Career Honors
2013-14 Big Ten Defensive Player of the Year
2013-14 Big Ten All-Defensive Team (unanimous)
2013-14 All-Big Ten Second Team
2013-14 Academic All-Big Ten
2013 Big Ten All-Defensive Team
2012-13 Academic All-Big Ten
2008-09 McDonald's High School All-America
2008-09 Delaware Gatorade Player of the Year
2013-14
2014 Big Ten Defensive Player of the Year, becoming the second Lady Lion (Tanisha Wright - 2003, 2004, 2005) to win the award ... Earned second-straight Big Ten All-Defensive team selection and was a unanimous choice ... Named to the All-Big Ten second team by the coaches and media ... Selected Academic All-Big Ten ... Collected the team’s Collegiate Pride Defensive Player of the Year ... Also took home the team’s Academic Achievement Award ... Ranks 18th in Penn State history with 262 assists ... Finished her career fifth in school history in steals average (2.6) and 12th in assist average (4.1) ... Ranks 24th on the program’s career steals list with 164 thefts in two seasons ... Was fourth in the Big Ten and 64th nationally in assists (4.8) ... Led the conference and was 17th in NCAA Division I in steals (2.7) ... Ranked seventh in the Big Ten in assist-to-turnover ratio (1.5) ... Posted personal season highs in points and steals ... Reached the 800-point mark of her collegiate career with 14 points against Ohio State (3/7) ... Surpassed the 500-assist mark for her collegiate career versus Florida (3/25) ... Reached the 500-point milestone for her Lady Lion career against Indiana (2/13) ... Reached the 300-rebound mark for her collegiate career in the win over Minnesota (1/26) ... Selected to the Big Ten Weekly Honor Roll on Dec. 23 ... Surpassed the 200-steal mark for her collegiate career against Michigan State (1/19) ... Reached the 200-assist milestone for her Lady Lion career at Purdue (1/30), becoming the 30th player in program history to accomplish the feat ... Named to Junkanoo Jam All-Tournament team after averaging 11.0 points, 4.5 assists and 3.0 steals in two wins for the Lady Lions ... Completed her collegiate career with 11 points, two assists and two steals against Stanford in the NCAA Regional Semifinals (3/30) ... Poured in a career-high 22 points, going 8-of-13 from the field, 1-of-2 from distance and 5-of-7 from the free throw line, while matching her career high in rebounds with eight and adding four assists and a steal in the NCAA Tournament Second Round win over Florida (3/25) ... Had 14 points to go along with eight assists and five rebounds against Ohio State in the Big Ten Tournament (3/7) ... Pulled down a season-high seven rebounds and added 11 points, four assists, and a steal in the win over Northwestern (2/20) ... Registered 12 points on 5-of-11 shooting and added eight assists, six rebounds and three steals in the road win at Indiana (2/13) ... Hit five buckets from the field to score 12 points and added four rebounds, six assists and a steal in the win over Ohio State (2/9) ... Recorded 10 points, three steals and two assists versus Iowa (2/6) ... Had 11 points, while adding five assists, three steals and a rebound in the win at Northwestern (2/2) ... Had 13 points, eight assists, six rebounds and three steals in the win over Purdue (1/30) ... Posted her first double-double as a Lady Lion with 15 points and a Penn State career-high 10 assists, while adding four steals in the victory over Minnesota (1/27) ... Scored 18 points in the win over Michigan State (1/19) with10 of her 18 points coming from the free throw line. Added four rebounds, four steals, and two assists in the victory ... Totaled 13 points and dished out six assists while recording a block, a steal and a rebound against Purdue (1/12) ... Tallied 17 points, shooting 6-of-11 from the field. Dished out four assists and grabbed two steals on the road against Illinois (1/9) ... Scored 17 points on 6-of-12 shooting while adding five boards, four assists and two steals in the Big Ten opening win over Iowa (1/5) ... Notched 20 points on 9-of-12 shooting and tied her personal mark for steals with seven thefts in the win over Alcorn State (12/22) ... Poured in 19 points on 8-of-14 shooting from the field and added five assists, two steals and two rebounds at South Dakota State (12/11) ... Scored 12 points and added six assists, five rebounds and a steal in the win over Georgetown (12/8) ... Posted 14 points, six assists, three rebounds and three steals against #4/5 Notre Dame (12/4) ... Started the season in style with 14 points, six assists and three steals in the season opener against St. Francis (Pa.) (11/8).
