BRENHAM, Texas- Blinn College women's basketball had early offensive struggles that led to a 72-61 loss to the McLennan Community College Highlassies on Monday night in the P.E. Building.

"I don't think we played well offensively in the first half; when you have trouble scoring that is going to come back to bite you," said Jeff Jenkins, Blinn head coach. "I think it was a fluke that we had 20 at the half because this team can score, but defensively we have to get better."

Rayanna Carter carried the Buccaneers offensively with 17 points, while Kayla Konarik posted 11 points and Kyler Wyatt followed with nine.

McLennan took advantage of Blinn's early struggles at the basket to take a 17-8 lead in the first quarter. Blinn's Aaliyah Holmes and Carter took the Buccaneers on a 4-0 run to conclude the opening quarter.

Konarik and Carter led the Buccaneers in the second quarter, combining for 10 points. The Buccaneers gained momentum at the end of the quarter as they outscored the Highlassies, 7-2. Konarik scored a three-pointer right before the buzzer for Blinn to trail 35-20 at the half.

The Buccaneers heated up offensively in the third quarter, scoring 21 points. Carter led the quarter with seven points, starting it off with a shot from downtown. Konarik would later score five straight points for the Buccaneers to trail 54-41 at the end of the third.

Wyatt and Ke'Asia Williams combined for nine points in the final quarter as the Buccaneers outscored the Highlassies 20-18. The Buccaneers ended the game on a 7-4 run led by Wyatt with a three-pointer.

The Buccaneers record drops to 2-1 in the pre-conference season.

 Blinn will look to bounce back against Temple College on Wednesday, Nov. 15 at 5:30 p.m.

Blinn has competed in intercollegiate athletics since 1903 and captured 36 NJCAA national championships since 1987.