BRENHAM, Texas – Blinn College women’s basketball had a small ceremony before the tip to honor the sophomores and it was those same sophomores that helped the Buccaneers earn a 70-56 victory over Coastal Bend College Saturday afternoon inside the P.E. Building.
The victory to end the regular season improves the Blinn overall record to 22-8 and 14-6 in Region XIV play. The Buccaneers secured the No. 2 seed in the upcoming Region XIV Tournament that begins Wednesday in Lufkin.
“To get the second seed in this region is pretty good,” said Blinn coach Jeff Jenkins. “We lost 92 percent of our scoring from last year so we brought in almost a whole new crew and still found ways to win.”
Ekiya Gray stepped up in the second half and led Blinn with 21 points while Ebony Parker poured in 17 points. Penina Faumui scored 11 points and Jeliah Preston added 10 points while Gabriella Odom added five points. Blinn’s top five scorers were all sophomores.
“In the beginning of the game it was a little rough but near the end we started getting some stops,” Gray said. “I was more aggressive with the ball in the second half.”
Nothing came easy in the first quarter as Blinn had a hard time scoring as the first point came on a free throw from Gray with 5:39 left in the first. The Buccaneers did recover as Jasline Chandler hit a layup for the final points of the quarter to take an 11-10 lead.
Coastal Bend fought back in the second to take a 19-15 lead with 5:30 left but Blinn was able to show some fight in the closing minutes of the half. Preston hit a 3-pointer to give Blinn the lead and Odom added two free throws to take back the lead at 24-23 at halftime.
Blinn looked to take control of the game in the third with a 13-0 run with six points coming from Gray to take a 44-30 lead with 4:23 left. Coastal Bend did not fold however as it roared back to get within 48-47 after three. Gray did score 12 points in the quarter by driving hard to the basket.
The Buccaneers used a 10-2 to grab momentum in the fourth as Preston capped the run with a fast-break layup for a 58-51 lead with 5:24 left. Blinn only expanded its lead more as Faumui led with seven points in the fourth to guide the Buccaneers to the 14-point victory.
Blinn will open the Region XIV Tournament on Wednesday, March 2 against Kilgore College at 6 p.m. in Lufkin.
Blinn has competed in intercollegiate athletics since 1903 and captured 32 NJCAA national championships since 1987. For more information, visit www.buccaneersports.com.
