#23-BUC WOMEN FALL TO #8-TRINITY VALLEY, 94-91

The No. 23 Blinn College women’s basketball team fell after a hard-fought battle to No. 8 Trinity Valley Community College, 94-91, in the Kruse Center Wednesday.

With the loss, the Buccaneers now hold an 8-5 overall record and 4-3 conference record.

“My team made shots offensively all night, and is very talented and competitive,” head coach Jeff Jenkins said. “A coach is in charge of the defense, so this loss is on me. We will come back, watch every defensive possession this weekend, and work on defense.”

Hailey Atwood scored a season-high 26 points to lead Blinn’s offense. Keaundra Eddings followed with 20 points, Telisha Brown put up 19, and Jessica Soders came up with 11.

“I thought our effort offensively was great and that we made plays all night,” Jenkins said. “We just have to get better defensively, and defense has been a strength all year.”

The Buccaneers headed into the final quarter trailing by 10 points (72-62), but put together a rally to lead 84-83 with 4:16 left to play. Brown opened the quarter with a 3-pointer, then Atwood and Eddings each made a shot from downtown to trail Trinity Valley 78-76. Eddings and Soders kept things rolling with back-to-back 3-pointers to put the Buccaneers on top 84-83. The Lady Cardinals took back a one-point lead, but Eddings made a 2-pointer for Blinn to lead 86-85. Trinity Valley rallied for the next eight points to lead 93-88 for good. With 3.2 seconds on the clock, Brown shot a 3-pointer for Blinn to trail 93-91. Trinity Valley scored the final point at the free throw line for the three-point win.

Earlier in the game, Trinity Valley opened the first quarter with a 10-6 lead, but Briauna Johnson followed with a 3-pointer to keep Blinn close behind. Brown scored four straight points for Blinn trail 20-18 with 2:03 remaining in the quarter. In the final two minutes, Soders and Brown combined for nine points to even the score 25-25. Trinity Valley ended the quarter with a layup to lead 27-25.

The Buccaneers opened the second quarter on a 9-2 run to take a 34-31 lead. However, Trinity Valley came back with an 11-0 run to hold a 44-34 advantage at the 2:41 mark. Brown scored the final five points for the Buccaneers to trail 49-40 at the break.

In the third quarter, Trinity Valley extended its lead to 10 points (61-51) halfway through. The Lady Cardinals then went on a 7-3 run to lead 70-56. Atwood made a 3-pointer to spark the offense and Eddings finished the quarter with a 3-pointer for Blinn to trail 72-62.

Despite the Buccaneers outscoring the Lady Cardinals 29-22 in the fourth quarter, Trinity Valley still came out with the 94-91 win.

Next, the Buccaneers will travel to face off against Jacksonville College on Monday, March 15, at 5:30 p.m.

For more information, visit www.buccaneersports.com.

(COURTESY: Tara Dreyer)