BRENHAM, Texas – Blinn College women's basketball scored 21 points in the first quarter and held onto the lead for the remainder of the game to defeat Paris Junior College, 90-52, on Wednesday night in the Kruse Center.
"It was fun to see them make some plays offensively and I thought for three quarters we played good defensively," said Jeff Jenkins, Blinn head coach. "I am proud of them and they deserve this success."
Kayla Konarik led the Blinn offense with a season high 21 points, while Alanna Spencer was right behind her with 18 points. Ke'Asia Williams and Kyler Wyatt each tallied 13 points in the victory.
"The whole team was feeling energy from the start and we just kept it up the whole game and it felt good to get the win," Konarik said. "My team pushed me through, stayed by my side and has been helping me with my offense, so it was nice to go out there and score."
After Paris scored the first five points to open the game, the Buccaneers went on an 11-0 run to take the lead. Konarik, who led Blinn in the opening quarter, scored the next eight points for Blinn to hold a 21-12 lead at the buzzer. Blinn extended its lead in the second quarter after scoring the first five points. In the final four minutes of the quarter, the Buccaneers outscored Paris 11-2 as Spencer led the run with two shots from downtown for Blinn to lead 44-22 at the break.
The Buccaneers played their best offense and defense in the third quarter as they scored 26 points, while holding Paris to four points. Williams led Blinn with 10 points in the quarter for the Buccaneers to head into the final quarter with a 70-26 advantage. Blinn added 20 points in the last quarter as Konarik started things off with two three-pointers. Wyatt made up for the Buccaneers final two points behind the free-throw line as Blinn defeated Paris, 90-52.
The win increases Blinn's overall record to 11-15 and Region XIV conference record to 4-12.
"We have a bunch of athletes on the team and it is finally coming together, so it feels really good that we are clicking now," Konarik said. "We want to keep it up for the final games of the season."
The Buccaneers will head on the road to face off against Coastal Bend College on Saturday, Feb. 17 at 2 p.m. Earlier in the season Blinn defeated Coastal Bend, 76-70.
Blinn has competed in intercollegiate athletics since 1903 and captured 36 NJCAA national championships since 1987.
