The silver lining shines through

Bridget Jenkins emerged from the trainers’ room noticeably in a daze. The sophomore guard had been the victim of a head-on collision late in the first half which kept her out the remainder of the game. Nevertheless, Jenkins had but one question for her teammates:

“Did we win?”

The answer was a resounding “yes” as the Brahmas gored the Condors of Oxnard College, eclipsing the century mark en-route to a 106-72 victory last night in the South Gym.

Jenkins and the Brahmas were on cruise control in the first half of play, having built a 15-point lead with five minutes remaining when the guard was tangled up with a Condor player and dropped to the floor. Trainers tended to her as she lay for several minutes before being able to walk off the court under her own power.

Jenkins departed with a team-high 10 points in the half and would not return

“It might be a broken nose,” said head coach Jim Couch. “She’s going to get some x-rays. She’s been playing well the last three games, so we really need her to get back.”

But despite losing one of their hottest hands, Pierce prevailed and took a 49-32 lead into halftime.

Already staked to a comfortable lead, the Brahmas dominated the second half behind Jenkins’ replacement, freshman guard Delia Rouse.

Rouse picked a good game to return from vacation for – she had missed the previous five dating back to Dec. 21 against Irvine Valley – as she proved to be the Brahmas’ leading scorer in the contest as she struck for 14 of her 23 points in the second half, 10 of them coming as part of an 18-4 Pierce run right out of the gate.

“As one steps up, one went down,” said Couch. “I’m happy to see her back.”

Last night’s drubbing of Oxnard also propelled the Brahmas into their final month of regular season play, and the team can begin to focus on the postseason chase.

“It’s all about power ratings, so it’s important that we finish in the top of the league,” Couch explained the system in which playoff teams are chosen based on the quality of the teams they play rather than record alone. “Our power ratings are good. We’ve played enough good teams so we’ll see what happens. It looks good for us.”

Pierce suits up again Saturday at 7 p.m. to face Allan Hancock College at home. Eight games remain in the regular season.