Taylor Tabbed semifinalist Naismith Women’s Defensive Player of the Year

DURHAM Duke women’s basketball senior Celeste Taylor The Atlanta Tipoff Club announced Monday afternoon that it has been selected as one of 10 semifinalists for the 2023 Naismith Women’s Defensive Player of the Year Award.

In addition to Taylor, Brea Beal (South Carolina), Aliyah Boston (South Carolina), Cameron Brink (Stanford), Brooke Flowers (St. Louis), Taiyanna Jackson (Kansas), Elizabeth Kitley (Virginia Tech), Rayah Marshall ( USC), Aneesah Morrow (DePaul) and Angel Reese (LSU). The four finalists will be announced on March 13, and the winner will be revealed on March 29 at the Naismith Awards press conference in Dallas.

One of the nation’s most elite defenders, Taylor has helped the Duke women’s basketball team boast one of the nation’s best defenses all season long. The Blue Devils currently rank third in the NCAA in scoring defense (50.9) and seventh in scoring defense (34.8) and have held every opponent below their season scoring average, including 15 foes to 50 points or less.

Taylor has been disruptive on the defensive end as he leads the team in total sacks (58) and tackles per game (2.0). Both are tied for fifth in the ACC. He has 16 double-plus games this season, including three or more steals in eight games and at least five steals in three games.

The Valley Stream, NY, product is seventh nationally in defensive steals averaging 3.5 per 40 minutes, while his player defense rating of 73.0 is good for 32nd nationally out of 3,469 players.

Taylor has led the Blue Devils to a 24-5 overall record and second in the ACC with a 14-4 mark. The 24 wins are a program best in 2017-18, while the 14 conference wins are the most since 2012-13.

After earning the No. 2 seed in the upcoming ACC Tournament, Duke will take the court Friday, March 3 at 6:00 p.m. live on the ACC Network for Thursday’s second-round matchup between the winner of North Carolina and No. 10 seed Clemson. and 15-seed Pitt.

Stay up-to-date on Duke women’s basketball by following the team on Twitter, Instagram and Facebook by searching for “DukeWBB.”

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