The No. 14 McLennan women's basketball squad outlasted the Blinn Buccaneers for a 66-63 road win tonight in Brenham.
McLennan came out firing with Taniya Cruthird draining a 3-pointer from the corner less than 30 seconds into the game. Blinn tied the game with a 3-pointer by Mariah Houston on the next possession. The Buccaneers led 8-5 with 7:35 to play in the first quarter. A jumper by Tajenae Gooden started a 7-0 McLennan run, giving the squad the four-point lead at 12-8. Blinn responded with an 9-0 run to take the 17-12 lead with a minute to go. McLennan added a Danai Lewis free throw to make it a 17-13 Buccaneer lead at the end of the first.
McLennan gained the momentum to start the second, opening on a 6-0 highlighted by two Gooden buckets to go up 19-17 with 8:20 to go before the half. The McLennan defense held Blinn scoreless for more than four minutes of play before Amyah Weathersby banked a shot off the glass to tie the game at 19. A bucket-and-one by Charnelle Hoof put McLennan back up by three, 22-19, just before the second quarter media timeout. McLennan continued to roll, holding Blinn to just one free throw while scoring nine points of its own to lead 31-20 at halftime.
Blinn's shot started to fall in the third quarter, and the Buccaneers pulled within seven on a Mia Colston 3-pointer with 6:35 to go, 37-30. A 5-0 run by Danai Lewis pushed the McLennan lead back to double digits at 42-30. Blinn began to fight with Colston and Houston getting hot from behind the arc. The two combined for six 3-pointers in the frame and the game would be tied at 50 with 30 seconds to go. A pair of Gooden free throws gave McLennan the two-point cushion going into the fourth, 52-50.
It was a back-and-forth battle in the final quarter. The game was tied at 58 with 3:23 to go in the game. Another Colston 3-pointer put Blinn up by three, 61-58. Lewis add a bucket on the next possession but couldn't get the foul shot to fall and tie the game. Once again Gooden stepped up, adding a pair of free throws to put McLennan up by one with 2:04 on the clock, 62-61. Sami'ya Mahr basket made it a one-point Blinn lead, 63-62 that they held until the Gooden tied the game at 63 going 1-2 from the line with 1:27 to play. The Buccaneers had a chance to take the lead with Trina Franklin at the line but both shots bounced of the iron. Lanaijha Johnson drained a shot from the lane with 33 seconds to go to put McLennan up 65-63. Johnson blocked a shot on the Blinn end, and Akeelah Wade added a pair of free throws to make it 67-63 with eight seconds to go. Blinn advanced the ball but couldn't get a shot to fall.
Gooden led McLennan with 14 points and Lewis added 12.
McLennan: Nevaeh Otis 1 0-0 2; Ar'Mya Amos-Horsley 0 0-0 0; Akeelah Wade 3 1-2 7; Shakira Brown 0 0-0 0; Charnelle Hoof 4 1-1 9; Tajenae Gooden 4 6-7 14; Charravia Smith 4 0-1 8; Trinity Butler 0 0-0 0; Danai Lewis 4 4-7 12; Taniya Cruthird 3 0-0 7; Lanaijha Johnson 2 3-6 7; Totals: 25 15-24 66.
Blinn: Taylor Spencer 3 0-0 6; Mia Colston 6 0-0 18; Trina Franklin 0 0-0 0; Cynthia LeCompte 3 0-2 6; Jasey Campbell 3 0-0 7; Jaya Gradney 0 0-0 0; Shy'La Blackwell 0 0-0 0; Mariah Houston 5 1-2 15; Sami'ya Mahr 1 0-0 2; Kamaria Ford 0 1-2 1; Amyah Weathersby 1 0-0 2; Totals: 24 4-10 63.
Halftime score: McLennan 31, Blinn 20; 3-pointers: McLennan 1 (Cruthird), Blinn 11 (Colston 6, Houston 3, Campbell 1); Total fouls: McLennan 16, Blinn 17; Record: McLennan 2-0.
