In 2013, Olivia-Mcginnis Taylor, a Westside student and former basketball player, unexpectedly passed due to a brain aneurysm. Every year, Westside and Bellevue East play a tribute game in Olivia’s honor. On Saturday, December 18th, Westside and Bellevue East Varsity girls basketball teams competed in their yearly celebration of Olivia’s basketball career. Westside girls coach Steve Clark explained the importance of the game.

“Olivia and a number of our girls, along with Bellevue East players, have played summer ball together with the Retro Hoops team,” Clark said. “Coach James ‘Ice’ Benford runs Retro Hoops and he used to coach at Bellevue East.”

For this reason, this game is important to many of the players on both sides, but this year was especially meaningful for the seniors in particular. Senior forward Elizabeth Robinson, one of Olivia’s teammates and best friends, explains what it means to her.

“The game is very important to me because it keeps her in everyone’s thoughts,” Robinson said. “I think my other teammates not only are impacted by her and everything she stood for but I think they also know how much it means to Jasmine and I. I think everyone just plays a little bit harder and with a little bit more effort because they remember how hard she worked. I think they want to secure the win for us because of how much it means.”

Westside came out on top of the game this year, winning with a final score of 55-32 over Bellevue East. Olivia’s sister, junior Forward Jasmine Mcginnis-Taylor, had a double-double with 14 points and 10 rebounds in the matchup. Clark said Bellevue East’s playstyle wasn’t easy to overcome, which is a testament to Westside’s strength as a team this year.

“Bellevue East is really young, but they play hard, and we were able to match their energy,” Clark said.

Even though a handful of the players that had known Olivia have stopped playing basketball or graduated from Westside and Bellevue, Robinson says that the bond between the two teams is still strong in their memories.

“I think that bond still exists because it’s more than just a game,” Robinson said. “In the end, everyone plays basketball so whether we’re teammates or opponents we’re also still people. Love and people always conquer even the biggest rivalries.”