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Academic All-Conference Athletes
Taft College Athletics
March 2, 2010

The following members of the Women’s Basketball Team have satisfied the fall 2009 Central Valley Conference requirements for the Academic All Conference Awards. The student athlete must have excelled academically with a grade point average of 3.0 or above, on a 4.0 scale in at least 12 semester units while successfully participating in a season of sport:

 Baylee Day, Jasmine Green, Yeni Sandoval, Crystal Clark (Top: left to right) Christine Taylor and Maryssa Reyes (Bottom: left to right)

Taft College Basketball Wins Final Two Games
by Dennis McCall
Taft Midway Driller
February 22, 2010

Taft College struggled through most of the Central Valley Conference women’s basketball season, losing close games. However, the Cougars finished strong last week with two close victories of their own to close out the season on a positive note. “This was a good week,” beamed coach Tyrone Taylor Saturday night after his team lead from start to finish to earn a 69-60 victory over College of the Sequoias, the second place team in the conference. “I thought we played really well down the final stretch,” he said.  “We didn’t have as many turnovers.  That made a big difference.  And, we made lay-ups and free throws.” The Cougars have struggled at the line, but strong free throw shooting kept Sequoias from catching up.

Sophomore forward Theresa Henderson and freshman guard Desiree Pierce came through in the clutch, scoring the Cougars’ last 19 points – 13 of them from the free throw line. Pierce came off the bench to can 9-of-10 free throws in the last seven minutes of the game. Henderson, the team’s leading scorer, hit three field goals and 4-of-5 free throws down the stretch.  All three of the field goals were pressure jumpers and – combined with Pierce’s steady hand from the line – kept Sequoias (16-11, 6-4 CVC) from making a run. The win followed a 57-54 victory three nights earlier in Merced.

The Cougars finished the season 3-7 in the conference and 9-17 overall. “When you think about all the close losses we had, it was good to finish on a high note and give us a lift going into next season,” Taylor said.  “We have a lot of very good freshmen.” The Cougars led from the start, jumping out to a 9-2 lead and pushing it to as many as 13 points (30-17) before settling for a 32-23 halftime lead. Sequoias never got closer than four in the second – 48-44 with 8:49 left.   That’s when Henderson and Pierce took over. The two halves were a contrast at the line.

In the first half the Cougars were 2-of-6 but in the second half 17-of-20. Henderson finished with 20 points to lead the Cougars. Freshman center Jasmine Green scored 12 points and blocked six shots. Dawnisha Perry, one of three sophomores making their last appearance as a Cougar, led the team in rebounds with 13.  Pierce scored 11 points – all from the line – while Christina Taylor had 10 to give the Cougars four players in double figures.

In the win over Merced, it was solid field goal shooting that paved the way. The Cougars made 22 of 52 (42 percent) including 5-of-9 from three-point range. TC held a three point (30-27) lead at the half and managed to hold off the Blue Devils in the second half. Game summary: Sequoias (60)—Simoni 1 0-0 2, Murphy-Jiles 5 3-6 13, Martin 2 0-0 4, Samson 1 4-4 7, Reeves 7 9-15 23, Corona 3 3-4 11.  Totals: 19 19-29 60. Cougars (69)—Clark 0 2-2 2, Pierce 0 11-13 11, Perry 3 0-2 6, Taylor 4 0-0 10, Henderson 8 4-5 20, Green 5 2-3 12, Moorer 1 0-0 2, Day 3 0-1 6.  Totals: 24, 19-26 69 Halftime: Taft 32, Sequoias 23

A 17-point difference in free throws told the story. “Seven out of 24. That says it all,” said Cougar coach Tyrone Taylor after his Taft College women’s basketball team lost a 72-63 decision Saturday night to visiting Porterville College. The loss dropped the Cougars into the CVC basement. Both teams came in with 1-6 records. The Cougars outscored the Pirates 56-53 in field goals, but Porterville was able to convert 20-of-32 free throws. “We do practice shooting free throws,” Taylor said. “We practice that a lot. I just don’t know what else to do.” Poor performance at the charity stripe has plagued the Cougars all season.

Against Porterville, a sluggish first half set a tone the Cougars found impossible to shake. “We really came out flat,” Taylor said. “We were able to ratchet it up some in the second half, but we couldn’t make free throws or lay-ups.” The Cougars made just one of nine free throws in the first half before going 6-of-17 in the second half. Porterville was 5-of-11 in the first half, but kept the Cougars at arms’ length in the second with 15-of-21. TC also had lapses of concentration. After the game got of to a slow start – it was 12-all at the 10-minute mark – the Cougars built a 26-17 lead with 3:56 left. The lead was 27-21 with a minute left after the Cougars made just one of four free throws.

Pirate guard Alex Shew, who poured in a game-high 34 points, converted a three-point play, but Brianna Moorer came off the bench to pop in a three-pointer from the top of the circle to give the Cougars a 30-24 lead with 40 seconds left. The Cougars rebounded a missed shot under the Pirate basket but threw it away to Quaraya Fuston who laid it in with five seconds left. The inbound pass went right to Porterville’s KeeMaya Snowden for another lay-up three seconds later. So instead of leading by at least six, the Cougar halftime cushion flattened to just two – 30-28.
Porterville took the lead with three baskets in the first minute of the second half on three consecutive Cougar turnovers.

Taft managed to tie the game at 34, 36 and 39 and went ahead on a basket in close by Baylee Day, but the Pirates sandwiched four points around four consecutive missed Cougar free throws to take the lead for good at 45-41. In the last five minutes of the game the Pirates stayed comfortably ahead by canning nine of 12 free throws. Shew, the leading scorer in the conference, was held to 10 first-half points before pumping in 24 in the second half on nine field goals and six-of-seven free throws. Theresa Henderson, who played both point guard and forward, led the Cougars with 23 points on nine field goals and 4-of-8 from the line.

Christine Taylor popped in a trio of three-pointers for nine points, Moorer scored eight, Day seven, Jasmine Green six and Crystal Clark and Dawnisha Perry five apiece. The Cougars had 43 rebounds with Perry bringing down 11, Clark and Day nine each, and Green seven to go with her team-high five blocks. Day had four steals. The Cougars finish the season this week with a trip to Merced Wednesday and a home game with College of the Sequoias on Saturday. Both start at 5 p.m.

Lady Cougars Hosts Porterville Saturday
Taft Midway Driller
February 11, 2010

Taft College will entertain Porterville College Saturday at 5 p.m. in a Central Valley Conference women’s basketball game with the winner escaping the league cellar. Both teams are 1-6 in the conference. The Cougars are 7-16 overall while the Pirates come to town with a 3-18 overall mark. Porterville brings the conference’s leading scorer in Alex Shew, who is averaging 25.3 points per game in CVC play.

The Cougars will counter with Theresa Henderson, who is averaging 17.6 per game, good for third place on the individual conference list. Christine Taylor (12.6) ranks ninth in the conference. TC is coming off a 91-67 loss to undefeated Fresno City College, the No. 7 team in the state and No. 1 in northern California. The Rams shot 55 percent from the floor, making 30-of-56 two-point goals and a sizzling 11-of-19 from three-point range.

Henderson led the Cougars with 19 points. She had five rebounds and five steals.
Desiree Pierce and Dawnisha Perry had nine points each, Taylor and Crystal Clark seven apiece. Jasmine Green led the team in rebounds with eight. The Cougars shot 40 percent from the floor, but made only two of 11 from behind the arc.
Taft has come closer to beating Fresno than any other CVC team, losing an 80-78 heartbreaker in Taft in the first round of conference play.

