Ever since identical twins Briauna and Brittany Taylor began playing basketball together, they have left fans, coaches and opponents with double vision.

The pair of Grand Valley State University sophomores has garnered plenty of attention for their mirror-image looks and also for their dominance on the basketball court.

This season, the Taylors each have been a key piece to the No. 14 women’s basketball team’s 4-0 start, thanks in part to their knowledge of each other’s playing styles on the court. Both sisters said they pick up on many subtleties of the other’s games that teammates may not be able to sense.

“Because we’ve played with each other for so long we know exactly where each other are going to be,” Brittany said.

The twins not only look strikingly similar, but they also share similar interests off the court. Briauna and Brittany both major in pre-nursing, and academics, more so than athletics, drove the duo’s decision to attend GVSU.

“We wanted to go to the same school, so for us it was all academics,” Briauna said. “Wherever we could get the best academic package, that’s where we went.”

The pair is more than used to being compared, especially when it comes to basketball.

“We’ve been playing together forever. We were in the backyard shooting, following my dad around since we were youngins,” Brittany said. “Being twins, people are always going to be like, ‘Oh, let’s compare them,’ but we’re like, ‘You know what? Let’s just play.’”

Their drive to play is what head coach Janel Burgess recognized most about the twins’ roles on the team. Thus far this season, Briauna has averaged 16 points and 5.3 rebounds as a starter while Brittany has contributed eight points and 4.3 rebounds from the bench.

“I think one of their greatest contributions is maybe just their spirit to compete and to just bring a carefree moment to the court every once in a while,” Burgess said. “They have a great spirit inside of them. They’re very driven, and they like to have some fun, which I think is very important for a team to have.”

Burgess admitted the twins still confuse her sometimes.

“I still to this day have a very difficult time on the fly figuring out who they are, because they are identical twins,” she added. “There are some characteristics where we can tell them apart. I can tell you as the head coach sometimes it’s just moving too fast, and I don’t take the time to look at those characteristics that I know are different.”

Briauna was recently recognized as the GLIAC North Division Player of the Week, an award that made both sisters proud.

“I was a little surprised,” Briauna said. “I’ve never gotten it before, and it was sweet to be awarded on the GLIAC level and to see that they’re actually paying attention.”

Brittany had nothing but support for her sister’s recognition.

“I’m happy for her,” Brittany said. “It’s kind of like you expect it. Like I expect her to get that because I know what she’s capable of and I know she’s capable of getting it every week.”

After jumping out to an undefeated start, Briauna and Brittany said the team has lofty goals for the rest of the season.

“Everyone’s really excited about it. We know what we’re capable of, and we’re still not playing to the level that we could play at,” Brittany said. “There are no excuses this year. We know we can get it done if we do what we need to do.”

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