Another Nevada State Champion MVP Added to TC Lady Cougars Basketball

TAFT, CA – Certainly not hesitant to go after the best, Taft College Head Women's Basketball Coach Romeo Lagmay, Jr. has added another prolific player to the upcoming 2024-2025 roster. Taft College received their latest commitment from 5'8" guard/forward Laila Gines from Las Vegas, Nevada.

Gines hails from Legacy High School under Head Girl's Basketball Coach Tiffany Richardson. Legacy recently won the 4A State Championship. She will be joining her teammate Alabama Nieves who committed earlier. Just like Nieves, Gines has been awarded outstanding accolades herself. Both were part of a team that won the league championship back-to-back and went undefeated her junior year, prior to losing in the state semifinals.

Coach Richardson said, "Laila is all-around very athletic. With point guard skills, she is recognized with solid defense with outstanding anticipation on reading passing lanes and deflecting passes, and her quickness won us a lot of games."

A varsity starter for three years, Gines had huge impacts in her last two years at Legacy. Her junior year, she was the team most valuable player as well as the Sky League MVP. Senior season, she again received the Team MVP, 4A Southern Region MVP, 4A All South Region CO-MVP, Sky League First Team, and 4A All Nevada State First Team. She averaged 13 points, 5 rebounds, 2.5 assists, and 4.3 steals.

Coach Lagmay added, "Laila makes me feel confident about next season. She has the tools to score a lot, steal a lot, and rebound a lot. Generally, she will be causing havoc on both ends of the court. She is a bright young person with quality characteristics and being very unselfish at times. Laila is a major threat from beyond the arc, but her damage comes in so many different forms. She wants to be the best and is hungry to win more ball games to become elite. Taft College is thrilled to have her join our program."

"I chose to commit to Taft College because the way the coach speaks about the team and community feeling like family. Knowing the coach believes in me means a lot and I am confident this is the right place for me to grow as both a player and person."

This Coach Lagmay's sixth commitment for the 2025 recruiting class.