Taft College Women's Basketball Team Loses to Visalia
by Dennis McCall
Taft Midway Driller
February 1, 2010

The Taft College women’s basketball team is trying to re-invent itself because head coach Tyrone Taylor dislikes two things – players who fail in the classroom and players who fail to come to practice. Those two elements have reduced his roster by 40 percent. Two players – one of them his starting point guard – didn’t make the grade when fall semester report cards came out. Four others did fine in the classroom but chose to skip practice. As a result, all six checked in their uniforms.

Those missing links have thrown things off balance and cost the team dearly in its last two Central Valley Conference games, resulting in a one-point loss to Merced last Wednesday and a 64-55 loss to College of the Sequoias Saturday night in Visalia. Both were games Taylor felt his team could have – and should have – won. “We were way out of sync without a point guard,” he said minutes after the frustrating loss to COS when his team was unable to reel in the Giants despite drawing them close throughout the game. “We are trying to find out who we are,” he said.  “We are trying to figure out who can do what.  Right now we have our two biggest scorers (Theresa Henderson and Christine Taylor) trying to handle the ball more.”

Henderson, a 5-10 sophomore forward averaging 17 points a game, has taken on the role of point guard in addition to her usual job of scoring and rebounding. She had 22 points to lead the Cougars.  Taylor, who scored 14 three nights earlier, finished with seven. “We’ll just have to try to get it together in the second half of conference and regroup,” the coach said. Freshman center Jasmine Green was more active Saturday and needs to continue to step up. The Cougars (1-4 CVC, 7-14) travel to Reedley (3-2, 11-10) Wednesday to open the second half of conference play and then to Fresno Saturday to take on the conference-leading Rams (5-0, 18-6), the No. 1 team in northern California.

COS jumped out to a 12-4 lead by sandwiching 6-0 runs around two Cougar baskets. The lead was six (21-16) when Henderson, Crystal Clark and Green scored buckets to get even before COS finished the half with a 12-6 spurt for a 33-27 bulge. The Giants quickly pushed the cushion to 10 (41-31) in the first 3:19 of the second half and kept the Cougars at bay the rest of the way. Taft closed to within three (50-47) and then five (56-51) on back-to-back Henderson jumpers, the last with 4:10 remaining that turned out to be the last field goal of the game. The Cougars were forced to foul, sending COS to the line seven times.  The Giants were able to cash in 8-of-14. 

Taft’s only points during that span were four free throws from Henderson. TC also lost Taylor and Baylee Day to fouls. Green scored eight points, Day seven, Dawnisha Perry six and Clark five. The win helped the Giants (3-2, 13-9) cling to a share of second place in the conference with Reedley (3-2, 11-10).

Merced Nips TC Women's Team, 54-23
by Dennis McCall
Taft Midway Driller
January 28, 2010

Merced College overtook a short-handed Taft College women’s basketball team in the late going Wednesday for a 54-53 Central Valley Conference victory in the Cougar Sports Center. A desperation shot by Theresa Henderson just before the final buzzer was off the mark. Christine Taylor’s three-pointer with seven seconds left to get the Cougars to within a point set the stage for Henderson’s attempted buzzer-beater. Merced’s Rebecca Morris missed two free-throws with six seconds left, but Henderson was unable to pull off a miracle after grabbing the rebound. “That was a game we should have won,” said head coach Tyrone Taylor.  “It came down to the two basic things in basketball: making free throws and lay-ups.”
The Cougars made only four of 12 free throws and missed a number of lay-ups.

TC led the slow-paced game until the Blue Devils grabbed the lead at 47-44 on a three-pointer by Porsha Grayson with 3:37 left.  She hit back-to-back treys that erased a six-point Cougar lead and tied it at 42 with 7:43 left. Henderson, who scored a game-high 21 points, answered with a field goal but Merced’s Olivia Anden hit back-to-back shots to push the Blue Devil advantage to 51-46. A Henderson free throw and a three-pointer from Taylor pulled the Cougars to within a point (51-50) with 28 seconds left.  Merced made three of four free throws to pull ahead by four to set the stage for the finish.

Taylor finished with 14 points.  Crystal Clark scored six, Jasmine Green five, Baylee Day four and Dawnisha Perry three.  Perry, a 5-6 freshman guard, led the Cougars in rebounding with 14. The Cougars (7-13 overall, 1-3 in conference) travel to Visalia Saturday for a 5 p.m. CVC game with College of the Sequoias. The Cougars were short handed when two players – one of them a starter – were dismissed from the team for poor grades and two others were suspended for a game for missing practice. Both players dismissed for poor grades in the fall semester were still eligible under state rules because once players are eligible to start the season they are eligible to finish it. “As the coach, I’ve got to set the tone,” he said.  “The classroom has got to come first because it is so important for their future.” Athletic Director Kanoe Bandy applauded Taylor’s stance. “I’m really proud of him for taking that position,” she said.

Taylor's Jumper Wins it for Taft College
by Dennis McCall
Taft Midway Driller
January 21, 2010

Freshman point guard Christine Taylor took an inbound pass and popped in a 10-foot turnaround jumper Wednesday night to give Taft College its first Central Valley Conference women’s basketball win in two seasons. Taylor’s heroics with two seconds left gave the Cougars a 59-57 victory over Porterville College and snapped a 12-game conference losing streak. The Cougars went 0-10 in the CVC last season and dropped their first two this year. “We were up by 14 (37-23) at halftime, but we tend to get these dry spells and that’s what happened late in the game,” said head coach Tyrone Taylor.

The Cougars shot 42.4 percent from the floor in the first half but only 26.9 percent in the second half. “We hit a few baskets here and there and they caught us with about a minute left.” With the score tied at 57 the Cougars had possession in the waning moments. “We got a couple of shots off, there was a scramble and the ball went out of bounds,” Taylor said.  “Christine took the inbound pass, turned around and put it in to save us.”

Taylor, a 5-5 freshman from Kaysville, Utah, finished the game with 15 points on 7-of-16 field goals, including two of the team’s three 3-pointers. Sophomore center Theresa Henderson led the Cougars with 18 points,13 rebounds and three steals. Henderson and Taylor rank third and fourth in conference scoring. Jasmine Green also pulled down 13 boards for the Cougars and blocked five shots. Victoria Worthy also finished in double figures for the Cougars with 10 points and had five rebounds. Baylee Day pulled down seven rebounds. Alex Shew had a game-high 27 points for the Pirates, including 10 of 15 from the free-throw.

Taft College Basketball Team Comes Up Short in Upset Bid
by Dennis McCall
Taft Midway Driller
January 18, 2010

Taft College came within a whisper Saturday night of upsetting the No. 8 women’s basketball team in the state. Back-to-back three-pointers in the last 1:40 erased a two-point TC lead and allowed Fresno City College – ranked No. 1 in northern California – to slip past the Cougars, 80-78. The Cougars used a 7-0 run to take a 74-72 lead with 1:50 left, but Lacey Gibbons and Blakely Goldberg popped in back-to-back treys that not only erased the deficit but gave the Rams a four-point edge with just over a minute left. “Those three-pointers just killed us,” said Cougar coach Tyrone Taylor.

The Cougars battled the defending conference champions from the opening tip-off, and that pleased Taylor. “That was one of our best performances of the year,” he said.  “We played an excellent game.  We were much more aggressive and attacked the basket.  Their size got to us a little bit, and they went to the free-throw line a lot more.” In fact, Fresno’s 11-point advantage at the charity stripe was the difference.  The Rams made 23 of 30 while the Cougars cashed in 12 of just 18 attempts. The pace was feverish.There were nine ties and 11 lead changes.

