BRENHAM, Texas – Blinn College women’s basketball only held a two-point lead at halftime but the Buccaneers turned up the defensive pressure and the offense followed to beat Angelina College 72-58 Jan. 31 in the P.E. Building in Brenham.
The Buccaneers were able to hold Angelina without a field goal for the first 10:07 of the second half and during that time Blinn was able to outscore Angelina 19-5. That stretch was a big reason that Blinn was able to hold on to the home victory and improve its conference record to 9-4 and overall record to 16-7.
“It’s a good win for us,” said Blinn head coach Jeff Jenkins. “We have a very similar record to Angelina and we beat them.”
Brianna Luton, who is usually the defensive special on the team, scored 17 points for the Buccaneers while Nancy Warioba matched that with 17 of her own. Penina Faumui was able to score six of her eight total points in the second half in the victory.
“I was just trying to hit the open shots really,” Luton said after the game. “We have gotten a lot better defensively since the beginning of the year and the more stops we get then the more wins we get.”
The first half was a back and forth for both teams as neither one could build a substantial lead. Warioba scored 11 in the first half and Luton added 10 as Blinn secured a slim 34-32 lead at the break.
The energy on the defensive side of the ball helped Blinn’s offense run more smoothly as the Buccaneers started the second half on a 19-5 run while putting a lid on the basketball for Angelina. Katelynn Johnson scored seven points early on during the run as Blinn took a 53-37 lead with 10:13 left.
The Buccaneers will next host Coastal Bend College on Feb. 4 for a game at 5:30 p.m.
Blinn has competed in intercollegiate athletics since 1903 and captured 30 NJCAA national championships since 1987. For more information, visit www.buccaneersports.com.
