BUCCANEER WOMEN ADVANCE TO REGION CHAMPIONSHIP GAME
No. 22 Blinn wins ugly over No. 20 Tyler for a spot in the Region XIV championship, 60-52
Buccaneers able to get semifinal victory on rough offensive game
LUFKIN, Texas – It wasn’t the prettiest game offensively but Blinn College women’s basketball was able to lead wire-to-wire to get the 60-52 victory over Tyler Junior College in the Region XIV semifinals Friday afternoon in Lufkin.
(Blinn Information)
With the victory, the Buccaneers improve to 24-8 overall and earn a spot in the Region XIV championship game against San Jacinto College-North on Saturday, March 5 at 5:30 p.m. The winner of the Region XIV championship game will receive an automatic bid to the NJCAA DI Women’s Basketball Championship at the Rip Griffin Center in Lubbock from March 14-19.
“It is all about surviving and advancing,” said Blinn coach Jeff Jenkins. “I don’t think we played well offensively and had too many turnovers down the stretch but we found a way to win in the second half.”
Ebony Parker was able to lead Blinn with 20 points while Jeliah Preston finished with 15 and Ekiya Gray added 12 points in the victory.
The first quarter was the only quarter that Blinn looked crisp offensively as the Buccaneers scored the first 10 points of the game. Parker was hitting early on with eight points in the quarter the Blinn defense did not allow Tyler to make a field goal in the first period to take an 18-6 lead.
Tyler brought Blinn back down to Earth a little in the second quarter by scoring the first six points on opening with a 9-3 run to get within 21-15 with 7:02 left in the half. Tyler turned up the pressure on Blinn and outscored the Buccaneers 23-13 in the second period but still trailed 31-29 at the break.
Blinn came out in the second half and scored the first five points and after a layup by Penina Faumui, the Buccaneers led 38-30 with 6:09 left in the third. Balanced scoring helped Blinn maintain its lead as Preston and Gray each scored four points in the quarter to help the Buccaneers to a 44-39 lead after three.
Tyler got within 49-47 with 4:22 left in the game but that would be as close as the Apaches would get as Blinn was able to still hold on to its lead. Gray scored four points down the stretch and Parker nailed a 3-pointer in the final minute to put the final seal on the eight-point victory.
Blinn went 4 of 19 from 3-point range, 8 for 18 from the free throw line and made only 24 of 64 shots and still got the semifinal win.
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(Story courtesy, Jake Gordon, Blinn Information)