Turning Ponies into Broncs: Coach Taylor Welcomes the Challenge

Lady Broncs Coach Brooke Taylor welcomes the challenge of being an underdog.

Billings Senior isn’t the school most people mention when talking about basketball in Billings, but first-year varsity coach Brooke Taylor is looking to change that. After a disappointing loss to CMR in the divisional tournament last year, Coach Taylor and the Lady Broncs won’t be taking the competition lightly.

Moving up from coaching JV last season, Coach Taylor is looking to turn ponies into Broncos.

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"A little green", but that's okay.

While the Lady Broncs are involving 5 seniors on their varsity squad, Coach Taylor says they still have a lot to learn. “We might be a little bit green as far as varsity experience, but I think that’s an okay thing.” With the Meyers twins coming back for their final year, Coach Taylor is confident her girls can find success this year.

The whole of the Lady Broncs understand that they have a lot of work to do to get to state, but they’re enjoying the grind. “We have a lot of fun together, but we also work hard.” The Lady Broncs don’t have much size on their squad, with Forward Eva Blatchford (All-State Honorable Mention) being the tallest at 6’.

One goal this season... make it to state.

“It Takes a Team” is more to the Lady Broncs than just a motto, but a symbol of their goal to make it back to state. “I don’t think that they were satisfied last year with not making it to State. It gives us a hunger to work hard and prove ourselves.”

Coach Taylor isn’t coming into Varsity looking to make friends, challenging the girls to get better every day. “Sometimes I ask them if I’m being too tough on them, and they’re like ‘We need that’. We don’t want it to be easy because we know that it's not going to be.”

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Senior heads to Helena for two games this weekend.

Being an underdog isn’t new for Brooke Taylor. The daughter of a coach, Brooke has been around the game for a long time, including coaching stints in both North Carolina and Tennessee.

She previously coached at Fort Campbell High School, a school bordering Tennessee and Kentucky, where she faced historically prestigious basketball schools like Hopkinsville High School. While Senior isn’t a brand-new program, Coach Taylor looks to bring a brand-new title home to the Lady Broncs.

The Lady Broncs started the year 1-1, with a close victory over Hellgate 35-32 to start the year on Friday, and a loss to Sentinel 52-45 on Saturday. They’ll head to Helena to take on Capital and Helena High this weekend.