BUC HOOPS SWEEP OPENERS

BUCCANEER WOMEN 109     VICTORIA 51

VICTORIA, Texas – The Blinn women’s basketball team might be battling injuries, but that didn’t stop the Buccaneers from storming past Victoria College here Friday night.

Blinn beat the Pirates 109-51.

Six players scored double-digits, led by sophomore Fatima Adams’ 25 points. Adams, a Bryan Rudder High School product, is a returning all-region player for the Bucs.

Freshmen Alexus Freeman and Katrina Hayden each scored 12 points, and Shunta Nevitt, a Texas Tech transfer, scored 11.

“We made defensive stops, pushed the ball in transition and made a lot of layups in transition,” coach Jeff Jenkins said.

Blinn (1-0) led 52-25 at halftime.

Shanequa Gaston and Shakera Barnes each scored 10 points.

“They’ve been practicing hard and they were ready to get out and play against someone else,” Jenkins said.

Blinn returns to the court Monday night at Hill College at 5:30 p.m.

BUCCANEER MEN 65     VICTORIA 62

Ahead eight points in the final 1:15 to play, the Victoria Pirates weren’t going to let the Blinn men’s basketball team leave their gym without a fight.

Victoria sparked a late run and cut the Buccaneers’ lead to a point with 3.7 seconds left, but Lionheart Leslie drew a foul and sunk two free throws and the Bucs held on for a 65-62 win over the Pirates here Friday night.

“I thought we showed a lot of character in those final minutes,” coach Scott Schumacher said.

Before Victoria’s comeback, Blinn got three steals that lead to six points with two minutes remaining to extend its lead to eight points.

Victoria, though, sparked its run with 1:15 remaining when the Pirates were fouled at the 3-point line, then followed up by making 2 of 3 free throws. On the miss, Victoria snatched the offensive rebound and drew another foul to pull the game within three.

Final stats weren’t available after the game, but Schumacher said Macari Brooks led the Bucs in scoring.

The teams were tied 28-28 at the end of the first half.

“We had a lot of turnovers the first half,” Schumacher said. “Victoria was running 25-30 seconds off the game clock with their offense, where we were running 10-15 seconds.”

But Blinn’s 37 second-half points were enough for the Bucs to edge out a win.

“It was a good test for us. It was a good win and hopefully we can learn from it going forward,” Schumacher said.

For more information on Blinn men’s basketball, visit www.buccaneersports.com.

(Stories Courtesy: Matt Kaiser, Blinn Information)