BRENHAM, TX -- The Blinn Buccaneers pushed the No. 1-ranked team in the nation to the limit Saturday, falling to the Trinity Valley Lady Cardinals 64-61 at the Blinn P.E. Building.
The Buccaneers took a 37-34 lead into the second half, but Trinity Valley, led by 22 points from Sha’Kayla Caples, grabbed a three-point lead heading into the closing moments. With 13 seconds remaining, the Buccaneers got the ball back with a chance to tie, but their 3-point attempt was blocked, and although the Bucs got the loose ball, they were unable to get a 3-point shot off before time expired.
“We had a chance, and that’s all you can hope for,” Blinn (15-5, 4-5 in Region XIV) coach Jeff Jenkins said. “If you would have told me before the game that we would hold them to 64, I would have said that we had a chance to win. I thought the score would be in the 80s.”
Sophomore point guard Miki Turner led the Buccaneers with 19 points while sophomore guard Denise White added 10. Freshman forward Shaniqua Dogins finished with eight.
“I was extremely proud of our defensive effort and our shot selection,” Jenkins said, “and I was pleased how hard we worked and the way we refused to be intimidated by the No. 1 team in the country. We did a lot of good things tonight, we just didn’t get the win.”
Blinn travels to Kilgore College for a 4 p.m. tip-off on Saturday. The contest marks the beginning of three consecutive road games for the Bucs.
