Not only did the Buccaneers welcome last season’s NJCAA Division I champ to the Kruse Center in Brenham, Texas, they put on the type of performance in an 83-65 Region XIV victory that suggests a title of their own may not be out of the question this season.
“I know we’re good … we’re 20-1 and we’re really starting to play really well right now, which is what you want in February,” Blinn head coach Jeff Jenkins said. “There are still things we need to work on and areas that I know we can improve in, but I’m happy with how we’re playing right now.”
The Bucs have won 11 consecutive games and have a three-game home winning streak against the Apaches dating back to the 2020-21 campaign.
Blinn (8-0 Region XIV) joined Tyler at the NJCAA Division I Championship tournament in Lubbock, Texas, in March 2022 but watched as the Apaches ousted the top team in the country (Three Rivers) en route to the title.
In their first chance against the champs this season, the Bucs registered one of their best offensive quarters of the year.
Ahead just 7-5 in the first period following an Apache 3-pointer, Blinn got a layup from sophomore guard Makayla Patterson that ignited a 19-4 run that virtually put the game away.
The Bucs continued to fire away, using a late 6-0 burst late in the quarter to take a 20-point lead and went into the second quarter ahead 32-13.
The two squads played more evenly in the second period, but the hosts went into halftime with a 46-28 cushion.
Sophomore guard Hannah Humphrey sank three of her five 3s in the third quarter to help Blinn pull away.
Sophomore guard Allana Thompson paired with Humphrey for one of the more exciting sequences of the game when Thompson leaped for a ball headed out of bounds, corralled it with one hand, and quickly fired it to a wide-open Humphrey, who drilled her second 3 of the period from the wing.
Humphrey’s triple at the buzzer pushed the Bucs’ lead to 68-47.
“We had a lot of energy, and with Tyler being the defending national champions, we just came into this game with a chip on our shoulder,” Humphrey said. “We wanted to come out and prove a point, show that we’ve been working hard and that we’re getting better.”
(Pictured: Blinn College sophomore forward Tiffany Tullis, center, drives to the basket for a layup during a game against Tyler Junior College on Feb. 2)
Humphrey finished with a team-high 21 points, followed by a 20-point game for sophomore forward Tiffany Tullis. Freshman guard Amyria Walker tallied 13.
Blinn resumes its season with a conference home tilt against Coastal Bend College at 2 p.m. on Saturday, Feb. 4.
