BRENHAM, Texas- Blinn College women's basketball came back from an eight-point deficit in the final quarter to take the lead until Kilgore rallied back for a 79-77 victory on Wednesday night in the P.E. Building.
"For three quarters we didn't defend well at all and gave Kilgore too many open looks, but in the fourth quarter we made it tough for them to score," said Jeff Jenkins, Blinn head coach. "I was proud of our team's effort and basketball is definitely marathon, so we will learn from this and we will move forward."
The Buccaneers entered the final quarter behind 63-56, but managed to take a 73-71 lead after Alanna Spencer and Rayanna Carter combined for five straight points. After Kilgore took back the lead, Spencer kept the Buccaneers in the game with a lay-up to close in on Kilgore 79-77 with 14.2 second remaining. The Buccaneers forced a turnover, but missed a shot off the rim that ended the game.
Spencer led the Buccaneers with 22 points and five three-pointers, while Carter followed with 11 points and Jade Rochelle with 10. Kyler Wyatt and Aaliyah Holmes jumped in with nine points each.
The Buccaneers started the first quarter slow as Kilgore hurried to a 14-7 lead, but back-to-back shots by Spencer allowed Blinn to narrow in on Kilgore 14-13 at the end of the quarter. The Buccaneers gained momentum in the second quarter as Carter and Alexus Wykoff combined for an 11-0 run for Blinn to quickly take a 24-14 lead. The momentum shifted back in Kilgore's favor as the Lady Rangers outscored Blinn 20-5 at the end of the quarter to lead 34-29 at the half.
In the third quarter, Kilgore built a 61-51 lead until Holmes hit a shot from downtown to spark the Buccaneers offense. Wyatt hit a two-pointer at the buzzer for the Buccaneers to enter the final quarter down by seven.
"We really want to work on getting defensive stops and becoming a better team, so that we can come back next game," Spencer said.
The Buccaneers overall record drops to 5-3 and Region XIV conference record falls to 0-2.
Blinn seeks its first conference win against Bossier Parish Community College on Dec. 2 at 2 p.m. in the Kruse Center.
Blinn has competed in intercollegiate athletics since 1903 and captured 36 NJCAA national championships since 1987.
