The Taft College women's basketball team will be happy to turn the page on 2019. On Sunday, the Cougars closed out the calendar year with a pair of losses at the Gavilan College Crossover Tournament in Gilroy. Taft fell 80-37 to Cabrillo College on Saturday and ended the weekend with an 82-40 loss to College of San Mateo on Sunday.
Taft went 2-13 in non-conference games and up next is its Central Valley Conference schedule. The Cougars play at College of the Sequoias on January 8 in both teams' CVC opener. TC follows that with a 3 p.m. conference game at Reedley three days later (Jan. 11).
In the loss to Cabrillo, Taft fell behind early and trailed 21-9 after the first quarter. The Cougars trailed 36-19 at halftime and could never get back into the game.
Sam Washburn led Taft with 13 points while Maysan Raleigh added 12 points and 7 rebounds. Mercy Montgomery chipped in with 6 rebounds and 2 points.
Taft got off to a good start against San Mateo and trailed by just four points (19-15) after the opening quarter. But the Cougars couldn't keep pace and were outscored 63-25 the rest of the contest.
Rayleigh led Taft with 14 points and 6 rebounds while Washburn added 12 points. Anaeja Phumphrey totaled 4 steals to go with 2 points.