The 17th-ranked Blinn College women's basketball team rallied to defeat Kilgore College 56-52 in the Region XIV Tournament semifinals Friday in Jacksonville, Texas.

The top-seeded Buccaneers (27-4) advanced to the region finals for the first time since 2016 and will face 11th-ranked and second-seeded Trinity Valley (25-5) in the title game at 4 p.m. Saturday.

"We survived and advanced again," Blinn head coach Jeff Jenkins said of his team's second consecutive win by four points or less in the tournament. "I'm so proud that this team just finds different ways to win."

The Buccaneers entered the night averaging almost 80 points per game, but a five-point first quarter put Blinn in a 15-5 hole before a second-quarter rally sent the Bucs into halftime with a 30-27 lead.

Kilgore bounced back in the third period to grab a 44-40 edge, but Blinn staged one more comeback and outscored the Rangers 16-8 down the stretch to earn the win.

Freshman guard Hannah Humphrey paced the Bucs with 16 points while fellow freshman guard Telisha Brown added 14. Freshman guard Tiffany Tullis had 12 rebounds and seven points and sophomore wing Deja Adrian tallied 10 rebounds and eight points. 

Blinn and Trinity Valley will face off for the third time this season with an automatic berth in the 2022 NJCAA Division I Women's Basketball Championship tournament in Lubbock, Texas, at stake. The teams split their two regular-season matchups, with the Buccaneers earning a 92-85 home win on Jan. 22 before the Cardinals prevailed 79-71 in Athens, Texas, on Feb. 25.

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