BLINN WOMEN DEFEAT RANGER 64-36 TO WRAP UP FALL SEMESTER

Strong defense continued to pave the way to victory for the 19th-ranked Blinn College women's basketball team on Saturday.

The Buccaneers limited the visiting Ranger College Rangers to just 12 first-half points and maintained their defensive momentum in the second half en route to a 64-36 victory at the Kruse Center in Brenham, Texas.

Blinn is now 9-3 overall.

"Our defense has kept us in games all season; if we didn't defend, we'd be in trouble," Blinn head coach Jeff Jenkins said. "We're still struggling a bit with scoring and taking care of the ball, but at the end of the day we're 9-3 and our losses are against three top-10 opponents. They've done everything they can so far in terms of finding ways to win and I'm proud of them."

A Blinn victory Saturday was only ever in doubt for about the first four minutes of the first quarter. The Rangers grabbed a 5-2 edge with a 3-pointer, but the Bucs responded by reeling off a 19-0 run that carried over into the second period. Freshman guard Liz Walton scored on a putback to give Blinn a 21-5 advantage with 9:21 to go in the second.

Ranger was unable to gain any offensive momentum from that point on as the Bucs smothered the Rangers with overwhelming defense.

After leading 16-5 at the end of the first quarter, Blinn took a 33-12 cushion into the break. The Bucs padded their lead in the third quarter and led 45-21 entering the fourth.

"We picked up our intensity on defense and that's what helped us take control," freshman guard Wynter Jones said. "Defense has helped our offense a ton, and also our ability to move with and without the ball to create better shots and opportunities to score."

Offensively, Blinn got a team-best 14 points from freshman guard Chelsy Singleton, 12 from Walton, and nine from both Jones and freshman guard Jonesha Neal.

Following the semester break, the Bucs will resume their season two games at the Temple Classic in Temple, Texas. Blinn battles Temple College at 7 p.m. on Friday, Jan. 5, and Louisiana State University-Eunice at noon on Saturday, Jan. 6. After the Classic, Blinn's remaining 16 games will all be Region XIV contests, beginning with No. 8 Trinity Valley Community College at 5:30 p.m. on Wednesday, Jan. 10, in Athens, Texas.

"I expect us to keep competing defensively and I think we're going to find a groove on offense," Jenkins said. "I'm glad we have depth to help keep us going once the grind of the season starts. I don't know if anyone has played as tough of a non-conference schedule as we have with four games against top-10 teams, but if I know anything, I know that we're prepared for conference play."

Story by Joe Albercio (Blinn College Sports Information)