TAFT, CA – It was a toss between two teams that had similar styles in guard play. The score was tied 5 times, and there were 11 lead changes. Taft College Basketball started off on fire, leading with their largest margin in the first quarter up by ten points, but Bakersfield College didn't let that faze them. Though Taft led most of the game, Bakersfield hung in there and defeated the Lady Cougars in the final seconds of the game 58-55.
Taft had an opportunity to seal the game within two sole possessions of the game in the last 25 seconds. The Cougars had possession on the sideline of their court inbounding it
up two points within those 25 seconds. They were called for an illegal screen, and possession was given to Bakersfield, who decided to advance the ball to their court. With Taft leading the game 55-53, all they needed was one defensive stop. The Renegades would inbound the ball for an unsuccessful shot, and the Black and Gold would grab the rebound ready to seal the deal, but Taft would suffer a mental lapse and immediately throw an unsuccessful pass to another teammate with Bakersfield intercepting the pass and throwing up a hopeful 3-point shot, which would end up in the bottom of the net. The score was now 56-55 Bakersfield leading. Taft would call an immediate timeout and have another chance to draw up another sideline out of bounds play with several seconds to go. This time the inbounds was successful, and Taft would miss a challenged layup on the attempt and had to immediately foul. The Renegades made both bonus free throws. Without any timeouts left, Taft would inbound the ball and cast away a long length of the court shot that saw their undefeated record come to an end.
Brandy Edwards led the game with 19 points, along with 7 rebounds. Celicia Enos had another double double with 12 points and 10 rebounds. Alizah Lara had a team high 13 rebounds with 7 rebounds and a game high 5 assists. Taft shot a dismal 35% from the charity stripe to Bakersfield's 65%. Taft outrebounded Bakersfield 61-52.
Cougars Basketball Head Coach Romeo Lagmay, Jr. stated, "It was a sloppy game for both teams with us having 25 turnovers (the most all season) and Bakersfield having 24. Bad passes were flying everywhere for everyone playing. That ball game belonged to any team that afternoon, and luckily Bakersfield was able to make a 'cross-your-fingers' type of basket at the end at the expense of our bad mistaken pass. Our team possessed some mental lapses in the last minute of the game, and we paid for it. However, our team is resilient, and we're confident in bouncing back to the win column."
Taft is now 5-1 on the early season, but will look to bounce back on Monday, November 20 when they host Los Angeles Southwest College in the Al Baldock Cougar Sports Center at 5:00 pm. Come on out and show your support Cougar Country!