The first half left the crowd breathless with the Cougars going on 13-4 and 15-6 runs to take an 11-point lead (43-32) with 3:51 left on Christine Taylor’s second three-pointer of the night only to see Fresno finish the half with a 10-2 run to cut the lead to 45-42. Taylor was on fire, scoring 17 points in the first half, but cooled off after the break with only a field goal the rest of the way to finish with 19. Theresa Henderson picked up the slack in the second half, scoring 20 of her team-high 29 points.

While Fresno was unable to stop Taylor in the first half, the Cougars couldn’t get a handle on 5-10 freshman forward Sumiya Darden who scored 18 of her game-high 31 points in the first half. TC trailed 14-9 four minutes into the game but switched to a zone defense that slowed down Fresno’s pace and enabled the Cougars to surge back to tie it at 18 on a three-point play from Taylor that triggered a 13-4 run and a 28-22 lead. Fresno scored the next four, but Henderson’s short jumper ignited a 15-6 spurt that was short-circuited by the 10-2 Ram run to end the half. It would have been 10-0 except for Henderson’s buzzer-beater that gave the Cougars a three-point lead at the break.

Fresno quickly erased that lead with a 9-2 spree to start the second half, but the Cougars clawed their way back in front at 55-52 with an 8-1 run of their own. Fresno retook the lead on baskets by Darden and Gibbons, but Henderson’s three-point play and a free-throw from Olivia Hughes put TC back on top. It was tied at 59, 61, and 63 before Darden’s lay-up with 8:24 left and Gibbons’ three-pointer gave Fresno a five-point cushion. The Cougars scrapped back on Henderson’s field goal and free-throw, but Fresno’s back-to-back treys ruined the upset bid. "That was a heck of a game,” Taylor said.  “Hopefully, we can carry that over into next week. Baylee Day scored six points for TC, Dawnisha Perry, Crystal Clark, Jasmine Green and Victoria Worthy had four apiece, Maryssa Reyes three and Hughes one. The Cougars (6-12, 0-2 CVC) travel to Porterville Wednesday to face a Pirate team that was  trounced by Merced 67-36 Saturday.

Long Cold Spell, Turnovers Dooms Taft College Basketball Team
by Dennis McCall
Taft Midway Driller
January 14, 2010

Taft College women’s basketball coach Tyrone Taylor has been perplexed by the cold-shooting spells his team seems to go through in every game. He’d hoped the Cougars could reverse the trend in Wednesday night’s Central Valley Conference opener against Reedley College in the Cougar Sports Center. Instead, the Cougars had their longest chilly streak of the season when they went more than 10 minutes in the second half without scoring a single point.

During that span, Reedley poured in 20 points to pull away for a 61-48 victory. When the Cougars hit the wall they were leading by six points (46-39) with 14 minutes left in the game.  Reedley would outscore them 22-2 the rest of the way. The Cougars compounded their shooting woes with a rash of turnovers – some of them triggered by the Tigers’ full-court press but others the result of sloppy ball handling. TC jumped out to a quick 13-6 lead and were ahead 23-17 when a pair of three-pointers by Jodee McMillen fueled a 10-0 run that pushed the Tigers into the lead.
Reedley was up 32-25 when the Cougars closed the half with a 7-0 run that began with Christine Taylor’s three-pointer and ended with four points from Crystal Clark.

The Cougars broke the tie less than a minute into the second half when Taylor, who led TC with 15 points, scored on a lay-up and made the two free-throws when Reedley’s Samantha Greene was called for a flagrant foul on the play. A 6-0 run gave Taft a 44-37 lead before the big chill set in. Clark had 10 points for the Cougars, Jasmine Green 8, Theresa Henderson 6, Victoria Worthy 5 and Baylee Day 4. Reedley’s Monique Reed had a game-high 17points and Jasmine Waiters 15. The loss drops the Cougars to 6-11 overall (0-1 conference) heading into Saturday’s 5 p.m. home tussle with defending champ Fresno City College.

The “second season” begins Wednesday for the Taft College women’s basketball team when Reedley College invades the Cougar Sports Center for the Central Valley Conference opener.  Tip-off is scheduled for 5 p.m. TC will bring a 6-10 non-conference record while the Tigers will come in even at 8-8. “We’re excited about starting league play,” said head coach Tyrone Taylor.  Hopefully, the Cougars will be able to establish the consistency they lacked in a rocky non-conference grind that saw them play 13 of their 16 games on the road.

They haven’t had a home game in two months -- since a 73-53 victory over San Diego City College back on Nov. 14. “We’re just a little young, and it’s showed,” Taylor said.  “We just hit too many droughts.  It seems like every game we go through spells where we just can’t make baskets, and that lets the other team get some distance.” The cold shooting is reflected in the statistics. The Cougars are making just a third of their field goal attempts.  They are doing better at the free-throw line (51%), but that could use improvement too. “We just need to be more consistent,” Taylor said.  “I think we’ll be O.K. once league starts.  Morale is still high.”

Sophomore forward Theresa Henderson is the statistical leader, averaging 14 points and 6.3 rebounds a game.  She’s second on the team in steals with 24. Five-foot-five freshman guard Christine Taylor is averaging 11.3 points a game and has 26 steals and 26 assists. Freshman forward Jasmine Green is averaging 6.5 points and 6.1 rebounds a game and leads the team in blocks with 39. Freshman guard Baylee Day is averaging 6.3 points and 5.7 rebounds. After opening conference play Wednesday, the Cougars will entertain defending champion Fresno City College (13-6) on Saturday.  All 10 conference games begin at 5 p.m. The rest of the conference includes College of the Sequoias (10-7), Merced (7-11), and Porterville (2-10).

Taft College’s young women’s basketball team must have that deer-in-the-headlights look when the Cougars opened the season Friday afternoon against high-powered Cypress College in the first round of the Pasadena City College tournament. “We were a little bit intimidated and played too timid,” said head coach Tyrone Taylor after the Cougars absorbed a 97-45 pasting. “They gave us a full-court press from start to finish,” he said.  “We didn’t expect that.  It was a wakeup call.” Taylor said his team played better on Saturday in a 69-61 loss to Los Angeles Valley that eliminated the Cougars from the tournament. “We played much better,” he said.  “Hopefully that will carry over to Tuesday (tonight) when we play Allan Hancock.”

That game will be the home opener for the Cougars.  Tip-off in the Cougar Sports Center is scheduled for 7 p.m. It is the first of three consecutive home games. TC will host Los Angeles Southwest Friday at 7 and San Diego City College Saturday at 3 p.m. Taylor said his team was able to break the Cypress press, “but then we would miss a layup.  It was frustrating.  We missed probably 15 layups, some of them uncontested.” The game against L.A. Valley was shrouded in fouls. “The game took forever,” Taylor said.  “There were 75 free-throws.” L.A. Valley took 42 foul shots and the Cougars 33. “Most of them were called by just one official – a young lady.  I’ll never forget her.”

Christine Taylor led the Cougar scoring against Cypress with 10 points and Baylee Day had nine. Sophomore forward-center Theresa Henderson – last year’s top scorer – led the Cougars with 16 against Valley while Jasmine Green had 10 and Dawnisha Perry and Victoria Worthy seven apiece. Taylor and assistant coach Deran Smith are working with a squad of 15 and 13 of them are freshmen. Last season, Taylor had just seven players. He hopes the better depth will produce better results. “We’re very young, but we look pretty good,” he said.  “We’re going to be fast.  We’re looking to do well in the conference, maybe finish in the top three.  We’re looking to be in the hunt.”

