(Pictured center: Blinn College's Hannah Humphrey led the Buccaneers with 20 points in

a win over Angelina Community College on Saturday).

The 18th-ranked Blinn College women's basketball team moved into sole possession of first place in the Region XIV Conference with a 79-54 league win over Angelina College Saturday at the Kruse Center in Brenham.

The Buccaneers captured their fifth consecutive victory and improved to 23-3 overall. They have a 13-3 region record with two more conference games remaining. 

"It was a good defensive performance. I thought we played hard and I thought we were focused," Blinn head coach Jeff Jenkins said. "Offensively, I thought we moved it well and hit our open shots in the second half. It was a good team win."

The Roadrunners led for a majority of the first half, but Blinn freshman guard Makayla Patterson gave the Bucs the lead for good with a 3-pointer from the wing with 30 seconds left in the second quarter. She followed that up with a steal and a layup at the buzzer to send Blinn into halftime with a 39-35 advantage.

"Coming into the game we just wanted to focus on defense because we know that offense comes easy for us," Patterson said after scoring 17 points. "We just wanted to lock in on defense."

That defensive focus paid off in the second half as Blinn held Angelina to just six third-quarter points and 19 total in the half.

Freshman guard Hannah Humphrey paced all Blinn scorers with 20 points, sophomore wing Deja Adrian added 12, and freshman forward Chynell Mitchell added 10. 

Blinn finishes its season with two key region matchups, starting with a road trip to No. 11 Trinity Valley (third place in the league standings) at 5:30 p.m. on Wednesday, Feb. 23, in Athens, Texas. The Buccaneers then finish the regular season with the celebration of Sophomore Day and a 2 p.m. tilt against the region's current second-place team and seventh-ranked Tyler Junior College at 2 p.m. on Saturday, Feb. 26, at the Kruse Center.  

Blinn has competed in intercollegiate athletics since 1903 and captured 42 NJCAA national championships since 1987.