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Taft College used its balance to turn back a late flurry from Reedley College en route to a 72-66 Central Valley Conference victory Saturday night in the Cougar Sports Center.
The win moved the Cougars back into a second place tie with Reedley and Merced at 4-3 and avenged a 72-70 loss last month in the first round of conference play.
The Cougars also improved to 16-9 overall.
The Cougars led most of the way, surrendering their advantage briefly only twice in the second half. The biggest margins were 12 in the first half and 13 in the second.
Whenever Reedley tried to reel them in the Cougars would create some distance.
“The difference was a fast start,” head coach Tyrone Taylor said. “The important thing is that we held our composure down the stretch.”
TC had a 63-50 lead with 5:25 left before the Tigers pulled within four twice but could never catch up.
The Cougars had opportunities to pull away at the free-throw line in the final minutes, but managed to make just four of 10.
Summer Webb and Demmi Nunn paced the Cougars with 16 points apiece. Nunn contributed seven assists.
Zanoria Echols came off the bench to score 11 points and pull down a team-high nine rebounds. She had a key rebound and put-back plus two three throws when the Tigers made a late charge.
Maurissa Morones also scored 11 points and had eight rebounds. LaVera Robertson had six points and eight rebounds and Katrina Huggins eight points. Bezait Anbesse and Shelly Gill scored two points apiece.
Turnovers continued to plague the Cougars especially down the stretch. TC had 18.
The Cougars have a bye Wednesday before returning to action Saturday at Porterville. Then it’s a trip to Visalia Feb. 15 to play Sequoias before closing out the regular season at home Feb. 18 when Merced comes to town.
Taft College used its balance to turn back a late flurry from Reedley College en route to a 72-66 Central Valley Conference victory Saturday night in the Cougar Sports Center.
The win moved the Cougars back into a second place tie with Reedley and Merced at 4-3 and avenged a 72-70 loss last month in the first round of conference play.
The Cougars also improved to 16-9 overall.
The Cougars led most of the way, surrendering their advantage briefly only twice in the second half. The biggest margins were 12 in the first half and 13 in the second.
Whenever Reedley tried to reel them in the Cougars would create some distance.
“The difference was a fast start,” head coach Tyrone Taylor said. “The important thing is that we held our composure down the stretch.”
TC had a 63-50 lead with 5:25 left before the Tigers pulled within four twice but could never catch up.
The Cougars had opportunities to pull away at the free-throw line in the final minutes, but managed to make just four of 10.
Summer Webb and Demmi Nunn paced the Cougars with 16 points apiece. Nunn contributed seven assists.
Zanoria Echols came off the bench to score 11 points and pull down a team-high nine rebounds. She had a key rebound and put-back plus two three throws when the Tigers made a late charge.
Maurissa Morones also scored 11 points and had eight rebounds. LaVera Robertson had six points and eight rebounds and Katrina Huggins eight points. Bezait Anbesse and Shelly Gill scored two points apiece.
Turnovers continued to plague the Cougars especially down the stretch. TC had 18.
The Cougars have a bye Wednesday before returning to action Saturday at Porterville. Then it’s a trip to Visalia Feb. 15 to play Sequoias before closing out the regular season at home Feb. 18 when Merced comes to town.
