TYLER, Texas – For the second time this season, the Blinn women's basketball team and the Tyler Lady Apaches' contest came down to the final seconds.
This time—on their home court—Tyler got the edge.
The 15th-ranked Lady Apaches beat the 14th-ranked Buccaneers 98-95 here Wednesday to move into sole possession of second place in the Region XIV Conference standings.
"We showed a lot of heart and fight tonight," Blinn (20-5, 10-3) coach Jeff Jenkins said.
That fight came after Tyler built a 70-60 lead with 9:26 to play in the second half. Blinn led 44-39 at halftime, but the Lady Apaches ignited an immediate run to start the second half. It looked as if they'd run away before the Bucs started their comeback with five minutes to play.
In the final seconds, Blinn had cut Tyler's 10-point lead to one when Fatima Adams hit a bucket with four seconds remaining.
Tyler, though, hit two free throws to extend its lead to three, and the Bucs missed a desperation 3-pointer before the buzzer.
"To be down 12 on the road at Tyler and to cut that lead to one showed a lot about the mental toughness of the team tonight," Jenkins said.
Six Buccaneers scored in double figures, led by Adams' 23 points.
Katrina Hayden and Shunta Nevitt scored 15, Tierra Tucker scored 14, Amari Jones added 12 and Tayler Weiks dropped 10.
The win avenged an earlier loss to Blinn for the Lady Apaches on Jan. 15 at the Blinn P.E. Building. In another close contest, Blinn's Shakera Barnes hit two free throws in the final seconds and Adams scored 21 second-half points to lead the Bucs to a 106-102 victory.
