A fiery halftime message from head coach Jeff Jenkins paved the way to an explosive second half for the 18th-ranked Blinn College women’s basketball team as it rallied for a 93-53 victory over Louisiana State University-Eunice on Friday at the Kruse Center in Brenham, Texas.
A mistake-laden first half left the Buccaneers (7-2) trailing 29-27 at the intermission of the opening ballgame of the Blinn Classic.
Jenkins, a master of sideline stoicism, opted for a different approach at halftime.
“I was as animated as I’ll ever be,” Jenkins said of his halftime speech. “I let my team know that it was inexcusable the way we came out offensively, defensively, and emotionally on the court. But I’ll give them credit because they responded well.”
Eunice made the first basket of the third quarter to grab a four-point edge, but Blinn answered with a 29-10 run the rest of the period.
(Pictured: Blinn freshman guard Chelsy Singleton shoots a 3-pointer during a game against LSU-Eunice on Dec. 1, 2023)
Freshman guard Chelsy Singleton got her team going with a jumper before sophomore guard Tianna Mathis tied the game for the final time with a putback. Freshman guard Elizabeth Walton then came away with a steal and turned it into a fastbreak layup to put the Bucs on top to stay.
“Coach told us to wake up and put our heads back on our shoulders,” Singleton said. “We know he can’t be on the court babysitting us; we have to take care of business and play the game the way we know how to play it.”
The Bucs decided this game would be a 3-pointer clinic, as they finished with 15 makes from long distance, including 13 in the second half.
Three consecutive treys — one from Singleton and two in a row for freshman guard Wynter Jones — gave Blinn its first double-digit advantage of the game at 46-36 with 3:33 remaining in the third. Singleton sank another shot from downtown late in the period before Walton buried a 3 to send the Bucs into the fourth quarter with a 56-41 cushion.
Blinn kept it going from behind the arc as freshman guard Ja’Nya Thomas and Walton sank consecutive 3s to begin the fourth period. Thomas hit another long-distance shot with 8:58 left as the hosts extended their lead to 62-41.
Walton later pushed the lead to 73-43 with back-to-back triples.
“We needed to pick up the energy and play better, plain and simple,” Walton said. “It started with our defense, and once we got settled in defensively I think that allowed us to light a fire offensively and get rolling.”
Singleton led the way for the Bucs with 16 points, while Walton tallied 14 and Thomas and freshman guard Nala Richardson chipped in 10 apiece. Freshman guards Jonesha Neal and Carolyn Seif scored nine and eight points, respectively.
Blinn will conclude the Classic with a tilt against Western Texas College at 1 p.m. on Saturday, Dec. 2.
Blinn has competed in intercollegiate athletics since 1903 and captured 45 NJCAA national championships since 1987.?