He said he plans to us an up-tempo offense “running and running and scoring.” When the other team has the ball “we’ll play pressure defense.” He likes having better numbers. “We’ve had the talent in the past, but we just haven’t had the numbers.  Now we have the bodies to rest certain players at certain times.” What he likes even more is the team’s attitude. “This is just a good group of kids.  They definitely have good attitudes and good personalities.” Smith echoed that sentiment. “The biggest thing is that we are all on the same page,” he said.  “We don’t have anybody missing practice.”

The Cougars have something else they haven’t had much of in the past few seasons – height. Green, a freshman from Deer Valley High in Glendale, Ariz., is 6-feet and sophomore Henderson 5-10.  They will alternate in the post, but also can play forward. Sophomore forward Crystal Clark is 5-11 and freshman forward Ashley Dickerson – whose twin sister Courtney is the leading hitter on the Cougar volleyball team – is 5-9. Guard Yeni Sandoval, who played at Taft High, is 5-10 and guard/forward Brianna Moorer from Surprise, Ariz., is 5-8. The Cougars are loaded with guards. They are Desiree Pierce (Las Vegas, Nev.), Dawnisha Perry (Bakersfield), Christine Taylor (Kaysville, Utah), Olivia Hughes (Palmdale), Marlene Castaneda (Wasco), Victoria Worthy (Bakersfield), Baylee Day (Kaysville, Utah), and Cyrena China (Bakersfield).

Valentine’s Day sweet for Cougars

--posted 2/15/07    Hustle and hard work made for a sweet Valentine’s Day for the Taft College women’s basketball team Wednesday night.

The Cougars broke open a tight game with a 12-6 run over the last four and a half minutes to earn a 64-56 Central Valley Conference victory over visiting College of the Sequoias.

The win gave the Cougars two consecutive conference wins—the first time it’s happened—as the team winds down the season.

TC (6-20, 3-8 in the CVC) will travel to Merced Saturday night to close out the season.

But the team will savor this win.

The players felt they should have beaten COS (9-21, 4-8) in Visalia on Jan. 20, a 62-59 loss.

“The girls were really happy to win two games in a row,” said head coach Greg McCall. “I wanted to win it badly, but they wanted it more than I did. It was good to see that.”

For the second game in a row, the Cougars put together a balanced team effort with four players scoring in double figures.

They pulled together when their two best rebounders—Carolyn Stribling and Nikki Thompson—got into foul trouble.

McCall singled out the efforts of a pair of freshmen from Bakersfield—guard Ashley Anfield and forward Theresa Hubbard.

“They both had great games on both ends of the court,” McCall said. “You can really see their improvement.”

Hubbard and Lexi Garvey led the team with 12 points.

Anfield and Marvsharica Quinn both scored 10.

Stribling struggled after picking up three early fouls and then her fourth five minutes into the second half.

She scored just eight points but dominated the boards with 11 rebounds.

“Carolyn didn’t play well, but she always plays hard,” McCall said. “She contributes in so many ways.”

With the Cougars nurturing a five-point lead in the waning moments, Stribling hit two free throws with 1:42 left and then drove the lane for a basket that gave TC a nine-point cushion with a minute left.

Taft led almost the entire first half before the Giants closed with a flurry to tie it at 28 at the popcorn break.

COS went ahead at 32-30 early in the second half, but Stribling scored in close and Hubbard tossed in a short jumper.

The Cougars boosted the lead to nine (50-41) with a 5-0 run before the Giants went on a 9-2 run of their own to pull within two at 52-50.

Anfield and Hubbard answered and Stribling turned out the lights.

Thompson had 10 boards by the time she fouled out. She also had three steals and blocked two shots.

McCall wants his team to finish strong at Merced Saturday night. The Blue Devils won the first meeting, 56-46, in Taft on Jan. 24.

“Hopefully, we can come out and play hard, play aggressive.”

SEQUOIAS 56—Shuklian 1 0-0 2, Hunter 1 1-2 3, Barresi 6 1-5 13, Daye-Bryant 2 7-9 12, Richard 3 1-1 8, Taylor 6 0-1 12, Alexander 1 1-2 6. Totals: 21 11-20 56.
TAFT COLLEGE 64—Little 2 2-2 6, Anfield 5 0-0 10, Quinn 4 2-2 10, Hubbard 6 0-0 12, Garvey 2 8-12 12, Washington 2 0-0 4, Stribling 3 2-6 8, Thompson 1 0-2 2. Totals: 25 14-24 64.
Halftime: Taft 28, COS 28
3-point goals: COS 3 (Daye-Bryant, Richard, Alexander). Rebounds: Taft 45 (Stribling 11, Thompson 10, Hubbard 8, Quinn 7). Steals: Taft 12 (Little, Quinn, Thompson 3 each). Total fouls: COS 16, Taft 18. Fouled out: Thompson, Richard.

Cougar team play earns 20-point victory

--posted 2/8/07   Taft College spread the wealth around Wednesday night as the Cougars used two surges to breeze past Porterville College, 69-49, in a Central Valley Conference women’s basketball game.

The Cougars went on a 15-0 run midway through the first half and began the second with a 12-2 spree that gave them a 24-point lead en route to their second conference victory.

More importantly for coach Greg McCall, the Cougars had a season-high 18 assists with point guard Sharde Little getting 10 with some pinpoint and, at times, fancy passing.

“I was really pleased with the way we shared the ball on the fast break,” McCall said. “I hope it continues with our next two games. That really impressed me.”

McCall wants his team to finish the season on a high note.

The Cougars host College of the Sequoias next Wednesday and then will finish the season on the road Feb. 17 at Merced College.

Lexi Garvey, who was nine-of-13 from the field, and Carolyn Stribling each scored 15 points to lead the way.

Marsharica Quinn scored 12, Theresa Hubbard had eight, Nerida Washington seven, and Little, Ashley Anfield and Nikki Thompson four each.

Stribling had eight rebounds and Thompson five.

Stribling also had five steals and Little four.

The game was even through the first 10 minutes with the Cougars leading by a point at 15-14.

That’s when Stribling and Quinn teamed up to score 10 straight points as the Cougars cruised out to a 30-16 halftime lead.

Thompson scored the first basket of the second half to ignite a 12-2 run that gave the Cougars a 44-20 cushion with 14:19 left.

With the win the Cougars improved to 2-8 in the conference and 5-20 overall while the Pirates remained winless in the conference and are now 3-21 on the season.

TAFT COLLEGE 69—Little 2 0-0 4, Anfield 2 0-04, Quinn 6 0-0 12, Hubbard 4 0-0 8, Garvey 7 0-0 15, Washington 3 0-0 7, Stribling 6 3-5 15, Thompson 1 2-4 4. Totals: 31 5-9 69.
PORTERVILLE COLLEGE 49—Guiterrez 3 0-2 8, Knox 10 0-0 21, Okereke 5 2-3 12, Ezell 1 4-7 6, DeSoto 1 0-0 2, Cecil 0 0-2 0. Totals: 20 6-14 49.
Halftime: Taft 30, Porterville 16
3-;oint goals: Taft 2 (Garvey, Washington); PC 5 (Knox 3, Guiterrez 2). Total fouls: Taft 16, Porterville 7. Fouled out: Washington. Turnovers: Taft 15, Porterville 17.

Rams a tall order for Cougars

--posted 2/5/07   Fresno City College used a distinct height and depth advantage to earn a 78-58 Central Valley Conference women’s basketball victory over Taft College Saturday night in the Cougar Sports Center.

Freshman forward Carolyn Stribling tossed in a game-high 23 points to pace the Cougars. Seventeen of them came in the second half when the Cougars rebounded from a dismal shooting performance in the first half.

Taft scored just 18 points and trailed by 27—45-18.

