The third-ranked Buccaneers wasted no time making their home debut a memorable one.
Blinn used a high-powered offensive attack to dismantle Temple College en route to a 108-79 victory Monday at the Kruse Center in Brenham, Texas.
With their first home win in front of an energetic Kruse Center crowd, the Buccaneers remained undefeated at 7-0.
“It was nice to finally get on our home court, and I thought it was a good crowd for us just a few days before Thanksgiving,” said Blinn head coach Jeff Jenkins. “We played hard, we shot the ball well, we were unselfish, and it was nice to come home and get a win in our home opener.”
The Buccaneers opened the season at McLennan Community College on Nov. 2 in Waco and have since totaled almost two full days’ worth of travel on the road in its six road triumphs.
On Monday, however, Blinn appeared eager to make its homecoming short and sweet as it dispatched the Leopards decisively with an explosive offensive effort.
Having already defeated Temple on the road 91-67 on Nov. 10, the two teams played a close first quarter as the Bucs led just 25-18 heading into period two.
A 3-pointer from sophomore guard Crystal Smith kicked Blinn into high gear and ignited an 8-0 push that gave the hosts some breathing room early in the second quarter.
Temple stuck around with a smattering of 3s, but the Bucs scored 30 points in the second period and took a 55-36 lead into halftime.
“It was a big reward for us to come home and play in front of our own fans after so many games on the road,” said sophomore guard Hannah Humphrey, who tallied a game-high 20 points. “With this group, energy comes naturally for us, and we’ve had to pick each other up during these past couple of weeks. We wanted to bring that energy back home with us and just come out here and have fun and I think we did that.”
Blinn’s fun continued into the second half as the lead swelled to 80-50 on a trey from sophomore guard Allana Thompson late in the third period,
Humphrey drilled a mid-range jumper at the 4:35 mark of the fourth quarter to give the Bucs a 101-68 edge.
(Pictured: Blinn College sophomore forward Tiffany Tullis, 1, fights through the Temple College defense for a layup during a game Nov. 21)
Sophomore guard Skylar Barnes finished with 18 points, sophomore forward Tiffany Tullis had 15, and sophomore guards Makayla Patterson and Jakoriah Long posted 12 and 10, respectively.
The Bucs sank 11 3-pointers.
“We’re tired from the road trips, but we see ourselves high in the NJCAA rankings and that makes us keep ourselves accountable,” Tullis said. “Everyone is contributing and getting involved because we want to keep a high standard for ourselves and come out on top every time we play. Everyone is stepping up, everyone is scoring, and it’s helping us a lot.”
Blinn’s return home is brief as the Bucs get right back on the road to face San Antonio College at 6 p.m. on Monday, Nov. 28, in San Antonio, Texas.
Blinn has competed in intercollegiate athletics since 1903 and captured 42 NJCAA national championships since 1987.
