Individual Career Highlights:
• 2012 Lacrosse Honda Sports Award winner (national player of the year)
• 2011 IWLCA National Defender of the Year
• 2012 Tewaaraton Award finalist and 2013 Tewaaraton nominee
• Second four-time IWLCA All-American in program history (three first-team, one third-team)
• Northwestern Athletics' 2012 nominee for Suzy Favor Big Ten Female Athlete of the Year award and for 2013 NCAA Woman of the Year award
• 2012 American Lacrosse Conference Player of the Year
• Four-time All-American Lacrosse Conference selection
• Graduated ranked second on NU's career ground balls list (178), third in caused turnovers (101) and tied for sixth in career draw controls (198)
• Two-year team co-captain
T. Thornton -- SI.com Female AOTY Nominee | Story
2013: Started all 90 games of her Northwestern career ... 2013 Tewaaraton Award nominee ... Earned third straight IWLCA first-team All-America honor, making her the second four-time All-American in NU history ... Tabbed WomensLax.com Midfield Player of the Year ... Named first-team All-ALC and to the ALC All-Tournament Team ... One of five female finalists for Sports Illustrated female College Athlete of the Year award ... Finished her career ranked second on NU's career ground balls list (178), third in caused turnovers (101) and tied for sixth in career draw controls (198) ... 2013 co-captain ... Scored two goals against both Team England and Team USA in preseason Champion Challenge ... Recorded a pair of two-goal games in wins over UMass and USC, adding two caused turnovers in each game ... One goal and two ground balls at UNC ... Stuffed the stat sheet with five draw controls, four ground balls and a career-best five caused turnovers at Vanderbilt ... Named ALC Defensive Player of the Week (Feb. 25) ... Game-high five draw controls vs. Boston College ... One goal and three draw controls vs. Johns Hopkins ... Scored a pair of free position goals at Navy ... Collected five draw controls and three ground balls against Harvard ... Led Northwestern to a come-from-behind 9-8 win over Ohio State with a career-best four goals (and four points), including three straight in the second half ... Team-high four ground balls to go with the game-tying goal in a 13-12 win vs. Syracuse ... Scored two goals each against Penn State and Virginia ... Totaled three points (2g, 1a) vs. Stanford, extending her streak of consecutive games with a goal to seven ... Five ground balls and two draw controls against Notre Dame ... Contributed one goal and one assist vs. Penn ... Scored two goals and notched three caused turnovers in a 9-8 overtime win vs. Penn State in ALC semifinals ... Netted a hat trick and four points, plus four draw controls and three caused turnovers, in NCAA Tournament vs. Stanford ... Scored a goal, captured five draw controls and fielded five ground balls in NCAA quarterfinal win over Penn State ... Played in her final game vs. North Carolina in national semifinals ... Big Ten Distinguished Scholar (3.7 GPA or above) and Academic All-Big Ten.
2012: Proved herself as one of the nation's most outstanding players at both ends of the field ... Winner of Lacrosse Honda Sports Award as the national player of the year ... One of five Tewaaraton Award finalists, the first on the men's or women's side to hail from Texas ... First-team IWLCA All-American ... 2012 American Lacrosse Conference Player of the Year ... First-team All-American Lacrosse Conference ... Team co-captain ... Tied NU single-season record with 58 ground balls on the year ... Career-best 33 goals, including the game-winner in the NCAA championship game win over Syracuse ... Scored NU's first goal of the season just 32 seconds into the game and finished with two goals, five draws and three caused turnovers at Stanford ... Four ground balls vs. No. 5 Duke ... Named ALC Defensive Player of the Week on Feb. 21 ... One goal, three ground balls and three draw controls vs. Oregon ... Three goals in win over William & Mary, to go with six draw controls and three ground balls ... Five draw controls against both UMass and Vanderbilt, also notching her second hat trick vs. Vandy ... One goal, four ground balls and three caused turnovers vs. Navy ... Shattered a career-best with nine draw controls vs. Ohio State, also adding a goal to a 13-12 overtime win ... One goal and four draw controls at Penn State ... Two goals and three draw controls at Penn ... Set a career best with six ground balls and added two goals in win over No. 3 UNC ... One goal and one assist vs. Florida ... Five ground balls, three caused turnovers and one goal vs. Notre Dame ... Two key goals in NU's comeback win vs. Virginia ... Notched two-goal games in both ALC Tournament outings, earning All-Tournament Team honors ... Made it four straight two-goal games with a pair of tallies and five ground balls vs. Notre Dame ... Four ground balls, three caused turnovers and one goal vs. Duke in quarterfinals ... Collected seven draw controls with two goals while guarding Tewaaraton Award winner Katie Schwarzmann of Maryland ... Game-winning goal in championship game broke a 6-6 tie with 9:55 remaining ... Named to NCAA Championship All-Tournament Team ... Academic All-Big Ten.
