BLINN WOMEN’S BASKETBALL DEFEAT HILL COLLEGE
Story by Joe Alberico, Blinn College Sports Information
The Blinn College women’s basketball team erased a double-digit deficit in the first half and rode that momentum to a 76-67 non-region victory over Hill College on Monday at the Kruse Center in Brenham, Texas.
The Buccaneers improved to 1-1 on the season.
“I thought we played hard, and we found a way to win,” Blinn head coach Jeff Jenkins said. “We fouled too much and defensively we gave their shooters too many open looks, but we overcame a lot and we can correct the mistakes we made tonight.”
Jenkins said he was disappointed with the Bucs’ defensive rebounding but said his team more than made up for it with a strong performance on the offensive glass. Blinn earned numerous second-chance opportunities which led to points in crucial moments.
Freshman forward Kamaria “Juice” Ford anchored those efforts in the paint as she finished with a team-high 17 points and made four trips to the free throw line, where she finished 5 of 8.
“Rebounding is a big part of our gameplan and what makes our offense go,” Ford said. “You get a board, you get another chance, and you score … that’s what we did tonight.”
After Hill built an 18-14 lead at the end of the first quarter, the Rebels pushed their advantage to 28-16 midway through the second.
Blinn then shook off its slow start beginning with a single free throw from sophomore guard Jasey Campbell that ignited a 13-0 half-ending run. Freshman forward Phoenix Sneed added a turnaround jumper as she was fouled and converted the subsequent free throw; freshman guard Mariah Davis sank a pair of free throws; Campbell added a jumper of her own; and Davis drilled a 3-pointer with 2:07 left in the period to put Blinn on top 29-28.
The Bucs took that lead into the intermission.
“Our energy was key tonight,” Davis explained. “When we miss a shot or we don’t make a stop on defense, we regroup and stay together, and that allowed us to pick the momentum back up.”
Blinn led the rest of the way, including a game-high 15-point edge in the third quarter, but Hill chipped away in the fourth.
With the Bucs leading 54-44 to start the final period, the Rebels went on an 18-10 move to pull within 64-62 late.
Blinn extinguished Hill’s rally in emphatic fashion when Ford knocked down a free throw to ignite an 8-0 run. Ford scored four points during the decisive move.
Davis followed Ford with 16 points, and Campbell and sophomore guard Mariah Houston finished with 10 apiece.
Up next, the Bucs face Connors State College on day one of the two-day Paris Classic at 11 a.m. on Friday in Paris, Texas. Blinn finishes the Classic against Northwest Mississippi Community College at 1 p.m. on Saturday.