For 30 minutes, the Taft College women's basketball team played one of its best games of the shortened 2021 season. Unfortunately, the Cougars ran out of gas in the fourth quarter before falling by a final score of 52-35 at Allan Hancock College in Santa Maria on Thursday. The contest opened up a two-game series with the Bulldogs.
Taft went into halftime down 26-22 and in the third quarter, got within three points at 38-35 after Brianna Rodriguez' three-pointer with 19 seconds left.
A TC foul with just 1 second left on the clock led to a pair of Allan Hancock free throws and the Bulldogs took a 40-35 advantage into the fourth. The final period was all Allan Hancock as the Bulldogs outscored Taft 12-0 to hand the Cougars the loss.
Rodriguez scored a team-high 9 points on 3-for-4 shooting from three-point range. Morgan Pulido also scored 9 points and added 4 rebounds while Bree Johansen chipped in with 6 points and 3 rebounds.
The series moved to Taft College on Friday as the Bulldogs cruised a 62-35 win over the Cougars. TC couldn't keep up with Allan Hancock's offense and made just 12 of 50 shots from the field.
Johansen scored a season-high 11 points to lead the Cougars. She shot 4-for-8 from the field and added 2 assists and 2 steals. Mahaila Laulu scored 8 points while Krystal Zavala totaled 6 points, 6 rebounds, and 2 assists.
Taft is still in search of its first win and is 0-7 overall. The Cougars begin a two-game series with the College of the Sequoias next week, beginning on Wednesday (Mar. 31) in Visalia at 3 p.m. On Thursday (Apr. 1), the squads face off in Taft, also at 3 p.m. Thursday's home game can be viewed live online at https://www.team1sports.com/TaftCA/.
Allan Hancock