BUC WOMEN OPEN PLAY TONIGHT IN NJCAA NATIONAL TOURNEY

Offense may come and go, but for the Blinn College women's basketball team, it's defense that has led the Buccaneers to their first Region XIV Conference championship since the 1988-89 season.

"I really do believe that our defense is what makes us a special team," Blinn coach Jeff Jenkins said. "We were able to get stops, and Ekiya Gray and Penina Faumui would get the rebounds for us after a miss."

Blinn allowed just 60.1 points per game over the course of the season, and in the championship game held San Jacinto College-North to 44 points, a new conference low.

The Buccaneers will take that stingy defense and its 25-8 record to the national tournament as the No. 12 seed against No. 21 Itawamba Community College in the first-round game on Monday, March 14, at 8 p.m. in the Rip Griffin Center in Lubbock. This season marks Blinn's third appearance at the NJCAA Division I National Tournament in the past four seasons.

"We coach 18- and 19-year-olds, and the fact that they come to practice and work hard every day is pretty special," Jenkins said. "I can count on one hand how many bad practices we have had and at the junior college level that is pretty rare."

Faumui turned up her play in the Region XIV Tournament, averaging 11.3 points and 13.3 rebounds on her way to being named the tournament's most valuable player. Faumui was also named to the honorable mention all-conference team.

Ebony Parker and Gray both earned all-region and all-conference honors this season. Parker led the team with 17.8 points per game while Gray averages 13.8 points and 7.5 rebounds per game. Jeliah Preston also earned all-conference honors while averaging 13.2 points per game.

Tournament information can be found at www.njcaa.org and all games will be streamed live at www.njcaatv.com.

For more information, visit www.buccaneersports.com.

(Story courtesy: Jake Gordon, Blinn Information)

2016 NJCAA WOMEN'S NATIONAL CHAMPIONSHIP
RIP GRIFFIN CENTER, LUBBOCK CHRISTIAN UNIVERSITY

MONDAY
10:00, 16-GEORGIA HIGLANDS vs. 17-GILLETTE
12:00, 9-MIDLAND vs. 24-HIGHLAND
2:00, 15-EASTERN ARIZONA vs. 18-N. OKLAHOMA-ENID
4:00, 10-COWLEY CO. vs., 23-ASA-NEW YORK
6:00, 13-NE-OKLAHOMA vs. 20-LAKE REGION STATE
8:00, 12-BLINN BUCCANEERS vs. 21-ITAWAMBA

TUESDAY
10:00, 14-NORTHEAST vs. 19-VINCENNES
12:00, 11-N.W. FLORIDA ST. vs. 22-HARFORD
2:00, 1-GULF COAST ST. vs. GEORGIA HIGHLANDS/GILLETTE WINNER
4:00, 8-WALTERS ST. vs. MIDLAND/HIGHLAND ST. WINNER
6:00, 2-SHELTON ST. vs. EASTERN ARIZONA/N. OKLAHOMA-ENID WINNER
8:00, 7-DAYTON ST. vs. COWLEY CO./ASA-NEW YORK WINNER

WEDNESDAY
1:00, 4-NEW MEXICO vs. NE OKLAHOMA/LAKE REGION ST. WINNER
3:00, 5-SOUTHERN IDAHO vs. BLINN/ITAWAMBA WINNER
5:00, 3-SALT LAKE vs. NORTHEASYT/VINCENNES WINNER
7:00, 6-TRINITY VALLEY vs. NW FLORIDA ST./HARFORD WINNER

THURSDAY
QUARTERFINALS
1:00, 3:00, 5:00, 7:00

FRIDAY
SEMIFINALS
5:00, 7:00

SATURDAY
3RD PLACE GAME, 4;30
CHAMPIONSHIP, 7:00