Women's Basketball 10/31/2024 11:31:00 AM

Sophomore-laden Buccaneers look to build on 2023-24 success

Seven sophomores return from last season's national tournament team

Women's Basketball 10/31/2024 11:31:00 AM

Sophomore-laden Buccaneers look to build on 2023-24 success

Seven sophomores return from last season's national tournament team

One year after 14 freshmen and two sophomores defied expectations en route to a Region XIV Tournament championship and a berth in the national tournament, the 2024 Blinn Buccaneers will be a sophomore-heavy, battle-tested bunch ready to build on their success.

"It's really night and day from where we were last season," said head coach Jeff Jenkins, who is in his 23rd season leading Blinn. "Last year, I wasn't sure we were going to be very good, and playing time was a little more fluid because of our youth and inexperience. This year, the experience and production we have back mixed with the freshmen and transfers we've brought in are going to make it a little more difficult figuring out who to put on the court. But that's a good problem to have."

Blinn, which begins the season ranked 18th in the NJCAA poll, opens its season at 5:30 p.m. Friday at Western Texas College. When it does, the Bucs will boast seven players who saw significant minutes in 2023-24 to go with two redshirt freshmen who were with the team last season. Though the Bucs' leading scorer – freshman Chelsey Singleton at 13.8 points per game – transferred to an NCAA Division I program, they still return an abundance of production from last season's 24-win team.

Across its seven returners, Blinn has 61% of its scoring, 65% of its assists, and 62% of its rebounding from last year.

Jonesha Neal 2023-24

(Pictured: Blinn's Jonesha Neal drives to the basket against Western Texas College during the 2023-24 season)

"We've proven to everybody that we can go out and win," said second-year guard Jonesha Neal. "I think coach is putting us in a position to take the next step and we have the sophomores and the talent at the freshman level to do it."

With the departure of Singleton, Neal and sophomore forward Tocarra Johnson check in as the Bucs' leading scorers from last season at 7.3 and 7.2 points per game, respectively. Johnson also had a team-high 7.7 rebounds per game in her first season, while Neal had an impressive 4.2 assists.

Sophomore guards Elizabeth Walton, Wynter Jones, and Ja'Nya Thomas each averaged just under 7 points per contest.

With its youth last season, Blinn's offense produced a modest 68 points per outing, and often relied on a stout defense to keep opponents at bay. The Bucs' man-to-man defense limited opposing offenses to just 57 points per game.

"I know our defense is going to be good, but we have to go out and show that we can be as good as or even better than we were last year," Johnson said. "We're built to be as good defensively as we were last year, but it's going to be on us to be better, especially because our offense is fast-paced and plays off of what we do on defense."

Blinn's region remains as tough as ever. The Bucs finished fourth in the region with an 11-5 record last season, including an impressive upset of fourth-ranked Trinity Valley Community College in the teams' first matchup of the year. Blinn went on to top Tyler Junior College, Angelina College, and Trinity Valley in the region tournament to earn an automatic bid in the national tournament.

Tocarra Johnson 2023-24

(Pictured: Blinn's Tocarra Johnson puts up a shot against Tyler Junior College during the 2023-24 season)

Blinn begins region play at home when it faces Kilgore College at 2 p.m. on Saturday, Jan. 11.

The Bucs were picked to finish fourth in the region in this season's preseason coach's poll, but Jenkins said he is more concerned with what happens on the court.

"I don't pay attention to anybody in our league until region play starts in January," Jenkins said. "So many things can happen from now until then, and we only have so much time to focus on getting our team better every day. I'm confident we'll be ready to play anyone in this region on any day."

Fans wishing to follow the Bucs this season can catch live broadcasts of home games at www.buccaneersports.com/sports/womens-basketball/schedule.

Blinn has competed in intercollegiate athletics since 1903 and captured 49 national championships since 1987.

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