The scrappy Cougars came back in the second half to outscore the Rams 40-33, but that huge halftime deficit was too much to overcome.

The taller Rams pounded the ball in the paint and dominated the boards.

Four Rams scored in double figures, led by Vanessa House who had 16. Quick 5-11 forward Tynisha Johnson scored 15, Ashley Stearns added 14, and 6-2 center Brinae Duren 13.

Fresno raced out to a 15-4 lead in the first five minutes of the game. At one point Johnson scored nine straight points.

Although the Rams had a size and bench advantage, the Cougars pressed and swarmed on defense.

Stribling had seven rebounds to go with her 23 points. She continually pounded the ball inside, and that earned her a few trips to the free-throw line where she canned 11 of 16.

Freshman guard Lexi Garvey scored 12 points for the Cougars, Nikki Thompson eight with five rebounds, Theresa Hubbard seven, and Ashley Anfield and Marsharica Quinn four.

The Cougars will try to win only their second conference game Wednesday when they travel to Porterville, TC’s only CVC victim. The Cougars beat the Pirates 72-46 on the home court Jan. 13.

FRESNO CITY COLLEGE-- 78—Patterson 4 1-6 9, House 5 6-7 16, Perez 0 0-2 0, Camarillo 2 0-0 5, Olveda 2 0-0 4, Eggleston 0 2-2 2, Johnson 7 1-1 15, Stearns 6 0-0 14, Duren 5 3-3 13. Totals 31 13-21 78.
TAFT COLLEGE 58—Little 0 0-1 0, Anfield 2 0-0 4, Quinn 2 0-0 4, Hubbard 3 1-3 7, Garvey 5 1-4 12, Stribling 6 10-11 23, Thompson 4 0-2 8. Totals: 22 13-26 58.
Halftime: Fresno 45, Taft 18
3-point goals: Fresno 3 (Stearns 2, Camarillo), Taft 1 (Garvey). Total fouls: Fresno 20, Taft 35. Fouled out: Little, Thompson. Records: Fresno 18-9, 5-2 CVC; Taft 4-20, 1-8 CVC.

Modesto overtakes Cougars, 76-68

--posted 2/1/07   Switching to a zone defense to slow down Taft College’s running game worked for Modesto J.C. as the Pirates claimed a 76-68 Central Valley Conference victory in Modesto.

Taft led 39-36 at the half, but Modesto went into a zone defense that kept the Cougars out of the paint.

The Pirates chipped away at the lead early and overtook the Cougars.

While the zone bothered the Cougars, a cold night at the free-throw line also did a lot of damage.

The Cougars sank half of their tries—19 of 38. They were 10 of 20 in the second half when Modesto fought back.

Freshman forward Carolyn Stribling led both teams with 22 points.

Marsharica Quinn added 14 and Lexi Garvey 12.

TC also lost Little and Washington to fouls down the stretch.

The loss dropped the Cougars to 1-6 in the conference and 4-18 overall.

They host Fresno City College (4-2, 16-9) Saturday at 5 p.m. in the Cougar Sports Center.

Modesto 76, Taft 68
TAFT COLLEGE 68—Little 7, Anfield 6, Quinn 14, Hubbard 4, Garvey 12, Washington 2, Stribling 22, Thompson 1.
MODESTO JC 76—Russell 10, Saunts 4, E. Chavez 4, C. Chavez 3, D. Waites 2, Borba 6, Ball 11, S. Waites 2, Brown 16, Cole 17 Dowsen 1.
Halftime: Taft 39, Modesto 36
3-point goals: Taft 5 (Quinn3, Garvey 2), Modesto 2 (Chavez, Borba). Fouls: Taft 23, Modesto 25. Fouled out: Little, Washington.

Short-handed Cougars edged by COS

--posted 1/22/07    Two funerals and an illness hamstrung Taft College in its Central Valley Conference women’s basketball game Saturday in Visalia.

Head coach Greg McCall and forward Theresa Hubbard were each attending funerals, and forward Nikki Thompson was ill.

And with assistant coach Jason Gleed out of town on a recruiting trip, the Cougar bench was pretty sparse with assistant coach Debra Jackson and six players.

Without Hubbard and Thompson—both 5-9 and solid rebounders—the Cougars had a severely weakened presence in the paint.

That opened the door for 5-10 College of the Sequoias forward Ira Taylor to score 11 baskets in close and haul down a game-high 16 rebounds to lead her team to a 62-59 victory.

The Cougars fought hard in the first half to take a 28-25 lead into the popcorn break, and went up by five when leading scorer Carolyn Stribling scored quickly off the second half inbound pass.

But the Giants erupted with a 19-3 run led by five buckets from Taylor—all right under the basket.

TC’s only answer during the spree was a three-pointer from Lexi Garvey.

The Cougars scored the next seven points—five of them by Stribling—to get within four, but the Giants went on a 6-0 run to take a 10 point (50-40) lead with 7:55 left.

COS had a 12-point advantage with 4:31 left, but the Cougars kept working and scored the last nine points of the game.

Stribling had a three-point play with 34 seconds left to cut the margin to three.

Taft got the ball back with 14 seconds left when the defense forced a turnover.

Jackson called timeout to set up a play.

The pass went to Garvey—the team’s best three-point shooter—but she was double-teamed and forced to drive the baseline to the basket. The defense prevented her from getting off a good shot.

While Taylor gave the Cougars fits inside, quick Nicole Daye-Bryant captured game scoring honors with 24 points.

Two other Cougars scored in double figures.

Garvey finished with 14 points although she had a poor night outside the arc, making just two of 10.

Marcharica Quinn had 10 points.

Stribling and Quinn had 10 rebounds each, but for the game the Cougars were out-rebounded 60-33. The missing players could have been a factor.

The loss leaves the Cougars at 1-4 in the conference heading into Wednesday night’s home game against second-place Merced. Tipoff is at 6 p.m.

TAFT COLLEGE 59—Anfield 2 0-0 4, Quinn 5 0-0 10, Garvey 4 4-6 14, Washington 1 0-0 2, Stribling 8 6-8 22, Little 3 0-0 7. Totals: 26 10-14 59.
COLLEGE OF SEQUOIAS 62—Daye-Bryant 9 1-4 24, Richard 2 3-7 7, Taylor 11 0-1 22, Alexander 1 0-0 2, Hunter 1 3-3 8, Cox 1 0-0 2. Totals: 26 11-18 62.
Halftime: Taft 28, COS 25
Three-point goals: Taft 3 (Garvey 2, Little), COS 1 (Daye-Bryant). Rebounds: Taft 33 (Stribling 10, Quinn 10, Garvey 6), COS 60 (Taylor 16, Daye-Bryant 12, Richard 11, Hunter 8). Total fouls: Taft 18, COS 14. Fouled out: none. Records: Taft (4-16, 1-4 in CVC), COS 7-17 (2-4 in CVC).

Reedley’s depth overcomes Cougars

--posted 1/8/07    Taft College made 10^th-ranked Reedley College work hard for a Central Valley Conference victory Saturday night.

Reedley was coming off a 72-point (109-37) win over Porterville three nights earlier, but found the scrappy Cougars a much bigger challenge.

The Tigers closed the first half and opened the second half with scoring flurries that proved too much for the Cougars to overcome. The final score was 78-57.

“I was really pleased with the way we hustled and played hard,” Cougar coach Greg McCall said. “This is a great bunch of girls to work with. They really try hard.”

Depth is a problem for the Cougars who have just eight players that see equally time on the court. Reedley had a dozen and coach Brian Tessler substituted frequently.

