BUC WOMEN SEE HOOP SEASON END

Buccaneers eliminated by Tyler in regional quarterfinals, 64-48

Blinn trailed by 16 at halftime and was unable to recover

JACKSONVILLE, Texas – Blinn College women’s basketball started slow offensively and never recovered as Tyler Junior College picked up a 64-48 victory in the Region XIV quarterfinals Wednesday afternoon inside John Alexander Gymnasium.

“I thought that if we held Tyler to under 70 points that we would have a chance to win but we shot 23 percent from the floor and had problems scoring,” said Jeff Jenkins, Blinn head coach. “This team is one of the best defensive and rebounding teams that I have had here at Blinn.”

With the loss, Blinn ends the season with a 19-12 record and 12-8 in Region XIV regular season play.

Jade Rochelle was able to find offense in spurts and led the Buccaneers with 15 points and 11 rebounds while Jasmine Redmon chipped in 12 points as the other player in double figures. Ke’Asia Williams worked hard down low and added eight points and nine rebounds.

Offense was a struggle right from the beginning as Tyler jumped out to a 9-2 lead and then later expanded that lead to 20-4 with under two minutes to play in the opening quarter. Jasline Chandler was able to score four points in the quarter but Tyler led 20-8 after one.

Blinn did a better job defensively in the second quarter and held Tyler to only 14 points. The Buccaneers could only make two shots from the field and were outscored 14-10. Redmon scored five in the quarter but Blinn trailed 34-18 at halftime.

The third quarter gave the Buccaneers a little hope as Williams and Redmon each scored five points. Blinn outscored Tyler 16-11 in the third to get within 45-34 after three quarters.

Blinn continued to chip into the Tyler lead as Bryanna Taylor drove to the basket to a layup with 8:02 left to get within 48-40 but that would be as close as the Buccaneers would get. Tyler outscored Blinn 19-14 in the quarter to move on to the semifinals with a 16-point victory.

“The majority of my players gave me everything they had,” Jenkins said. “Every practice and every game was full effort and I will forever be appreciative of their effort.”

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