BRENHAM, Texas – Blinn College women's basketball squandered its lead late in the fourth quarter but two free throws by Ke'Asia Williams with 1.2 seconds left lifted the Buccaneers to a 57-55 victory over Angelina College Saturday afternoon inside the P.E. Building.
"I thought we had open looks and some easy layups that we just missed," said Jeff Jenkins, Blinn head coach. "This wasn't pretty for us and it kind of felt like a survive and advance game."
With the win, Blinn improves to 19-9 overall and 12-6 in Region XIV play.
Williams hit the two game-winning free throws and was second on the team in scoring with 12 points. Jade Rochelle led the Buccaneers with 16 points while Jasmine Redmon pitched in 11 points in the victory.
"I have been in the gym working on my shot and I feel like it is improving on the court," Rochelle said. "Defenses has been sagging off on me when I have the ball so I might as well take open jumpers."
Blinn came out strong in the first quarter by jumping out to a 12-2 lead after a 3-point play by Rochelle. Angelina countered by finishing off the quarter on a 12-2 run to tie Blinn at 14-14 after one. Rochelle gave the Buccaneers a boost in the opening quarter with seven points.
The second quarter was by far the most impressive for the Buccaneers as Blinn held Angelina to only seven points while scoring 20. Rochelle and Redmon each scored six points. At one point, Blinn rolled off 10 straight points and led 34-21 at the half.
Angelina started crawling back into the game in the third by scoring the first eight points of the quarter. Redmon scored five points in the quarter and the Buccaneers still held on to a 46-40 lead after three even after getting outscored 19-12 in the period.
The offense went cold for Blinn as the Buccaneers didn't hit a field until 3:26 was left in the game. Blinn grabbed a 55-47 lead after a jumper by Rochelle but Angelina scored eight straight to tie the game at 55-55 with 29.4 seconds left.
Blinn had a couple shots at the basket in its final possession but Williams was able to grab a rebound and was fouled in the process of attempting a layup. Williams sank both free throws and Blinn held Angelina in its final attempt to earn the victory at home.
Blinn will make its final regular season road trip on Tuesday, Feb. 28 when it travels to face Jacksonville College at 5:30 p.m. Jacksonville is 9-9 through 18 games in Region XIV play and beat the Buccaneers in Brenham 68-60 on Jan. 21.
Blinn has competed in intercollegiate athletics since 1903 and captured 34 NJCAA national championships since 1987. For more information, visit www.buccaneersports.com.
About Blinn College
With an enrollment of 19,422 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. For more information, visit www.blinn.edu.