“This was a tough loss, but I think we still can do well in the conference,” McCall said after his team dropped to 0-2 (3-14 overall). “It was good because we had an opportunitdy to work against a good pressure team.”

Reedley (19-5, 2-0) employs a swarming full-court pressure that double-teams the point guards.

That pressure forced 24 turnovers and played a key role in allowing the Tigers to put a little distance after TC made the first half close.

Reedley led by just two (32-30) with 1:24 left in the half when the Tigers converted three of four free throws for a five-point lead.

But in the last 51 seconds the Tigers made three steals for three quick baskets that led to an 11-point halftime bulge.

Reedley opened the second half with a 13-3 run in the first five minutes and eventually built a 25-point lead before the Cougars slowed the Tigers with their own pressure.

“We didn’t give up, and that’s what I like about this team,” McCall said. “They just keep working hard the entire game.”

The only thing that bothered McCall was his team’s inability to make shots in close.

“We must have missed 20 layups tonight. That was the big difference.”

And free-throws.

The Cougars made 5-of-15 while the Tigers sank 18-of-36.

Lexi Garvey led the Cougars with 16 points. Ashley Anfield scored 10, and Sharde Little 9.

Marsharica Quinn and Carolyn Stribling scored 6 and 7 points and each pulled down eight rebounds.

TC will be on the road to play Fresno City College Wednesday and will host Porterville Saturday at 5 p.m.

Reedley (78)—Kaufmann 15, Cooley 6, Blate 10, Crosson 4, Amundsen 23, Phanthamany 1, Hampton 9, Echevesste 1, Finney 3, Collins 4. Totals: 25, 18-36—78
Taft (57)—Little 9, Anfield 10, Quinn 6, Hubbard 4, Garvey 16, Washington 2, Stribling 7, Thompson 3.
Halftime: Reedley 41, Taft 30
3-point goals: Reedley 8 (amundsen 5), Taft 6 (Gravey 3, Quinn 2, Little 1). Total fouls: Reedley 16, Taft 25. Fouled out: Little, Garvey. Technicals: McCall.

Stribling scores 25 in Cougar loss

--posted 1/4/07    Freshman forward Carolyn Stribling’s one-woman show was not nearly enough to offset Modesto’s balance and superior height and depth Wednesday night as Taft College dropped its Central Valley Conference opener, 69-49.

Stribling, who prepped at West High in Bakersfield, scored a game-high 25 points, pulled down 10 rebounds and had seven steals.

The Cougars will need better balance if they are to be competitive against highly ranked Reedley College when the 18-5 Tigers come to town Saturday for a 5 p.m. tipoff in the Cougar Sports Center.

A pesky defense allowed the Cougars to stay with the taller Pirates early, but another cold shooting night didn’t allow TC to stay in it for long.

Modesto led by two at 15-13 as TC’s pressure defense forced a series of early turnovers.

But the Pirates outscored the Cougars 18-2 over the last eight and a half minutes of the first half to lead 33-19 at the half.

Modesto opened the second half with a 14-5 run in the first seven and a half minutes to open a 23-point lead.

Stribling got her points on six of 13 field goals and 13 of 17 from the free-throw line by driving to the hoop. Virtually all her points came in the paint.

Meanwhile, Modesto’s 6-2 center Krystle Brown was working inside for 14 points while 5-8 guard Britney Borba was popping in five from behind the arc for a team-high 19 points.

Ten of Modesto’s 12 players scored. The Cougars have just eight players and seven scored. The only exception was Lexi Garvey who had an off night. She scored 59 points in the three Foothill tournament games last weekend.

The Cougars shot just 31 percent from the field and 64 percent from the free-throw line.

Nikki Thompson scored 6 points, Sharde Little 5, Marsharica Quinn 4, and Ashley Anfield and Nikki Thompson 2.

Thompson also pulled down seven rebounds.

Cougars take 4^th in tournament

--posted 1/3/07    Freshman guard Lexi Garvey scored 59 points to lead the Taft College women’s basketball team to a fourth-place finish in the Foothill College Holiday Classic.

The Cougars opened the tournament by beating Sacramento City College 69-62 behind Gravey’s 24-point effort. That victory avenged a 55-44 loss to Sac City on Dec. 9 in a game played in Bakersfield’s Rabobank Arena.

This time out, the Cougars shot a lot better. They missed a lot of shots against the taller Panthers the first time around while playing solid defense. TC shot better in the rematch.

Garvey got half of her points on four three-point hoops. Sac City hit 10 from outside the arc.

Marsharica Quinn added 13 points, Carolyn Stribling 9 and Sharde Little 6.

The Cougars advanced to the winner’s bracket where they dropped a 68-54 decision to Contra Costa, a team ranked No. 3 in Northern California and No. 5 in the state.

It was the second time Contra Costa had beaten the Cougars. CC measured Taft 79-66 Nov. 24 in the Ventura tournament.

Garvey’s 15 paced the Cougars. Stribling added 13, Little 10, Quinn 8 and Theresa Hubbard 6.

The Cougars trailed by just two (27-25) at the half, but Contra Costa broke loose in the second half for 52 points.

In the third-place game, the Cougars were overpowered by Central Valley Conference foe Modesto JC, 67-48,

Garvey again led the Cougars with 20 points. She had three from outside the arc to give her eight for the tournament.

Little added 12 points and Quinn and Hubbard 6 apiece.

Modesto (10-8) led by six at the half—29-23—but pulled away in the second half.

The Cougars enter conference play this week with a 3-11 record and will have their work cut out for them.

Reedley is the favorite.

The Tigers are 17-5 and ranked fifth in NorCal and 10^th in the state. Reedley has lost its last three games heading into conference play.

The Tigers will be in Taft Saturday to take on the Cougars at 5 p.m. in the Cougar Sports Center.

Fresno is 12-7 and ranked seventh in NorCal and 12^th in the state, Modesto is 10-8, Merced 7-12, College of the Sequoias 5-11 and Porterville 3-11 and on a 10-game losing streak.

Cougars get elusive second victory

--posted 12/15/06   Taft College ended an eight-game losing streak at home Monday with a strong finish that earned a 59-49 victory over Los Angeles City College.

It was a battle of struggling teams. Both had identical 2-9 records when the game ended.

The win followed a 58-44 loss Saturday night to a taller Sacramento City College team in a game played at Bakersfield’s Rabobank Arena.

Freshman forward Carolyn Stribling scored 39 points and Ashley Anfield 31 in the two outings.

The LA City game was close until the Cougars went on a 10-0 run after the game was tied at 44 with 6:34 left.

Marsharica Quinn and Garvey ignited the spurt with back-to-back three-pointers.

Until then, the lead had changed hands 11 times and the game was tied six times.

A Stribling basket broke a 22-all tie and led a 6-2 Cougar edge that gave TC a 28-24 halftime lead.

The Cougars led by as much as seven (33-26) before the Lady Cubs regained the advantage 40-39 with 7:11 left in the game.

Garvey scored five points—including a three-pointer—that tied the game at 44.

Stribling gave the Cougars the lead and TC never looked back.

In addition to leading the scoring, Stribling pulled down a game-high 17 rebounds, Nikki Thompson had 13 and Quinn 11.

Garvey also had five steals.

In a preliminary game to the Bakersfield Jam NBA Development League game, Sacramento City College used a distinct height advantage to cruise out to a 12-5 lead and later went on a 17-2 run that put the Cougars down by 19 (at 31-12).

The Cougars scored the final five points of the half and played Sac City even through the first 11 minutes of the second half.

But the Panthers went on a 12-0 run fueled by three consecutive three-pointers that doubled the score on the Cougars at 56-28.

The Cougars kept scrapping, though.

