When Jeff Jenkins looks at his team, he sees a squad that has yet to play good basketball consistently this season.
He also sees a team that has figured out how to consistently win anyway.
In an up-and-down regular-season finale against Jacksonville College on Saturday, the Buccaneers did just enough offensively and defensively to earn a 65-53 victory at the Kruse Center in Brenham, Texas.
Blinn improved its record to 21-9 overall and 11-5 in region play.
“We haven’t peaked yet,” Bucs head coach Jeff Jenkins said. “We haven’t really put a full game together lately. You’d like to be peaking at this time of the year, but we’re not making open shots, we’re not defending at the level we need to be, and we’re not playing hard enough. I don’t know if we’re going to be able to make the necessary changes in time for the region tournament or not, but I do know that we’re in every game, some way and somehow.”
Young and inexperienced with 14 freshmen on its roster this season, Blinn has found ways to get the job done all year despite scoring less than 65 points per game. A big reason for that is the Buccaneer defense, which has remained resilient with just 54.4 points allowed.
“Our defense has been our go to all season long, and I think we’ve come to accept that we might have to rely on that part of our game during the region tournament,” freshman guard Nala Richardson said. “We have to find a way to stay focused and locked in, but we continue to encourage each other on the bench and on the court, and I think we’re using that as motivation to fight through our struggles.”
Though Jacksonville came into Saturday’s tilt with just two victories, the Jaguars gave the Bucs trouble from start to finish.
Blinn never appeared to be in complete control of the tempo, even when its lead grew to double digits.
After building a 19-11 first-period advantage, Blinn was unable to keep its offensive momentum going as the Jaguars chipped away at their deficit. Freshman guard Elizabeth Walton gave the Bucs a 27-15 lead with a trey at the 3:34 mark of the second quarter, but Jacksonville ended the half on a 9-3 run to make it a 30-24 ballgame at the break.
The Bucs found their offensive footing once again in the third period thanks to a 23-point surge. Richardson’s 3 made it 40-29, and her free throw near the end of the quarter had the hosts ahead 53-40.
“We’ve been holding ourselves back a little bit and we’re getting in our own heads,” sophomore forward Jasmyn Jackson said. “We can’t worry about the plays we don’t make and continue to push forward and build each other up, because we showed at the end of today’s game what we can do when we do that.”
After Blinn grabbed its biggest lead of the game at 56-40, the Jaguars made another rally in the game’s final minutes. A layup and a free throw from the visitors made it a 59-51 contest with 4:25 left,
Walton finally snuffed out Jacksonville’s rally with a 3-pointer, and Richardson added two more free throws to make it 64-51 near the two-minute mark.
Richardson finished the game with a team-high 23 points, followed by 12 for Walton.
Next up for the Bucs is the Region XIV Tournament, which begins Wednesday, March 13, in Tyler, Texas. Fourth-seeded Blinn faces fifth-seeded Tyler at 3 p.m. in a first-round bout.
“I’m hoping to see us play four quarters of consistent basketball,” Jenkins said. “We’re going to get back to work and prepare for Tyler, and hopefully we go out and play hard.”
Before Saturday’s tip-off, Jenkins and his team celebrated the program’s two sophomores as part of the Sophomore Day festivities. Guard Tianna Mathis is in her third season with Blinn after spending one year as a redshirt, while Jackson is in her second campaign as a Buccaneer.
“Those two came back to us this season despite not getting a lot of minutes last year, and they stepped right into leadership roles for us,” Jenkins said. “I told them that I will forever owe them for returning and helping guide this team to 21 wins.”
Blinn has competed in intercollegiate athletics since 1903 and captured 45 NJCAA national championships since 1987.
