Taylor eager to hit court for Southeast Missouri State women's basketball team

Southeast Missouri State's top women's basketball recruit last season never took the court because of an iron deficiency problem.

Brooke Taylor, who now is 100 percent healthy, is looking forward to showing Redhawks fans what they missed out on a year ago.

"I'm very excited," Taylor said. "I'm so ready."

Taylor came to Southeast after an impressive high school career in Bismarck, Mo., where she was a four-time all-stater.

The 6-foot-1 forward averaged 32.4 points and 13.6 rebounds per game as a junior, followed by a senior season that saw her average 23.8 points and 9.9 rebounds.

Taylor drew the attention of some prominent programs before deciding on Southeast, which then was coached by John Ishee. But her rookie season was a washout.

Taylor barely even was able to practice.

"I don't know what caused it. Maybe going too hard in high school," Taylor said about her iron deficiency issues that always left her feeling run down. "I'd pass out running laps.

"We did some things to get my iron up good, and I've been fine ever since. Playing is fun again, to finally really be able to do it. I've had no problems. I feel really good."

That is good news for first-year Southeast coach Ty Margenthaler, who plans on having Taylor, a redshirt freshman with four seasons of eligibility remaining, as a cornerstone of his rebuilding project.

"I'm really excited about Brooke. She really has a great upside," said Margenthaler, whose squad hosts Harris-Stowe in its only exhibition game Nov. 7 and opens the season Nov. 11 at North Carolina State. "She's long and athletic. She can score from the perimeter and at the rim. She is also coachable and brings a great work ethic."

Taylor said Margenthaler's motion offense should allow her to roam the court in a variety of positions.

"I think coach is going to put us in the positions we need to be," said Taylor, also a three-time all-state high school selection in volleyball. "I can go into the post and get a good mismatch or I can go outside. I think the way we're going to run our offense is going to help a lot."

Since Bismarck is only about a 1 1/2 hour drive from Cape Girardeau and Taylor has a large family, she expects plenty of supporters at the Show Me Center this year.

"I have a big family -- five brothers and five sisters," said Taylor, the youngest of the siblings. "I'm the only one to play sports in college. I know I'll have a lot of people there."

Taylor believes Margenthaler and his assistants are the right staff to turn around the program.

"We're definitely going to surprise some people. It's starting to come together," Taylor said. "I love the coaches. They're so much fun to be around. You can talk to them about anything and you know they're going to give you everything they have to help make you better."