TC outscored the Panthers 16-2 over the final 4:17 to cut the deficit in half by the final buzzer.

A cold-shooting first half doomed the Cougars.

"We are right there on defense," head coach Greg McCall said. "Our goal is to keep opponents under 60 (points). We just need to do a better job on offense."

He was pleased with the way his team shook off the big lead and finished strong.

"They really hang in there. They didn’t quit."

The Cougars head to the desert Saturday to play Barstow College, then take a couple of weeks off before playing in the Foothill Tournament in Los Altos.

Canyons spurt throttles Cougars early

--posted 12/7/06   Taft College managed to hang with tall and quick College of the Canyons for the first 10 minutes of their non-conference game Wednesday night in the Cougar Sports Center.

But Canyons went on a 16-0 run that mushroomed its lead to 20 points (32-12), and the visitors from Valencia never looked back.

The result was a 71-47 victory that was Taft’s eighth loss in a row. It was Canyons’ fifth win in six outings.

The Cougars will try to get back on the winning track Saturday when they play Sacramento City College in Bakersfield’s Rabobank Arena in a preliminary game to the Bakersfield Jam.

TC and Sac City will tip off at 4 p.m. The Jam—a new NBA development league team—will host the Tulsa 66ers at 7 p.m.

Cougar head coach Greg McCall is a volunteer assistant for the Jim Herrick-coached Jam.

Tickets—priced at $15 each—will get fans into both games.

The Cougars will host Los Angeles City College Monday at 6 p.m.

Canyons took a 41-21 lead into the halftime break and scored back-to-back three-pointers to open the second half with a 26-point lead.

The Cougars, however, switched from a man to a zone defense, continued to scrap offensively, and managed to trim a dozen points off the Canyons cushion.

TC, with its tallest players at 5-foot-9, couldn’t match Canyons’ inside strength.

Canyons also played a tough pressure defense, forcing the Cougars into turnovers. Taft finished with 24.

Lexi Garvey popped in a game-high three three-pointers to finish with 14 points—tops for the Cougars.

Carolyn Stribling scored eight of her 10 points in the second half.

Facion Edwards led Canyons with 15.

Despite its height disadvantage, the Cougars did well on the boards, pulling down 47 rebounds.

Theresa Hubbard led the way with 10, Stribling had eight and Nerida Washington and Nikki Thompson had seven each.

The Cougars shot 37 percent from the floor and 39 percent from the free-throw line.

College of the Canyons (71)—M. Wrighster 3 4-5 10, Jones 1 2-4 4, Ortiz 1 0-0 3, Dunlap 1 1-2 3, Bobic 4 0-0 9, Edwards 6 3-4 15, Moffert 1 2-3 5, A. Wrighster 5 1-2 13, Tachias 4 1-2 9. Totals: 26 14-22 71.

Taft College (47)—Little 1 0-2 2, Anfield 2 0-0 4, Quinn 2 0-0 4, Huggard 3 2-2 8, Garvey 4 3-8 14, Washington 1 0-0 3, Stribling 4 2-6 10, Thompson 1 0-0 2. Totals: 18 7-18 47.

Halftime: Canyons 41, Taft 21

Three-point goals: Canyons 4 (A. Wrighster 2, Ortiz, Bobic), Taft 4 (Garvey 3, Washington). Rebounds: Taft 47 (Hubbard 10, Stribling 8). Total fouls: Canyons 15, Taft 20. Fouled out: Thompson.

Cougars hope to turn it around

--posted 12/04/06   Taft College’s struggling women’s basketball team will try to end a seven-game losing streak this week with two home games—sort of.

The 1-7 Cougars will host College of the Canyons on Wednesday in the Cougar Sports Center in their first taste of home action. Tip-off is at 6 p.m.

TC was scheduled to host Los Angeles Southwest last Saturday afternoon, but the Southwest coach was unwilling to move the starting time a little later to accommodate the Cougars’ soccer playoff.

TC’s home game with Sacramento City College (7-5) this Saturday has been moved to Rabobank Arena in Bakersfield as a preliminary to the Bakersfield Jam NBA development league game. Tip-off is scheduled for 4 p.m.

The Cougars, after winning their first game of the season, have lost seven in a row.

TC staged a second half comeback that fell short Friday night in a 60-50 loss at Long Beach City College.

The Vikings were cruising with a 35-18 halftime lead after the Cougars shot just 25 percent.

Long Beach was up by 22 points at 50-28 when the Cougars went on an 8-0 run that fueled a 22-4 spurt that cut the Viking lead to just four points (54-50) with 2:43 left.

But that’s as close as the Cougars could get.

Long Beach’s defense forced four turnovers and the Vikings converted four of six free throws down the stretch to seal the victory.

With the win, the Vikings improved to 5-3.

Lexi Garvey led the Cougars with 16 points while Carolyn Stribling scored nine and pulled down a team-high 10 rebounds.

Ashley Anfield, Marsharic Quinn, and Nikki Thompson all scored six. Quinn and Thompson both had eight rebounds.

LBCC’s returning all-state sophomore guard Amber Thomas led all scorers with 17 points.

The Cougars will be hard pressed to get back on a winning track.

Canyons is 4-1, including a 72-57 win over Long Beach.

Cougars to play prelim at Jam game

--posted 11/30/06   Taft College women’s basketball team will play a game in Rabobank Arena as a preliminary to a Bakersfield Jam NBA development league game.

Cougar coach Greg McCall said the Dec. 9 home game with Sacramento City College will be played at Rabobank with tipoff scheduled for 4 p.m.

“It’s a good opportunity for us,” he said. “It will be a fund-raiser for our team.”

TC will get a portion of the proceeds from tickets sold in Taft.

“We have 200 tickets,” McCall said. “Our players will be selling them and they can be purchased at the college.”

The Bakersfield Jam is a new development league team coached by former UCLA head coach Jim Harrick. The Jam lost its season opener Saturday before a crowd of 5,800 at Rabobank.

TC has struggled in non-conference games because of a lack of height. The tallest players are 5-foot-9.

“When other teams have more than one tall player, it really hurts us,” McCall said. “We get hurt on the boards if we don’t do a good job of boxing out.”

The Cougars dropped a 75-60 decision to Allan Hancock College in Santa Maria on Tuesday to dip their overall record to 1-6.

Freshman forward Carolyn Stribling led Taft with 19 points. Marvsharicka Quinn added 10 points, nine of them coming on three-pointers. Theresa Hubbard scored nine, Sharde Little eight, Ashly Anfield seven, Nerida Washington four and Nikki Thompson three.

The L.A. Southwest game is the first of four straight at home, counting the Sac City game at Rabobank.

TC hosts College of the Canyons next Wednesday at 6 p.m., then has the game in the Arena, and finishes off the home stand Dec. 11 with Los Angeles City College, also at 6 p.m.

The Central Valley Conference opener is Jan. 3 when Modesto J.C. comes to town.

Cougars fall to Ohlone

--posted 11/20/06   Ohlone College used a height advantage to muscle in for points in the paint and turn back Taft College 88-66 Saturday in Fremont.

The loss was the third straight for the Cougars after winning the season opener. Ohlone is 3-0 on the young season.

TC will continue to be road warriors, traveling to the coast Friday for the three-day Ventura College tournament, then single games at Allan Hancock in Santa Maria on Nov. 28 and Long Beach City College on Dec. 1.

TC will be at a height disadvantage most of the season after losing the team’s only center—6-foot-1 sophomore Kilioe Aliifua—who was suspended for violating team rules.

That leaves the Cougars with three forwards who are 5-9 and one who is 5-7.

