The girls’ varsity basketball team travelled to Cesar Chavez in Delano on Thurs., Jan. 18. Although the ‘Cats took an unfortunate loss, the girls held a tied score with the Titans along the way, just until the last three minutes of the fourth quarter. The final score was 42-52.

The girls went out onto the court with high spirits and much confidence in themselves prior to the fourth quarter. In quarter one, both the Wildcats and the Titans managed to score eleven points. In the second quarter, Taft gained seven points while Chavez reached eight. As the girls progressed to the third quarter after halftime, each team advanced fifteen points. In the last quarter of the game, Taft scored nine points and Chavez made eighteen. Taft’s own sophomore Reagan Hamilton scored a total of seventeen points for the Wildcats. Alana Iotamo, a junior, totalled six points, while Morgan Pulido, another sophomore, obtained four points. Along with Pulido, a junior, Cherise Strong, and a senior, Samantha Verdugo, also scored four points for the ‘Cats. Senior Haley Pulido made three points and sophomores Kyleigh Phillips and Sierra Kozloski made two points. Morgan Pulido and Samantha Verdugo both fouled out of the game in the last two quarters, which put stress on the coach and a few players. Despite their loss, the ‘Cats played a great game until the very end when they started to feel discouraged. The team was upset with their loss, but they are practicing and preparing to take a win the next time they play Cesar Chavez.