BRENHAM, Texas – Blinn College women’s basketball came out on top in overtime against Bossier Parish Community College for a 92-89 victory on Saturday afternoon in the Buccaneers first game played in the Kruse Center.
“I was happy for our team; it was a fun atmosphere and the crowd definitely made a difference in our win today,” said Jeff Jenkins, Blinn head coach. “The offense is what carried us and it is really fun knowing that we are in every single game offensively and that we can score.”
The victory marks the Buccaneers first Region XIV conference win of the season as Blinn’s conference record increases to 1-2 and overall record climbs to 6-3.
Aaliyah Holmes and Kayla Konarik led the Buccaneers with 15 points each, while Jade Rochelle followed with 13 points and Alanna Spencer and Kyler Wyatt pitched in with 12 points each.
Blinn went into the final quarter with a 55-52 lead that the Buccaneers held onto until Bossier Parish sunk a three-pointer with 5.7 seconds left to even the score and send the game into overtime.
Down 89-88 with a minute left, Missy Archie came up with a rebound that she passed off to Wyatt for a layup that gave the Buccaneers a 90-89 lead. Following two missed free throws by Bossier Parish, Rayanna Carter made two free throw shots to give Blinn a 92-89 lead with 16.5 seconds left. The Blinn defense held Bossier Parish for the victory.
“Our team works really hard, so it felt really good to get our first conference win in front of the home crowd,” Holmes said. “We made stops, we pushed the ball, and we made plays for each other to get the win.”
Despite Rochelle and Spencer combining for 12 points in the first quarter, Bossier Parish managed to get past the Buccaneers to take a 26-19 lead to open the first quarter. Konarik sparked Blinn’s offense with two shots from downtown followed by a two-pointer by Rochelle for the Buccaneers to even the score 28-28 to start the second quarter. Bossier Parish ended the quarter with a 10-5 run to stay ahead of Blinn 38-33 at the half.
In the third quarter, the Buccaneers rallied back with three straight shots from downtown. Holmes sunk the first one, followed by back-to-back three-pointers by Konarik. Ke’Asia Williams scored the final three points in the quarter for Blinn to hold a 63-60 lead into the fourth quarter.
Blinn will take a break from conference play against the Adelaide Blue Devils on Monday, Dec. 4 at 5:30 p.m. in the Kruse Center.
Blinn has competed in intercollegiate athletics since 1903 and captured 36 NJCAA national championships since 1987. For more information, visit www.buccaneersports.com.