Retiring veteran Penny Taylor determined to go out on top

PENNY Taylor is close to retirement and knows her time in Rio is the last shot she’ll get at winning Olympic gold. She’s determined not to go quietly into the night.

Australia's forward Penny Taylor is determined to go out on top.

PENNY Taylor knows she is running out of time.

The clock is ticking on a meteoric career that will officially end with the WNBA season in October and could draw its final Olympic breath by Thursday morning.

The 35-year-old WNBA trailblazer will retire at season’s end, with Australia’s Opals finally into the cutthroat quarterfinal against Serbia.

There is still so much still to achieve (that elusive Olympic gold medal), so much tribute still to pay (she continues to honour parents Denna and Michael, both lost recently to cancer).

The woman who became a professional at age 15 is determined not to go quietly into the night.

The three-time WNBA champion and tournament MVP of Australia’s 2006 world championships victory is still Australia’s go-to playmaker.

Penny Taylor is aiming for Olympic gold.

Twice in these championships when all has seemed to be lost Taylor and Elizabeth Cambage have shared a knowing glance, rolled up their sleeves and gone to work.

Then masterminded comebacks from 16 and 13 points against Japan and Belarus respectively.

Now budding coach Taylor is enough of a basketball student to realise quarter-final opponent Serbia will be far from a walk in the park.

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Her Phoenix teammate Sonja Petrovic is a wily small forward, with the Serbian team’s shock run at the European qualifiers earning the world no. 14 their first Olympic berth.

When Taylor missed games with a hip injury pre-Olympics it was Petrovic starting in her place for the Phoenix.

“We had a scrimmage against them right before (the Olympics) so we are fairly familiar but I played with Sonia Petrovic and a few of the other girls and a couple of our girls played with some of them in France so we are familiar,’’ says Taylor.

“But they are a balls-out team, they throw everything at you, they are a very smart basketball team that reads the game very well, so it will be interesting.

“The (scrimmage) was good, we didn’t score or anything, but everyone played and everything worked on their stuff.”

Australia’s stuff is damned good, easily good enough to progress through to a gold medal game against America.

Mum and Dad are seen written on the shoes of Penny Taylor.

But four times in five pool games they have trailed at half time, and Taylor says it is enough of a pattern to be of concern.

“It’s a little bit annoying because we put ourselves in those positions where we can do better,’’ says Taylor.

“It’s a little bit frustrating. Even though (Belarus) came out determined and there wasn’t really anything on the line for us we want to keep getting better.

“In the fourth quarter we showed resilience but we don’t want to keep putting ourselves in those positions.”

Taylor knows by the 2020 Olympics she might be sitting on the sidelines as an Australian assistant, already looking at most games with an eye to her coaching future.

But for the moment she is on the way out like few in professional sport — at the top of her game — and still chasing the ultimate Olympic dream.

Originally published as Retiring veteran Penny Taylor determined to go out on top