BRENHAM, Texas – Despite a rough third quarter of struggling with the Southwestern Christian College pressure defense the Blinn College women’s basketball team had enough in the other quarters to earn an 81-53 victory Monday night inside the P.E. Building in Brenham.
The only quarter that caused big problems for Blinn was the third when Southwestern put on a full court press and the Buccaneers turned the ball over too many times. Southwestern outscored Blinn 28-20 to get within nine before the start of the fourth. Blinn was able to regain control in the fourth by outscoring Southwestern 24-5 to improve its record to 3-1.
“That third quarter was frustrating,” said Blinn head coach Jeff Jenkins. “We turned the ball over too much, fouled too much and it was ugly.”
Ebony Parker was able to hit a few shots from behind the arc and lead the Buccaneers with 24 points. Jeliah Preston did a good job of countering the pressure by being equally aggressive on offense and ended up with 19 points.
“They put a press on us that I don’t think we were ready for and we kind of got scattered,” Preston said after the game. “We were able to keep it together and stay poised.”
Ekiya Gray ended with 13 points and Ashley Ford was able to chip in with 11 points.
When Southwestern was finally able to show up it was treated to a fast start by Blinn as the Buccaneers jumped out to a 19-6 lead after the first quarter. Southwestern recovered in the second quarter but Blinn was still able to build to its lead with an 18-14 quarter that turned into a 37-20 lead at the half.
After the rough third, the Buccaneers recovered and started breaking the press with frequency and scoring easy buckets or free throws to seal the victory with their highest-scoring game of the season.
Blinn will be at home Wednesday, Nov. 11 against McLennan Community College for a game starting at 5:30 p.m.
Blinn has competed in intercollegiate athletics since 1903 and captured 32 NJCAA national championships since 1987. For more information, visit www.buccaneersports.com.
