for it to actually come true.”

Horton scored a team-high 25 points in the win and did so in a variety of ways, which is proving to be routine, according to first-year Tiger coach Aaron Lee.

“Offensively,” Lee said of Horton following his team’s sixth win in seven games, “she can score the ball at all three levels. In (the SEMO Conference), that is very rare.”

Horton buried five three-pointers, and even those were in different ways.

She hit long shots off of drive-and-kicks by her teammates, off the secondary break, and even on a very impressive step-back three.

“She’s really hard to guard,” Lee continued. “She has been exceptional this year, for us.”

There were a couple of regional junior college programs waiting to speak with Horton following the game on Thursday, but at this point, the 5-foot-8 guard is unsure of her plans for the future.

“I’ve been playing for years and years,” Horton said of playing at the next level, “I’m still debating on whether I want to continue playing or just call it.”

Her health is something to take into consideration, in terms of the future. Horton has been diagnosed with a “shifting kneecap,” and she wears a brace on her left leg to hold it in place.

On Thursday, she banged knees with a Dexter defender on a 3-point shot and had a large bag of ice wrapped on it after leaving the game.

“This season has been fun,” Horton said. “There have been a lot of ups and downs, but definitely, this past month has been fun.”

Cape Central has now matched its win totals from each of the past two seasons, and a victory on Monday at New Madrid County Central (2-15) will give the Tigers their best mark since 2020 when they finished 19-9.

Lee said Horton and her senior teammates, Ki Bogan, Keri Williams, and Elizabeth Patrick have been crucial to Cape’s success this season, as it has adapted to a new coach.

“She is phenomenal,” Lee said of Horton. “Number one, as a senior, she is a phenomenal player. She is also a good leader, not only offensively, but her ability to communicate what we need to be doing during timeouts and in games has been instrumental, by her and our other three seniors.”

Horton nailed her 1,000th point In typical Taylor Horton fashion. She drove from the right wing, and with her defender off-balance, she pulled up in the short-corner – stopping on a dime – and knocked in the jumper.

When you can score off the bounce,” Lee explained, “and shoot with range, it makes it hard to cover. Taylor is definitely a tough cover. No question.”