Basketball Recap: Taft Falls Despite Big Games from Alcy Lavigne and Taylor Olson

Taft was not able to break out of their rough patch on Friday as the team picked up their fifth straight defeat. 2025 welcomed they with a 70-47 loss courtesy of the O'Connor Panthers. While losing is never fun, the Raiders can't take it too hard given the team's big disadvantage in MaxPreps' Texas basketball rankings (they are ranked 876th, while the Panthers are ranked 380th).

Taft's loss came despite strong showings from Taylor Olson and Alcy Lavigne. Olson went 10 of 20 en route to 22 points and five rebounds, while Lavigne went 7 of 16 on her way to 16 points along with six rebounds and three steals. The dominant performance gave Olson a new career-high in points.

Casey Chavez continued her habit of posting crazy stat lines for O'Connor, dropping a double-double on 41 points and 14 boards. Chavez's afternoon made it seven games in a row in which she has scored at least ten points. The team also got some help courtesy of Sadie Hererra, who posted seven points along with six assists and five steals.

Taft's loss dropped their record down to 9-18. As for O'Connor, the victory (which was their fourth in a row) raised their record to 13-12.

Taft didn't take long to hit the court again: they've already played their next matchup, a 51-32 defeat against Marshall on the 8th. As for O'Connor, they also wasted no time getting back out on the court and have already played their next game, a 56-43 win against Warren on the 8th.