{"id":24463,"date":"2024-12-11T23:12:40","date_gmt":"2024-12-12T06:12:40","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/dh.durangoherald.com\/tj\/m-chs-senior-taylor-whited-looks-to-make-historic-season\/"},"modified":"2026-03-30T22:54:15","modified_gmt":"2026-03-31T04:54:15","slug":"m-chs-senior-taylor-whited-looks-to-make-historic-season","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/dh.durangoherald.com\/tj\/m-chs-senior-taylor-whited-looks-to-make-historic-season\/","title":{"rendered":"M-CHS senior Taylor Whited looks to make historic season"},"content":{"rendered":"

\"Montezuma-Cortez
Montezuma-Cortez sophomore Taylor Whited, left, retracts the ball to deny Bayfield's Genesis Barrera a steal during 3A IML District Tournament play-in action Tuesday at M-CHS. The Panthers won 43-32. (Joel Priest\/Special to the Herald)<\/span>cca<\/span><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<\/p>\n

In her final year of playing high school basketball, Taylor Whited is playing with a bigger purpose.<\/p>\n

The Montezuma-Cortez senior has grown each season since her freshman year, becoming the team\u2019s top returning scorer and leader in assists and steals, thanks to her dedication and hard work as a driving force for the Panthers.<\/p>\n

Since her freshman year, Montezuma-Cortez has steadily climbed higher in league standings. Whited, along with teammates Kalea Ogo and Sariah Jackson, has been central to that progress.<\/p>\n

Whited earned her first 3A all-state honorable mention recognition last season after helping the Panthers reach the 3A Sweet 16 and secure third place in both the Intermountain League and district tournament \u2013 one of the team\u2019s best finishes in recent years.<\/p>\n

This year, Whited has taken on the role of team leader, focusing on elevating her game and advancing girls basketball with strong support from her community.<\/p>\n

\"Taylor
Taylor Whited goes up for a layup in a contest against Centauri at Montezuma-Cortez in January. (Ben Bradley\/Special to The Journal)<\/span>Ben Bradley<\/span><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n
\"Taylor
Taylor Whited goes up for a layup against Centauri at Montezuma-Cortez High School. (Ben Bradley\/Special to The Journal)<\/span>Ben Bradley<\/span><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<\/p>

With her success, Whited credits the growth of her game to her growing confidence on the court and working with her teammates to make plays on offense. The Panthers under sixth-year head coach Brad Wright pride themselves on high intensity and turning hounding defense into quick opportunities at the other end.<\/p>\n

\u201cOn defense and on offense, I\u2019m more aggressive,\u201d Whited said, who sees herself in control of the operation of the Panthers action sets in the half-court. \u201cWorking with my team on running an offense has helped us out a lot.\u201d<\/p>\n

Whited\u2019s aggressive play has made her a vital asset to the Panthers\u2019 success \u2013 last season, she ranked second in team scoring, averaging 11.1 points, along with providing 2.4 assists and 3.1 steals per game.<\/p>\n

This year, she aims to build on that success while preparing for the transition to college basketball \u2013 a goal she has dreamed of since childhood.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt\u2019s been my dream since I was little,\u201d Whited said. \u201cI love the sport of basketball, and I love competing. Getting the opportunity to continue my basketball career would be amazing.\u201d<\/p>\n

High school athletes seek different ways to stand out from the rest of the crowd to be recruited to play at the college level and for Whited, she plans to stand out to scouts by highlighting her leadership on the court.<\/p>\n

\u201cI want to be focused on playing my role as point guard and doing my job to best benefit my teammates,\u201d Whited said.<\/p>\n

Whited\u2019s journey has not been a solo effort. Her community has been a constant source of encouragement, influencing her to become a better player, and said her father and teammates have been her pillars of support.<\/p>\n

\u201cI got a lot of support from the community. My dad\u2019s been huge for me. He\u2019s pushed me every day and tried to get me to be the best I can be,\u201d she said. \u201cMy teammates are constantly encouraging me and are such a positive team to have around me.<\/p>\n

The support has driven her to set her sights higher \u2013 not just for herself but the entire Montezuma-Cortez girls basketball program.<\/p>\n

\u201cLast year, we definitely had a good standing for our girls basketball program, but I think this year it\u2019s just making it even farther than we did last year,\u201d Whited said. \u201cWe\u2019re a group of girls that work really hard and are very passionate about this sport. We\u2019re playing and practicing hard to get some wins and recognition for our team.\u201d<\/p>\n

This year presents new challenges for the anthers as they move into the 4A class division. Their 2024-2025 schedule includes competitions against 4A schools Alamosa and Pagosa Springs and 5A schools Durango and Montrose. Whited is confident in the team\u2019s ability to rise to the occasion.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe just need to keep working hard, staying focused, and do our job,\u201d she said. \u201cWe\u2019ll do fine.\u201d<\/p>\n

The Panthers will head to Aztec for the Rumble in the Jungle Invitational on Dec. 19-21. After the New Year, they will face the Lady Demons in an away game at Durango on Jan. 7, followed by the start of league play against Centauri in La Jara on Jan. 17.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Panthers point guard aims to lead team to state and play at the next level<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":24464,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[],"tags":[28,29],"naviga_topic":[],"class_list":["post-24463","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","tag-headlines","tag-newsletter"],"acf":[],"author_name":"dh_admin","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/dh.durangoherald.com\/tj\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/24463","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/dh.durangoherald.com\/tj\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/dh.durangoherald.com\/tj\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/dh.durangoherald.com\/tj\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/dh.durangoherald.com\/tj\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=24463"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/dh.durangoherald.com\/tj\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/24463\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":78539,"href":"https:\/\/dh.durangoherald.com\/tj\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/24463\/revisions\/78539"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/dh.durangoherald.com\/tj\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/24464"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/dh.durangoherald.com\/tj\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=24463"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/dh.durangoherald.com\/tj\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=24463"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/dh.durangoherald.com\/tj\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=24463"},{"taxonomy":"naviga_topic","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/dh.durangoherald.com\/tj\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/naviga_topic?post=24463"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}