Sparkle Taylor

{{Infobox basketball biography

| name = Sparkle Taylor

| image =

| caption =

| width =

| number = 12

| team = Free Agent

| league = WNBA

| position = Guard

| height_ft = 5

| height_in = 10

| nationality = American

| birth_date = {{birth date and age|1995|7|28}}

| birth_place = Flint, Michigan

| high_school = Northwestern High School
(Flint, Michigan)

| college =

UTEP (2013–2017)

| draft_league = WNBA

| draft_year = 2017

| draft_round =

| draft_pick =

| draft_team =

| career_start = 2017

| years1 = 2017-2018

| team1 = Forex Time Apollon Limassol

| years2 = 2020-2021

| team2 = SPAR Gran Canaria

| years3 = {{WNBA Year|2022}}-Present

| team3 = Chicago Sky

| highlights =

All-CUSA Second Team (2017)
Conference USA Sixth Player of the Year (2016)

}}

Sparkle Taylor (born July 28, 1995) is an American professional basketball player who is a free agent in the Women's National Basketball Association (WNBA). She played college basketball at UTEP. Taylor went undrafted during the 2017 WNBA draft. She appeared in the league in 2022 with the Chicago Sky.

College career

During Taylor's freshman season at UTEP, she was known as someone who wasn't afraid of contact and went to the free throw line often. She got to the line 77 times during that season.{{cite web |title=Sparkle Taylor |url=https://utepminers.com/sports/womens-basketball/roster/sparkle-taylor/1621 |website=utepminers.com |publisher=UTEP Athletics |access-date=May 7, 2022}} In her sophomore season, Taylor was inserted into the starting line up and was second on the team in scoring at 10.3 points. She was moved back to the bench during her junior season and averaged 9.8 points, but was award the C-USA Sixth Woman of the Year award in 2016.{{cite web |last1=Nicolas |first1=Alex |title=UTEP Women's Basketball: Jenzel Nash, Sparkle Taylor named to Preseason All C-USA Team |url=https://www.minerrush.com/2016/10/5/13177832/utep-womens-basketball-jenzel-nash-sparkle-taylor-named-to-preseason-all-c-usa-team |website=minerrush.com |publisher=SB Nation |access-date=May 7, 2022}} Her senior year, Taylor's offense exploded when she went over 18.4 points, 6.4 rebounds, and 1.7 assists. On a team full of freshman, Taylor was called upon to do a lot for the Miners.{{cite web |last1=Bloomquist |first1=Brent |title=Taylor makes mark as one of UTEPs greats |url=https://www.elpasotimes.com/story/sports/college/utep/2017/02/24/sparkle-taylor-best-utep-miners-womens-basketball/98366368/ |website=elpasotimes.com |publisher=El Paso Times}} Taylor scored 34 point in back to back games against North Texas and Rice to become the first player in program history to score 30+ points in back-to-backs. She won the Player of the Week on February 20, 2017, for those efforts.{{cite web |title=UTEP’s Taylor Tabbed C-USA Player of the Week |url=https://elpasoheraldpost.com/utep-sparkle-taylor-cusa-player-of-week/ |website=elpasoheraldpost.com |publisher=El Paso Herald Post |access-date=May 7, 2022}}

College statistics

{{cite web |title=Career Statistics |url=https://utepminers.com/sports/womens-basketball/roster/sparkle-taylor/1621 |website=utepminers.com |publisher=UTEP Athletics |access-date=May 7, 2022}}

class="wikitable"; style="text-align:center"; !Year !Team !GP !Points !FG% !3P% !FT% !RPG !APG !SPG !BPG !PPG
2013–14 \|UTEP \|35 \|191 \|.479 \|.600 \|.654 \|2.6 \|0.3 \|0.5 \|0.1 \|5.5
2014–15 \|UTEP \|28 \|287 \|.436 \|.321 \|.684 \|4.4 \|0.6 \|0.6 \|0.4 \|10.3
2015–16 \|UTEP \|31 \|304 \|.472 \|.200 \|.685 \|3.0 \|0.5 \|0.5 \|0.1 \|9.8
2016–17 \|UTEP \|31 \|304 \|.468 \|.176 \|.781 \|6.4 \|1.7 \|1.3 \|0.2 \|18.4
colspan=2; align=center\|Career !90 !1162 !.427 !.341 !.733 !4.6 !1.0 !0.8 !0.2 !12.9

class="wikitable"; style="text-align:center";