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2012-13
Selected to Big Ten All-Defensive Team ... Named the team's Collegiate Pride Defensive Player of the Year ... Also took home the team's Academic Achievement Award ... Surpassed the 300-assist mark for her collegiate career with six helpers against Wisconsin (1/17) ... Registered a career-high 18 points via a 7-for-10 shooting night, including make three of her four attempts from downtown, at Michigan State (1/6) ... Knocked down a career-high three shots from beyond the arc en route to 15 points, which ties her career high as a Penn Stater in the win at Virginia Tech (12/12) ... Had her biggest scoring output in a Penn State uniform with 15 points to go along with three rebounds and five assists in her first PSU start against FDU (12/2) ... Had six points and six assists against LSU (3/26) ... Scored nine points to go along with four assists and two steals in 28 minutes of action in the Big Ten Quarterfinals versus Ohio State (3/8) ... Tallied four points, two assists and one steal in 28 minutes of action in the win at Nebraska (3/3) ... Posted nine points to go along with three assists and a game-best five steals at Minnesota (2/28) ... Chipped in nine points on 4-for-8 shooting with three rebounds, four assists and five steals in the win over Illinois (2/20) ... Recorded 10 points with five rebounds, three assists and a steal at Indiana (2/7) ... Scored 10 points in the first half, including knocking down both of her three-point attempts, to compliment two rebounds, two assists and three steals at Wisconsin (1/31) ... Tallied five points to go along with six rebounds, two assists and a pair of steals in the win at Michigan (1/21) ... Was 3-for-5 from the field, including 2-for-3 from three-point range, en route to eight points, a Penn State career-high seven rebounds, six assists and four steals against Wisconsin (1/17) ... Had seven points to go along with three rebounds, eight assists and a trio of steals in the win over Nebraska (1/13) ... Nabbed a career-high seven steals, which pushed her over the 100-steal mark for her career, to go along with nine points in the Big Ten opener against Northwestern (1/3) ... Recorded six points, two rebounds and a PSU career best eight assists in the win over NJIT (12/23) ... Chipped in seven points, five rebounds, five assists and two steals in the win over Georgetown (12/9) ... Tallied eight points, four rebounds and two assists at #2 Connecticut (12/6) ... Notched six points, six rebounds, three assists and a pair of steals in 33 minutes of action at Miami (11/29) ... Accounted for four points, two assists and three steals in the win over Detroit (11/23) ... Filled the stat sheet with three points, five rebounds, six assists and two steals against Lafayette (11/18) ... Was 4-for-8 from the field en route to eight points with three assists and five steals in the victory at #16/13 Texas A&M (11/14) ... Registered five points, four rebounds and three assists in her first game as a Lady Lion against Howard (11/11).
2011-12
Sat out the 2011-12 season due to NCAA transfer rules ... Earned the team's Tom Caldwell "Unsung Hero" Award.
2010-11 (at Maryland)
Had two points, two steals and four assists in the NCAA Tournament game against Georgetown (3/22) ... Tallied three points, three steals and two assists in the NCAA Tournament win over St. Francis (Pa.) ... Made both of her shots from the field en route to four points and two steals versus North Carolina State (2/6) ... Registered six points, four steals and four assists in the win over Saint Joseph's (1/2) ... Dished out four assists against La Salle (12/28) ... Notched five dimes against Delaware State (12/19) ... Was 3-for-4 from the field and finished with seven points and three assists in the win over UMBC (12/10) ... Accounted for four assists and four steals at Purdue (12/2) ... Tallied six points, five assists, four rebounds and a steal in the win over East Carolina (11/26) ... Recorded five points and five assists in the victory over Towson (11/18) ... Opened the season with two points, three assists and a steal in the win over Monmouth (11/13).
