The Taft girls basketball team’s historic season ended one win shy of the state semifinals, but not before the Lady Greyhounds cemented their place in school history.
Taft advanced to the regional final for the first time in program history, in what is believed to be the first regional final appearance by any girls or boys team.
The Lady Greyhounds’ run included a dramatic 35-34 win against San Antonio Cole in the regional semifinals, sealed by a buzzer-beating shot from junior Krista Amaya.
“This has been an amazing year because no one at Taft has ever gotten this far, and for us to do that is really big,” said Amaya, who finished with a team-best 10 points. “This is a great team, so it wasn’t that hard. Everyone contributes in their own way.”
The Lady Greyhounds’ historic season came to an end with a 77-42 Class 3A Division II regional final loss to Jourdanton on Friday, Feb. 27 at Calallen High School.
Taft’s breakthrough season came under first-year coach Darias Whittington, who guided the program to its deepest playoff run in her first season.
Whittington, who played multiple sports at Carroll and graduated in 2015, said the foundation for the season was built months before the playoffs began.
“This team was able to accomplish something that no one in Taft has done on the boys or girls side,” Whittington said. “They really gave their all this year. Most of our girls do not play travel ball. We are a small community and a small school, so we share athletes. I did not get half of my team until volleyball season ended, so we just had to grind it out.”
Taft finished 22-16 under Whittington and finished third in a competitive District 29-3A with London, West Oso and Aransas Pass.
Amaya credited Whittington and the rest of the Taft coaching staff for setting the tone early in the season.
“I love her. She has been such a great mentor. Her coming in is how we got here,” Amaya said. “She and all the coaches put in so much time and effort for us. This season motivates me a lot because I want to go farther next year. I want to get to state. It feels good to see the community come out and support us. I think it is going to be a good group. We just have to keep putting in the work in the summer and we will be good.”
The loss marked the final high school game for seniors Josette Aparicio and Marissa Cortez. The Lady Greyhounds will return a heavy junior class that gained valuable playoff experience during this year’s historic run.
“These kids like to work,” Whittington said. “They like to play basketball and they have loved it since they were young. I have four out of my five starters coming back and a sophomore who is looking to make a big stride this summer. It is going to be something to watch out for.”
Taft believes this season helped set the tone for next season. In fact, the Lady Greyhounds learned during realignment in January that they will shift from Class 3A Division II to Class 2A Division I, opening the door for new opportunities.
“Everyone was open to having a new coach and they were excited,” Whittington said. “They opened up to me. They allowed me to coach them hard and allowed my assistants to do the same. When you have a new staff, sometimes it takes time, but they leaned on us and we leaned on them. That is what made this whole thing work.”
This article originally appeared on Corpus Christi Caller Times: Taft girls basketball sets new standard with historic run to regional finals
Reporting by Rey Castillo, Corpus Christi Caller Times / Corpus Christi Caller Times
USA TODAY Network via Reuters Connect
