KILGORE, Texas – Blinn College women’s basketball put itself in position to get a road win but Kilgore College was able to use a 31-point fourth quarter to beat the Buccaneers 81-74 Wednesday night in Kilgore.
Blinn was outscored by 11 in the fourth quarter after leading by four to begin the final period as the Buccaneers fall to 7-3 overall and 1-2 in Region XIV play.
“We just have to do a better job of slowing them down in the fourth quarter,” said Blinn head coach Jeff Jenkins. “They just wanted it more than us down the stretch because 31 points is way too many points to be giving up in one quarter.”
Shooting percentage was another glaring difference for Blinn as the Buccaneers only shot 32 percent from the field while Kilgore shot at 43 percent.
Ebony Parker was able to lead Blinn in scoring with 22 points while Ekiya Gray added 13 points and 11 rebounds. Jeliah Preston also scored 13 points and Bryanna Taylor added eight in the loss. Blinn was able to beat Kilgore in the rebounding advantage 52-38.
The Buccaneers actually started out the game well with a 17-13 lead after one quarter and maintained that four-point lead at the half at 32-28. Kilgore and Blinn scored the exact same amount of points in the second and third quarters as Blinn held a slim 54-50 lead heading into the decisive fourth quarter.
Kilgore didn’t erase the deficit right away as Blinn held a lead with four minutes left but that lead slipped away as Kilgore picked up the home victory.
Blinn will look to bounce back on Saturday, Dec. 5 when it hosts Paris Junior College at 2 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.
