When Taylor George arrived with her Brooklyn College teammates to begin the Division III NCAA basketball tournament at Bowdoin College in Maine, she was hopeful that she could extend her season and her career as the tournament got underway in early March.

The Bulldogs made it to the tourney by winning their conference. It was the second time they won the The City University of New York Athletic Conference (CUNYAC) championship, with the first coming in her rookie season as she scored 15 points in the win over Staten Island to claim the title.

George, who graduated form Whitehall in 2016, was now competing at Bowdoin College along with 10 other schools for the opportunity to advance in the NCAA tourney which was held March 6-7 at their Brunswick campus. George’s Bulldogs were facing top-seeded Bowdoin, the tourney’s host. However, they weren’t able to topple the Polar Bears, losing 90-51 in the regional round.

Unlike so many other college athletes competing in winter and spring sports, George’s season ended on the basketball court. The D-III season got suspended, and ultimately canceled, immediately after that Saturday’s games. It was also the final game of her career.

And what a career it was. She was the CUNYAC Rookie of the Year in 2017-18. That distinction led her to be named as the Eastern Conference Athletic Conference Rookie of the Year for Division III women’s basketball players as well.

George was also the CUNYAC/Hospital for Special Surgery Scholar-Athlete of the Month on multiple occasions in recognition of her 3.76 GPA in Speech Pathology.

She was a CUNYAC First Team Second Team All-Star selection this season. She also garnered a Second Team All-Star nod last season.

George scored her 1,000th point on Jan. 31 during a game against Hunter College, sinking a three-pointer in the first half to reach the milestone.

She scored her final points in the loss against the Polar Bears, ending her distinguished career with 1,100 points. That ranks her fourth among the Bulldog’s all-time scoring leaders.

Still, with the loss came the realization that it may be the last time she puts on a uniform.

“It was definitely upsetting and very emotional,” said George who’s back home in Whitehall.

She said that a lot of that emotion stemmed from being so close to this year’s squad. She became a mentor to the younger players, often receiving text messages from the underclassmen who told her how much her presence on and off the court impacted them.

“We were all really close this year,” said George. “It was my favorite team.”

It was also the sudden end to a sport she’s played competitively since youth programs. She spent long hours on the hardwood, experiencing the highs and lows of a student-athlete, both in high school and college.

“I knew I would never get those moments back,” she said.

George said that her final season got off to a rocky start. They were 5-4 after their Jan. 3 loss to New York University. However, they lost just three more times, finishing the year 21-7 en route to the conference title.

George said that the team just responded after that sputtering a bit, and that was helped by the intensity in practice. She also said that they had fun together, a bunch of different personalities melding together for a common cause.

“It just showed how close we were as a team.” George said.

As the season progressed, and the wins stared to accumulate, she knew that there would eventually be some finality.

“It just made me realize how much I was going to miss this,” said George. “In the beginning we were struggling with out nonconference games, but we improved so much.”

George, who’s listed at 5-0, was invariably the shortest player when she took the court as a Zephyr. That was true in college, but she never had trouble getting her shot off, and her ability to free herself for open shots was aided by head coach Alex Lang, who made her the two guard. George played point guard in high school, but Lang decided to use her speed to her advantage by installing her as the shooting guard.

“He wanted to get me out in transition where I could focus on attacking the basket, distributing the ball, or setting up as a shooter on the perimeter,” said George.

She was also surrounded by great teammates who were capable scorers as well so defenders couldn’t focus solely on her.

She was also grateful to her professors who challenged her in the classroom. They hammered home the need to get good grades if she wanted to continue toward a master’s degree. She said the classroom will take you where you want to go.

George still has one year of eligibility left, but while she believes her playing days are over, she still wants to be involved in basketball. With graduate school on the horizon, George said that a position as a graduate assistant would be welcome.

“I’m looking to see if any of those opportunities come my way,” she said.

She’s currently mulling over two schools to pursue her master’s degree in speech pathology. She was originally leaning toward Moravian with its excellent academic reputation. It’s a relatively new program she said, but she’s confident it will be top notch.

However, East Stroudsburg University has entered the mix as well, and they represent an institution that has an established program. She said she’s met everyone at Moravian, but with the current situation, she has yet to meet with anyone at ESU.

George’s adopted home the last three years has become the epicenter of the coronavirus in the U.S. Situated in Brooklyn, it’s just a short train ride to Manhattan and Queens where the cases have exploded. George said that she only had three credits remaining after the final game on March 6, and had planned to come home, finishing up her spring semester online. She said that everyone was conscious of the uncertainty surrounding the situation as the games got underway at Bowdoin, and still has many friends and teammates who live in the city. George’s time at Brooklyn College was defined by what she learned at Whitehall as a multisport athlete. She said that balancing school work and sports was something she had to do since her freshman season, and that became her way of life the next four years at Whitehall. That became the template while at Brooklyn, allowing her to succeed.

Now she’s preparing for the next phase of her life. It may be on hold for the moment, but she’s adjusting.