#18 BUCCANEER WOMEN UPSET #9 TYLER TO OPEN CONFERENCE PLAY

BRENHAM, Texas — Hailey Atwood scored a team-high 19 points to help the No. 18 Blinn College women’s basketball team upset No. 9 Tyler Junior College, 62-59, Wednesday night to open Region XIV play in the Kruse Center.

With the win, the Buccaneers now hold a 1-0 conference record and 5-1 overall record.

“They are so good defensively in practice and they play so hard, so it keeps us in a lot of games when we are struggling offensively,” head coach Jeff Jenkins said. “The Apaches are great athletes, and it was an up and down game. It is nice to finally beat Tyler, a team ranked ninth, because that’s one thing we couldn’t do last year even though we played them well.”

Ah’Jaya Johnson scored 11 points and Telisha Brown scored 10 to follow Atwood on offense.

“This game means a lot to my whole team and the seven sophomores who were here last year,” Atwood said. “We had two chances to beat Tyler last year and didn’t pull through, so we came into this game knowing we had an opportunity to win. We had a great practice yesterday, so I think that definitely translated into today’s game.”

Atwood and Keaundra Eddings combined for eight points to lead Blinn in the opening quarter. Eddings hit a 3-pointer to give Blinn a 4-2 lead early on. Tyler and Blinn played a tight quarter, but Atwood’s 2-pointer gave the Buccaneers a 12-10 lead to conclude it.

In the second quarter, Tyler went on an 8-0 run to get back an 18-13 lead. Johnson put up four points, a 2-pointer and two free throws, during an 8-2 run for Blinn to pull back ahead 21-20. The Apaches took back a 28-24 lead, but Atwood scored the final four points of the quarter for Blinn to even the score at the halfway mark.

Brown opened the third quarter with a 3-pointer and Deja Adrian followed with a layup to give Blinn a 33-28 advantage. Tyler pulled ahead 35-33 at the 4:39 mark and held onto it for the remainder of the quarter. The Apaches led Blinn 45-40 entering the fourth quarter.

Atwood scored nine points in the final quarter to help Blinn rally back for the win. She scored six straight points coming into the quarter to give the Buccaneers an immediate 46-45 lead. With less than three minutes remaining, Tyler pulled back ahead 54-52. Johnson led Blinn with four points on a 7-0 run for a 59-54 lead. The Apaches inched their way back int0 the game as they gained on Blinn 61-59 in the final seconds. Atwood’s free throw with 1.5 seconds left gave the Buccaneers a three-point cushion and a defensive stop led to the three-point victory.

Next, the Buccaneers will head on the road to continue conference play against No. 1 Trinity Valley Community College on Saturday, Feb. 6, at 2 p.m.

For more information, visit www.buccaneersports.com.

(COURTESY: Tara Dreyer, Blinn Information)