!Year

!Team

!GP

!Points

!FG%

!3P%

!FT%

!RPG

!APG

!SPG

!BPG

!PPG

2013–14

|UTEP

|35

|191

|.479

|.600

|.654

|2.6

|0.3

|0.5

|0.1

|5.5

2014–15

|UTEP

|28

|287

|.436

|.321

|.684

|4.4

|0.6

|0.4

|10.3

2015–16

|UTEP

|31

|304

|.472

|.200

|.685

|3.0

|0.5

|0.1

|9.8

2016–17

|UTEP

|31

|304

|.468

|.176

|.781

|6.4

|1.7

|1.3

|0.2

|18.4

colspan=2; align=center|Career

!90

!1162

!.427

!.341

!.733

!4.6

!1.0

!0.8

!0.2

!12.9

Professional career

=Overseas=

Following her UTEP career, Taylor signed with Forex Time Apollon Limassol basketball club of Cyprus' Divions A league in 2017.{{cite web |title=Former UTEP star, Flint native Sparkle Taylor to start pro career in Cyprus |url=https://www.mlive.com/sports/flint/2017/09/former_utep_star_flint_native.html |website=mlive.com |publisher=Flint Sports |access-date=May 7, 2022}}

In the 2021–2022 season, Taylor played for Satu Mare in the Romania-Liga Nationala. In January 2022, Taylor was averaging 23.3 points, 7.7 rebounds, 2.6 assists, and 1.6 steals.{{cite web |title=The University of Texas at El Paso alumni playing currently pro basketball |url=https://www.usbasket.com/NCAA1/news/727203/Top-The-University-of-Texas-at-El-Paso-alumni-playing-currently-pro-basketball |website=usbasket.com |publisher=US Basket |access-date=May 7, 2022}}

=WNBA=

==Chicago Sky==

Taylor signed a training camp contract with the Chicago Sky in 2021, but did not make the team and was waived from training camp on May 10, 2021.{{cite web |title=Chicago Sky Waive Jessica January, Sparkle Taylor and Sierra Campisano |url=https://sky.wnba.com/news/chicago-sky-waive-jessica-january-sparkle-taylor-and-sierra-campisano/ |website=sky.wnba.com |publisher=WNBA |access-date=May 7, 2022}}

Taylor returned the Sky's training camp in 2022 and was once again waived on May 4, 2022.{{cite web |last1=Costabile |first1=Annie |title=Here’s a look at your 2022 Chicago Sky |url=https://chicago.suntimes.com/chicago-sky-and-wnba/2022/5/4/23057412/chicago-sky-2022-reigning-champs-roster |website=chicago.suntimes.com |publisher=Chicago Sun Times |access-date=May 7, 2022}}{{cite web |title=Chicago Sky Waive Anneli Maley, Kaela Davis, Tina Krajišnik, Sparkle Taylor and Kysre Gondrezick |url=https://www.oursportscentral.com/services/releases/chicago-sky-waive-anneli-maley-kaela-davis-tina-kraji353nik-sparkle-taylor-and-kysre-gondrezick/n-5822277 |website=oursportscentral.com |publisher=Our Sports Central |access-date=May 7, 2022}} Taylor was brought back right before the season opener on a Hardship Contract player due to Chicago's roster having multiple players missing. Taylor made her WNBA debut on May 6, 2022, against the Los Angeles Sparks.{{cite web |last1=Costabile |first1=Annie |title=Allie Quigley ruled out for Sky season opener |url=https://chicago.suntimes.com/chicago-sky-and-wnba/2022/5/5/23059071/allie-quigley-ruled-out-for-sky-season-opener |website=chicago.suntimes.com |publisher=Chicago Sun Times |access-date=May 7, 2022}}{{cite web |title=Final Score: LAS 98, CHI 91 |url=https://sky.wnba.com/news/final-score-las-98-chi-91/ |website=sky.wnba.com |publisher=WNBA |access-date=May 7, 2022}} On May 13, 2022, Taylor was released from her hardship contract after appearing in 2 games with the Sky