SAN JACINTO – The 2022-23 season got off to a tough start for Taft College. In their season-opener on Friday, the Cougars fell behind 31-9 after the first quarter on their way to a 103-42 loss at Mt. San Jacinto College.
That was followed by a much closer game, a 72-64 defeat to Golden West College on Saturday, in the Cougars home opener.
Against Mt. San Jacinto, freshman Trinity Juan scored a team-high 11 points to go along with 5 rebounds while freshman Brandy Edwards came off the bench to score 10 points and grab 4 rebounds.
Also for the Cougars, freshman Yareli Gomez totaled a team-best 7 rebounds and freshman Dawn Hodnett had 7 points.
TC's home court proved to be much kinder. On Saturday, the Cougars trailed 31-27 at halftime but couldn't mount a second-half comeback.
Edwards had a big game off the bench, scoring a team-best 16 points while adding 6 rebounds. Juan totaled 12 points, 4 rebounds, 3 steals, and 2 assists while sophomore Precious Ramos had 10 points.
Also for the Cougars, Gomez led with 9 rebounds and scored 5 points while sophomore Aviana Perez chipped in with 8 points.
Taft, now 0-2, returns to action on Thursday (Nov. 10) when the Cougars open play at the three-day Pasadena City College Sisterhood of Champions Tournament. TC will face Imperial Valley College at 11:15 a.m.