Basketball Recap: Taft Comes Up Short

Wildcats

Previous 5 Games

01/06/26 vs Shafter	19-61
12/30/25 vs Foothill	33-27
12/29/25 vs Mira Monte	34-29
12/27/25 vs South	36-26
12/19/25 @ Highland	52-18

Taft dropped down to 8-7 on Tuesday, ending the team's five-game streak of wins. They took a blow against the Shafter Generals, falling 61-19. The Wildcats were in a tough position after the first half, with the score already sitting at 36-8.

Despite the loss, Taft had strong showings from Fynnley Arnold, who posted six points, and Alaysia Taylor, who put up four points and nine boards. Arnold is also on a roll when it comes to field goal percentage, as she's posted one of at least 50% in the last six games she's played.

As for Shafter, they are on a roll lately: they've won nine of their last 11 games. That's provided a nice bump to their 11-4 record this season. Given their advantage in MaxPreps' California basketball rankings (they are ranked 145th, while Taft is ranked 720th) , the win wasn't entirely unexpected.

Shafter was led to victory by Kyla Schooley and AnneMarie Piuser. Schooley almost dropped a double-double with 19 points and nine rebounds, while Piuser had 16 points and eight steals. Schooley continues to improve, besting her previous point total in each of the last four games she's played. The team also got some help courtesy of Alexcis Iribe, who earned ten points.

Taft wasted no time getting back out on the court and has already played their next matchup, a 50-39 victory against Wasco on the 9th. As for Shafter, they have also already played their next contest, a 65-25 win against McFarland on the 8th.