TYLER KNOCKS BUCS OUT OF REGION TOURNEY
Lady Apaches pull away in second half to 95-83 victory
TYLER, Texas – With a berth for the NJCAA Division I Women’s Basketball Championship on the line, the Tyler Lady Apaches made one more momentum changing play than the Blinn women’s basketball team.
With less than a second remaining in the first half, Tyler’s Victoria Kemokai drained a 3-pointer that gave the Lady Apaches a three-point lead going into halftime.
Tyler carried the momentum from that shot and beat the Buccaneers 95-83 in the Region XIV Conference Tournament semifinals. With the win, Tyler clinches a berth to the national tournament and advances to the region tournament finals against No. 1-ranked Trinity Valley on Saturday.
“Tyler made more plays than us and we didn’t play very smart on defense,” Blinn (26-6) coach Jeff Jenkins said. “We didn’t protect the rim or pick up the ball—in man-to-man defense, you can’t do that—and Tyler got some easy layups.”
Blinn and Tyler were deadlocked the entire first half as no team was able to ahead by more than five points.
Though the Bucs had 14 first-half turnovers, Jenkins was pleased with the team’s offensive output. Blinn shot 50 percent from the field (17 of 32) and sophomore post Fatima Adams scored 18 of her game-high 33 points.
Tyler was nearly unstoppable in the second half.
After Katrina Hayden, who scored 11 points, hit a layup to start the half, Tyler took over and stormed to an 11-point lead with 11 minutes to play. With less than two minutes remaining, the Lady Apaches led by 21.
“We had to outscore Tyler tonight with the way our defense was playing, and we hit a drought and couldn’t keep up,” Jenkins said. “That’s our fault as coaches for not having the defense more prepared.”
Tyler shot 55 percent from the field, including a 50 percent showing from behind the 3-point arc, and pulled down 10 offensive rebounds in the game.
“You can’t give up those numbers and expect to win,” Jenkins said.
Shernise Robertson led the Lady Apaches with 22 points.
Though Blinn didn’t earn an automatic bid to the national tournament, there’s an outside chance the Bucs could claim one of four of the NJCAA’s at-large bids, which are awarded by a selection committee. The announcement should come early next week.
Blinn is ranked 12th in the nation and has made a steady climb in the NJCAA national poll in the final weeks of the regular season. The Bucs were ranked No. 6 in the preseason poll after advancing to the Elite Eight at the national tournament last season. Blinn was awarded an at-large bid after falling to Trinity Valley in the regional finals last year.
The Bucs defeated Kaskaskia (Ill.) College and Darton (Ga.) State College at the national tournament, the team’s first wins on the national stage, before falling to eventual champion Trinity Valley in the Elite Eight.
“Hopefully our season isn’t over yet,” Jenkins said. “Since November we’ve only lost two games, one to Tyler and another to Trinity Valley.”
For more information on Blinn women’s basketball, visit www.buccaneersports.com.
(Story courtesy: Matt Keyser, Blinn Information)