BRENHAM, Texas – With an eight point deficit at halftime, Blinn College women's basketball quite possibly put together its best half of basketball to rally and beat San Jacinto College-North 83-79 inside the P.E. Building Feb. 14 in Brenham.
The Buccaneers outscored San Jacinto 42-30 in the second half to improve their conference record to 11-6 and are now 18-9 overall.
"This was a great win for us because they are very talented," said Blinn head coach Jeff Jenkins. "Especially after the first half when we trailed and then we showed some character in the second half."
Blinn just put in better effort in the second half and it helped that Nancy Warioba was able to score 12 of her 20 points in the second half to lead the Buccaneers. Brianna Luton hit double figures with 14 points and Katelynn Johnson scored 13 while Shakera Barnes chipped in nine points.
"Our defense was pretty good in the second half," Warioba said after the game. "On offense I always go to my right every time but today I really had to go to my left and I was able to make shots."
Blinn started out by scoring the first six points of the game but it didn't help it hold onto the momentum in the first half. San Jacinto came roaring back and grabbed a 28-15 lead after scoring 11 consecutive points at the 10:05 mark.
The Buccaneers were able to slightly chip away at the lead in the first half with eight points from Warioba and seven from Luton but San Jacinto still held a 49-41 lead at the break.
The second half is where Blinn really did its best work as a 7-2 run early on got the Buccaneers within two at 56-54 with 15:27 left. Blinn grabbed its first lead of the half after a layup by Luton at 62-60 with 11:03 left.
San Jacinto proved to be a tough team to shake, even right down to the buzzer as San Jacinto had two shots to tie the game in the final 30 seconds but missed. Clinging to a 81-79 lead, Barnes nailed both of her free throws with 9.6 second left for a four point advantage that would be the margin of victory.
Blinn will travel to face Angelina College on Feb. 21 at 4 p.m.
Blinn has competed in intercollegiate athletics since 1903 and captured 30 NJCAA national championships since 1987. For more information, visit www.buccaneersports.com.
About Blinn College
Founded in 1883, Blinn is a comprehensive community college committed to educational excellence and to individual and community enhancement. With an enrollment of 19,317 students, Blinn ranks among the nation's leaders in transferring students to leading four-year universities and has received national recognition for affordable educational excellence.
As part of its commitment to student success, Blinn is implementing a Quality Enhancement Plan titled "Destination Success: First-Year Focus," which utilizes learning communities to support first-year college students.
For enrollment information and to learn about financial aid opportunities, visit: www.blinn.edu.
