Strong defense continued to pave the way to victory for the 19th-ranked Blinn College women’s basketball team on Saturday.
The Buccaneers limited the visiting Ranger College Rangers to just 12 first-half points and maintained their defensive momentum in the second half en route to a 64-36 victory at the Kruse Center in Brenham, Texas.
Blinn is now 9-3 overall.
“Our defense has kept us in games all season; if we didn’t defend, we’d be in trouble,” Blinn head coach Jeff Jenkins said. “We’re still struggling a bit with scoring and taking care of the ball, but at the end of the day we’re 9-3 and our losses are against three top-10 opponents. They’ve done everything they can so far in terms of finding ways to win and I’m proud of them.”
A Blinn victory Saturday was only ever in doubt for about the first four minutes of the first quarter. The Rangers grabbed a 5-2 edge with a 3-pointer, but the Bucs responded by reeling off a 19-0 run that carried over into the second period. Freshman guard Liz Walton scored on a putback to give Blinn a 21-5 advantage with 9:21 to go in the second.
Ranger was unable to gain any offensive momentum from that point on as the Bucs smothered the Rangers with overwhelming defense.
After leading 16-5 at the end of the first quarter, Blinn took a 33-12 cushion into the break. The Bucs padded their lead in the third quarter and led 45-21 entering the fourth.
“We picked up our intensity on defense and that’s what helped us take control,” freshman guard Wynter Jones said. “Defense has helped our offense a ton, and also our ability to move with and without the ball to create better shots and opportunities to score.”
Offensively, Blinn got a team-best 14 points from freshman guard Chelsy Singleton, 12 from Walton, and nine from both Jones and freshman guard Jonesha Neal.
(Pictured: Blinn freshman guard Chelsy Singleton, center, shoots over the Ranger College defense during a game Dec. 9, 2023)
Following the semester break, the Bucs will resume their season two games at the Temple Classic in Temple, Texas. Blinn battles Temple College at 7 p.m. on Friday, Jan. 5, and Louisiana State University-Eunice at noon on Saturday, Jan. 6. After the Classic, Blinn’s remaining 16 games will all be Region XIV contests, beginning with No. 8 Trinity Valley Community College at 5:30 p.m. on Wednesday, Jan. 10, in Athens, Texas.
“I expect us to keep competing defensively and I think we’re going to find a groove on offense,” Jenkins said. “I’m glad we have depth to help keep us going once the grind of the season starts. I don’t know if anyone has played as tough of a non-conference schedule as we have with four games against top-10 teams, but if I know anything, I know that we’re prepared for conference play.”
Blinn has competed in intercollegiate athletics since 1903 and captured 45 NJCAA national championships since 1987.
