BRENHAM, Texas – The Blinn Buccaneers honored their sophomore class on the night their second-year players won their 50th career game.
Blinn defeated Jacksonville 71-66 Wednesday night at the Blinn P.E. Building, extending their win streak to 12 games and upping their season record to 28-1. The ninth-ranked Buccaneers have already broken the program’s single-season’s win record of 26, set in 2008.
“This is a special team,” said Blinn coach Jeff Jenkins. “They keep finding ways to win games.”
Prior to the game, Blinn recognized its four sophomores – forward Audrisa Harrison, guard Jazzmin Parker, forward Khalisha Lee and point guard Aarika Reyna – and redshirt freshman Michelle Umachi. Those players have led the Buccaneers to 50 victories over the last two seasons, more than any other class in Blinn history.
Jacksonville made sure the Buccaneers worked to reach the milestone. The Lady Jaguars led much of the second half until freshman forward Fatima Adams hit a jump shot to make it 57-56 and Reyna followed with a 3-pointer that gave the Buccaneers their first two-possession lead of the second half.
Jacksonville’s Khadijah Carter hit a jumper as she was fouled to pull the Lady Jaguars within three, but another Buccaneer sophomore came up with a clutch shot as Parker buried a 3-pointer with 58.4 seconds remaining.
Chelsea Rogers and Devanyar Workman hit threes of their own for the Lady Jaguars, but Harrison and Fatima Adams hit late free throws to keep Blinn on top.
Harrison led the Buccaneers with 14 points while Adams and Parker each scored 13. Carter led Jacksonville with 24 points. The Lady Jaguars fell to 16-13 on the season and 8-7 in the Region XIV Conference.
“Jacksonville really made a lot of good plays tonight and Carter’s the real deal,” Jenkins said. “I hope she goes to one of these big Division I schools recruiting her because I don’t want to see her next year.”
The Buccaneers (14-1 in Region XIV) will close their regular season Saturday when they play at top-ranked Trinity Valley at 4 p.m. The Region XIV Tournament begins March 6 at the University of Texas – Tyler.
