The Taft College women's basketball team finally made its return to the court on Friday after a year-long layoff due to COVID-19. New head coach Daniel Nelms and the Cougars hosted Antelope Valley College to kickoff both teams' spring 2021 season, but things didn't quite go as planned as TC suffered a 48-31 loss to the Marauders in Taft.
The Cougars held a narrow 9-8 lead after a shaky first quarter for both teams before Antelope Valley jumped ahead to a slim 19-18 advantage at halftime. But AVC outscored Taft 29-13 over the final two quarters to cruise to the win.
Sophomore Mercy Montgomery scored 8 points to lead the Cougars. She nailed a pair of three-pointers and also added 3 steals. Freshman Mahaila Laulu nearly had a double-double with 6 points and 9 rebounds while sophomore Krystal Zavala grabbed a team-best 10 rebounds to go with 3 points.
Taft and Antelope Valley will square off again on Saturday (Mar. 6), this time in Lancaster. Game time is set for 1 p.m.