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2009-10 (at Maryland)
Broke Maryland's freshman season assists record with 171 helpers .... Recorded more than six assists in 15 of 27 starts ... Finished third in the ACC in assists and sixth in assist-to-turnover ratio (1.2) ... Grabbed career-high eight rebounds in WNIT Second Round win over East Carolina (3/21) ... Contributed 10 points in ACC Tournament win over North Carolina (3/4) ... Netted a career-high 17 points on 7-of-12 shooting against Clemson (2/14) ... Made 7-of-10 free throws to help clinch the win over Wake Forest (2/11) ... Finished the game with nine points and two steals against the Demon Deacons ... Accounted for nine assists at Virginia Tech (1/28) ... Had six points, eight assists and seven rebounds versus Boston College (1/14) ... Notched first career double-double with 10 points and career-high 11 assists at No. 19/21 Virginia (1/11) ... Also added three steals and four rebounds versus the Cavaliers ... Dished out eight assists versus Saint Joseph's (1/3) ... Notched nine points, eight assists and four rebounds versus UNC-Wilmington (12/29) ... Recorded nine points and three rebounds versus Minnesota (12/3) in the Big Ten/ACC Challenge ... Had six points and six assists in the win over Howard (11/27) ... Accounted for 11 points with seven assists in a win over Samford (11/24) ... Tallied nine points, two steals and an assist in her first career start at Mississippi State (11/22) ... Chipped in six points, nine assists and five rebounds against Old Dominion (11/19) ... Had 10 points with five assists in win against New Hampshire (11/16) ... Posted nine points, five assists and career-high six steals in collegiate debut against North Carolina Central (11/14).
HIGH SCHOOL
McDonald's High School All-American ... 52nd-ranked player by ESPN/HoopGurlz out of Caravel Academy ... 2009 Delaware Gatorade Player of the Year ... Two-time All-State selection with a first team berth as a senior and a second team nod as a junior ...1,192 career points at Caravel Academy ... Averaged 17.8 points, 5.5 assists, 5.0 rebounds and 5.0 steals per game as a senior ... Led the Buccaneers to the Delaware State Quarterfinals as a senior ... Named to the DelawareGirlsBasketball.com All-Decade (2000-09) visitor's poll first team ... Selected to the Delaware's Finest third team All-Decade (2000-09) team ... Played AAU for the Philly Belles alongside Lady Lion teammate Maggie Lucas ... AAU team won the 2007 USJN in Cincinnati and were the 15u and 16u Mid-Atlantic Champions ... Also participated in track & field at Caravel Academy, finishing fifth in the state in the high jump, long jump and 4x100 relay in 2009.
PERSONAL
Full name is Dara Nailah Taylor ... Born January 16, 1991 in Manhattan, New York ... Parents are Jo and Ron Taylor ... Has one brother, Ron Jr. ... Graduated in May 2014 with a degree in communication, arts and sciences with a minor in recreation, park and tourism management.
TAYLOR'S CAREER STATS
| Year | GP-GS | MIN | FG-A | PCT | 3FG-A | PCT | FT-A | PCT | REB | AVG | PF-O | A | TO | B | S | PTS | AVG |
| 2009-10* | 34-27 | 916 | 70-195 | .359 | 9-41 | .220 | 38-76 | .500 | 32-80-112 | 3.3 | 78-2 | 171 | 147 | 2 | 40 | 187 | 5.5 |
| 2010-11* | 32-1 | 439 | 19-60 | .317 | 3-23 | .130 | 14-20 | .700 | 8-31-39 | 1.2 | 40-0 | 71 | 67 | 1 | 35 | 55 | 1.7 |
| 2012-13 | 32-25 | 871 | 86-225 | .382 | 18-61 | .295 | 33-53 | .623 | 28-73-101 | 3.2 | 80-1 | 108 | 89 | 4 | 77 | 223 | 7.0 |
| 2013-14 | 32-32 | 1101 | 143-363 | .394 | 20-70 | .286 | 69-92 | .750 | 31-70-101 | 3.2 | 72-1 | 154 | 105 | 5 | 87 | 375 | 11.7 |
| PSU | 64-57 | 1972 | 229-588 | .389 | 38-131 | .290 | 102-145 | .703 | 59-143-202 | 3.2 | 152-2 | 262 | 194 | 9 | 164 | 598 | 9.3 |
| CAREER | 130-85 | 3327 | 318-843 | .377 | 50-195 | .256 | 154-241 | .639 | 99-254-353 | 2.7 | 270-4 | 504 | 408 | 12 | 239 | 840 | 6.5 |
* - freshman and sophomore season statistics from Maryland.
Sat out the 2011-12 season due to NCAA Transfer Rules.