The Blinn College women’s basketball team will rely on a talented crop of freshman newcomers in its quest for a program-record fifth consecutive 20-win season in 2015.
The Buccaneers went 20-11 last season en route to a third-place finish in the Region XIV Conference and a berth to the conference tournament quarterfinals, but return just two players from that squad.
Penina Faumui (Honolulu, Hawaii) started 16 of 30 games and averaged 4.4 points and 4.9 rebounds per game last season, while Jeliah Preston (Houston) scored 2.2 points per game off the bench for the Buccaneers.
“There is a lot of difference from a sophomore to a freshman,” Blinn coach Jeff Jenkins said. “Those seven or eight months that players spend with a team really make them better, and you can see a difference in the girls I have returning.”
Faumui is expected to be a force on the boards while Preston has a great 15-foot jump shot and can handle the ball well. Blinn will look to push the tempo on offense again this year while putting in solid effort on the defensive end.
“Our philosophy will be to play tough man-to-man defense to force a bad shot and push the ball in transition the other way on offense to get a quality shot,” Jenkins said. “Our defense will have to improve over the course of the season because not many girls are used to playing an aggressive man to man style.”
Aside from the two returners, 14 players will put on a Blinn jersey for the first time this season.
The roster includes two pure point guards in Bryanna Taylor (Springfield, Mo.) and Whitney Mouton (Houston). Taylor features a good shoot from about 15 feet while Mouton has worked closely with assistant coach Brateicka Mock after practice to get better in her all-around game.
The Buccaneers will rely on three combo guards as Daikea Milton (Houston), Ebony Parker (Houston) and Ashley Ford (Pearland) will compete for time at point or shooting guard. Milton is a strong guard with exceptional ball-handling abilities. Parker is a transfer from Baker (Kansas) University who should be one of the better outside shooters on the team while Ford has probably the top ball-handling skills on the team.
At the wing position, Denisha Ford (Navasota), Abigail Whyte (Spring), Ke’Asia Williams (Bryan) and Gabriella Odom (Houston) will compete for minutes. Ford comes from Navasota, continuing a tradition of Navasota players making an impact at Blinn.
Whyte is a transfer from West Texas A&M University who redshirted last year and has great size and athleticism. Williams is a strong player who can get to the paint well and Odom is a transfer from University of Maryland Eastern Shore with a passion for the game.
The Buccaneers have depth in the low post with Jasline Chandler (Cleburne), Rosemary Ilang (Greenfield, Mass.), Taylor Kolodziej (Sinton), Ekiya Gray (Houston) and Nijia Young (Houston).
Chandler is an undersized post at 5-foot-8, but she is competitive and aggressive down low. Ilang has a lot of upside and is prepping for life in the low post at the junior college level. Kolodziej has great work ethic while Young runs the floor well with her speed. Gray is a transfer from Nicholls (Louisiana) State University who can handle the ball and has great athleticism.
“The girls are really practicing hard now and they are fun to coach so far,” Jenkins said. “I like the attitudes and the aggressiveness of this team.”
Blinn opens the regular season Friday, Oct. 30, at Victoria College at 5:30 p.m. The Buccaneers’ first home game will be Tuesday, Nov. 3, against Temple College 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.