Offensively against Ohlone the Cougars had to rely on outside shooting. They popped in seven three-pointers led by Lexi Garvey’s four. Carolyn Stribling had two and Nerida Washington one.

Garvey led Cougar scorers with 16, Stribling scored 14, Marvsharicka Quinn 12, Sharde Little 10, Washington nine and Theresa Hubbard five.

Taft College 66—Little 10, Quinn 12, Hubbard 5, Garvey 16, Washington 9, Stribling 14.
Ohlone College 88—Wright 14, Fisher 15, Sands 3, Lyons 14, Wilson 12, Johnson 25, Houston 5.
Halftime: Ohlone 44, Taft 32
3-pointd goals: Taft 7 (Garvey 4, Stribling 2, Washington 1); Ohlone 1 (Fisher). Fouls—Taft 24, Ohlone 23. Technical fouls—Taft coach McCall.

Cougar women drop two in tournament

--posted 11/13/06   Ineffectiveness at the free-throw line proved costly for the Taft College women’s basketball team in the Pasadena Roundball Classic.

The Cougars made just nine out of 34 from the line (26 percent) in losing two close games.

On Friday, the Cougars sank just three of 16 free-throws in a 68-62 loss to College of the Desert.

On Saturday, the team improved a little—making six of 18—but, again, it wasn’t enough. This time, Chaffey College benefited, winning 75-68.

“Missing all those free-throws cost us in both games,” said head coach Greg McCall. “In both games if we make some free-throws we win both.”

The defense continues to play well, getting 22 steals, and McCall found some continuity in scoring when four players finished in double figures against Chaffey.

In both games the Cougars trailed throughout, but were unable to catch up due largely to the inability to score from the line.

Center Kili Aliifua led the team against Desert with 26 points on 9-of-12 from the field and 8-of-10 from the line. She was the only player with success from the charity stripe.

Carolyn Stribling scored 17 and pulled down eight rebounds.

Garvey also had eight boards and Aliifua six.

Against Chaffey, the scoring was more balanced.

Aliifua once again led with 15 points, followed by Stribling with 17, Gravey with 13, and Quinn with 11.

Stribling again led the Cougars with seven boards. She had three steals.

The Cougars are shooting well from the field.

They made 41 of 78 from two-point range for 53.5 percent.

Against Desert they made just three of 16 from three-point range, but improved against Chaffey with six of 18. Gravey had three.

The Cougars get most of the week off. They will head north to play Ohlone College on Sunday, a game McCall is trying to reschedule for Saturday.

Saturday’s scheduled game with College of Marin, also to be played at Ohlone College, was cancelled when Marin scuttled its season due to a lack of players.

“Since we won’t be playing Marin, I’m trying to get the Ohlone game rescheduled for Saturday.”

Cougars win hoop opener

--posted 11/11/06   Two statistics from Taft College’s 59-54 season opening women’s basketball victory Tuesday over Cuesta College in San Luis Obispo stand out.

The first is that the Cougars missed all 24 of their shots from three-point range. That’s right—oh for twenty-four.

But the defense swiped the ball 22 times.

And that, according to head coach Greg McCall, was the difference.

“The defense definitely won it for us,” he said. “I think our defense is going to win us a lot of games this year.”

The one bright spot on offense was the work of freshman forward Carolyn Stribling, who scored 24 points and grabbed eight rebounds.

“Carolyn played very well, but overall, we are going to struggle offensively.”

He was at a loss to explain the goose egg from outside the arc.

“We make them all the time in practice. It might have just been first-game jitters. At least, I hope so. It looked as though we were thinking too much about our shots instead of just stroking it.”

Free-throw shooting was another concern.

TC made just nine of 24.

The Cougars had a 30-17 halftime lead, but Cuesta chipped away in the second half and at one point pulled to within two points.

“But we held on,” McCall said, taking the blame for not blunting Cuesta’s surge earlier. “I didn’t make a defensive adjustment quickly enough in the second half.”

Lexi Garvey scored nine points and had five steals.

Nerida Washington led the team with six steals.

McCall said both teams tired in the second half.

“It was a hot day on the coast and their gym doesn’t have air conditioning. Both teams struggled, but I think it bothered their players more than us.”

The Cougars head south for the eight-team, double-elimination Pasadena Roundball Classic this weekend, drawing College of the Desert in the first round. Depending on the outcome, TC will play the winner or loser of the Chaffey-Contra Costa game in the semi-finals.

Taft College (59)—Little 2, Anfield 6, Quinn 4, Hubbard 2, Garvey 9, Washington 2, Stribling 24, Aliifua 6, Thompson 4.

Cuesta College (54)—Carr 8, Fackrell 8, Woeste 14, Smith 4, Dannendaum 2, Kirby 18.

Halftime: Taft 30, Cuesta 17

Cougar hoop team green

--posted 11/8/06   Although the school colors are black and gold, you can color the Taft College women’s basketball team green.

Only one returnee from last year plus a transfer from a community college wiped out by Hurricane Katrina leaves coach Greg McCall with a team that is woefully short on experience.

But, he’s OK with that.

Sure, he’d like more experience and a little more height, but he’s pleased with the work ethic, speed and quickness of his young team.

“We have only two players with any experience and we are fairly small, but very, very quick,” he said. “This is the best defensive team I’ve had since I have been here. They really get after it.”

He said the team is anxious to start the season.

“The girls are really excited. They’re tired of just practicing. This team is one of those that practice hard. I’ll tell them if they practice hard I’ll let them run the next two practices. They might even work harder when they run the practice themselves. I’m really impressed with their work ethic.”

The Cougars open the campaign by playing their first 10 games on the road—two tournaments that will account for six games and single games against Cuesta, Ohlone, Allan Hancock and Long Beach City.

They debut at home on Dec. 2 against Los Angeles Southwest. That will be the first of four consecutive home games.

“They’re going to have to be road warriors the first month of the season,” McCall said.

His only experienced players are returning center Kilioe Aliifua, who played behind the 6-4 Sherrisa Bayes, who graduated, and transfer Sharde Little.

At 6-feet, Aliifua is the tallest player on the team.

At 5-foot-3, Little is—well—the littlest player on the team. She was headed for an NAIA school when McCall saw her shooting baskets at a 24-Hour Fitness Center in Houston while attending a coaching clinic.

“We got to talking, and when she found out Taft would be a lot cheaper, she enrolled,” he said.

Little will play both point and shooting guard.

Three others from last year’s team did not return to school, including second team all-conference forward Anna Valdez who opted to go to work instead of taking more classes.

“Anna would have been a great asset,” McCall said.

He has three freshmen from an outstanding West High team—5-6 guard Ashley Anfield and 5-9 forwards Carolyn Stribling and Nikki Thompson.

Another 5-9 forward from Bakersfield is Theresa Hubbard, who prepped at Ridgeview.

The other freshmen are Lexi Garvey, a 5-7 guard from Juneau, Alaska; Marvsharicka Quinn, a 5-7 forward from McComb, Miss.; and Nerida Washington, a 5-3 guard from Waldorf, Md.

He lost freshman center Andrea Stigall to knee surgery early in the practice season.

“She is a great leaper and is capable of dunking the ball,” he said.

McCall said his team will be run-and-gun on offense while using “in your face” pressure on defense.

He looks to Quinn to be a rebound leader.

“She rebounds very well for her size because she has such good timing. She should get some offensive rebounds and put-backs because of her skills.”

Stribling will be a key to the Cougar offense.

“Right now she is our go-to player,” McCall said. “She is talented and is an excellent student. UC Santa Barbara is already interested in her.”

He said he expects all nine of his player to get playing time.

“We’re trying to teach them to play different spots so we can mix things up and create some opportunities.”