2011: Established herself as a premier one-on-one defender and started all 23 games ... First-team IWLCA All-American selection ... IWLCA Division I Defender of the Year ... WomensLax.com Defender of the Year and All-American ... First-team All-American Lacrosse Conference and first-team All-West Region ... Named to all-tournament teams for ALC Championship and NCAA Championship ... Scored 14 goals and added one assist ... Notched the game-winning goal in a 7-6 overtime victory at No. 3 North Carolina (2/25) and was named Inside Lacrosse's National Player of the Week, ALC Defensive Player of the Week and WomensLax.com'sNational Defensive Player of the Week ... Led Northwestern with 38 ground balls and ranked third with 49 draw controls ... Collected five ground balls against both Georgetown (3/5) and Albany (5/21) ... Four games with five draw controls (at Georgetown, at Massachusetts, at Florida and vs. Stanford) ... 15 caused turnovers, including a season-high three at North Carolina ... Held nation's leading goal-scorer, Kitty Cullen of Florida, without a goal in 10-9 ALC Championship game win, and UNC senior Corey Donahoe without a point in Feb. 25 win ... Instrumental in NU's defensive clears ... Two-goal game vs. Penn State (4/8) ... Started season with one goal in first six games ... Academic All-Big Ten ... Following the season, earned a spot on the 2011-12 United States Senior National Team.
2010: Made an immediate impact in her freshman campaign for Northwestern, starting all 22 games ... IWLCA third team All-American ... Earned second team All-America honors from WomensLacrosse.com and was named to the All-Rookie Team ... All-American Lacrosse Conference second team selection and named to ALC all-tournament team ... Two-time ALC Rookie of the Week (4/12 and 5/3) and Defensive Player of the Week selection (3/29) ... Helped Northwestern hold opponents to just 8.78 goals per game, the ninth-lowest total in the country ... Led the Wildcats with 29 caused turnovers, including four each against Duquesne (3/12), at Ohio State (3/24) and against Johns Hopkins (4/16) ... Caused three turnovers at California (2/28), against Virginia (4/30) and against Vanderbilt (5/8) in the ALC title game ... Ranked second on the squad with 38 ground balls, tying a career-best with four on five different occasions ... Tallied 33 draw controls on the year, highlighted by a personal-best five against North Carolina (4/18) and Notre Dame (5/15) ... Won four draws in the NCAA championship game against Maryland (5/30) ... Also contributed offensively, racking up five goals and dishing out three assists on the year ... Found the back of the net at California (2/28), at Penn State (4/11), against Florida (5/2), against Vanderbilt (5/8) and in the title game against the Terrapins ... Dished out a helper in her collegiate debut against Massachusetts (2/6) and again at Stanford (2/26) and at Ohio State (3/24).
High School: Four-year letter winner and varsity starter at the Hockaday School ... 2009 Team Captain and MVP ... First team All-American selection in 2008 and 2009 ... Two-time Texas Player of the Year (2008 and 2009) ... Two-time Area Player of the Year and North District MVP ... Three-time All-State selection ... Four-time All-Southwest Preparatory Conference selection ... Named North District All Star all four years ... Helped lead the Daisies to the 2009 and 2008 Texas State Championship, marking the school's first state titles ... North District champions in 2007 and 2008 ... Helped Hockaday capture 2007 SPC championship ... Heather Leigh Albert Finalist in 2007, finishing among top five of 1200 participants ... Four-year letter winner and starter for field hockey team where she led the team in scoring all four years ... 2008 Team Captain ...Two-time team MVP and three-time All -Conference selection ... Led Field Hockey team to first SPC Championship in 2007 ... 2008 National Field Hockey Academic Team ...One varsity letter in Basketball as a freshman...Started at point guard in basketball, leading team in assists ... Nine varsity letters ... 2009 Hockaday Athlete of the Year ... Four-year High Honor Roll student ... Student Council President as a senior ... Also served as Student Council Secretary (sophomore) and Freshman Class President ... Three-year Community Service Board member.
Personal: Born Taylor Alexis Thornton ... Daughter of Steve and Janice Thornton ... Brother Blakely played football at Penn ... Majoring in communication studies.
Thornton's Career Highs
| Goals | 4, vs. Ohio State (3/27/13) |
| Assists | 1, six times, most recent vs.Stanford (4/14/13) |
| Points | 4, two times, most recent vs. Stanford (5/12/13) |
| Ground Balls | 6, vs. North Carolina (April 13, 2012) |
| Draw Controls | 9, vs. Ohio State (3/31/12) |
| Caused Turnovers | 5, at Vanderbilt (2/24/13) |