Just when it appeared the Blinn College women’s basketball team would cruise to an easy win, head coach Jeff Jenkins remembered something.
“Nothing is easy for us right now,” Jenkins said with a smile. “We’re making bad turnovers at the worst possible time, we’re missing wide-open shots and layups, we’re not grabbing a lot of rebounds or 50-50 balls … but yet this team has won 20 games.”
The Bucs found yet another way to get the job done in a 63-49 Region XIV victory over Panola College on Wednesday at the Kruse Center in Brenham, Texas.
Blinn improved to 20-8 overall and 10-4 in region matchups, and reached the 20-win mark for the third consecutive season.
“I told my team after tonight’s game that 20 wins is a big deal when you consider the non-conference schedule we play,” Jenkins added. “We just continue to find ways to win, and while it may not always be pretty, we keep finding ways to bring it home and I’m proud of them.”
Blinn trailed early in the first period, but ultimately pulled away for good when freshman guard Jonesha Neal stole the ball away from Panola and turned it into a fastbreak layup and a 10-9 lead. The Bucs held steady from there, building an 18-15 advantage heading into the second period before extending the lead to 36-24 by halftime.
The Bucs appeared to be in firm control when freshman guard Wynter Jones scored on a fastbreak layup to make it 40-26 with 7:55 left in the third period. The Fillies would instead go on a 15-6 run to cut Blinn’s lead to just 46-41 heading into the fourth quarter.
“We kept our composure and stayed steadfast in our gameplan,” Bucs freshman guard DJ Kincade said. “We struggled early with offensive rebounding, but things started to come around for us in the end and we started pulling down the boards in big moments. That allowed us some second-chance opportunities on offense and helped us pull away.”
(Pictured: Blinn freshman guard DJ Kincade, center, puts up a shot during a game against Panola College on Feb. 28, 2024)
After Panola made it a 46-43 ballgame just 16 seconds into the fourth period, Kincade came away with a key offensive rebound which she quickly turned into a putback bucket. Freshman guard Chelsy Singleton then got hot with eight consecutive points to help the hosts rebuild a double-digit advantage at 58-48 with just more than four minutes remaining. The Fillies came no closer than nine points the rest of the way.
With the help of 11 points in the fourth period, Singleton scored 20 on the night to pace Blinn. Kincade added 12 and Neal tallied 10.
The Bucs’ season continues with a road trip to region adversary Kilgore College at 5:30 p.m. on Wednesday, March 6, in Kilgore, Texas.
Blinn has competed in intercollegiate athletics since 1903 and captured 45 NJCAA national championships since 1987.
