SURGING BLUE DRAGONS HEAD TO COLBY TO EVEN SCORE WITH TROJANS
Basketball - Men | 02.22.12
One month ago, the Colby Trojans celebrated a victory over the Hutchinson Community College men’s basketball team at the Sports Arena for the first time. The Blue Dragons head to Colby on Wednesday night to return the favor in an 8 p.m. tipoff against the Trojans at the Colby Community Building.
Things have changed for both teams since Colby’s 73-67 victory on Jan. 28. The loss sent the Blue Dragons to a 1-4 start to the Jayhawk West season and three-straight home conference losses. The victory carried Colby to a 17-3 record and the brink of the Jayhawk Conference lead and an NJCAA national ranking.
Since then, Hutchinson (21-5, 8-4) has not lost since the Colby loss, winning seven in a row and vaulting from a last-place tie to second place and a game behind first-place Seward County.
Still dangerous, Colby has gone 2-5 since the Hutchinson victory and has dropped 4 of the last five games.
The Blue Dragons shot 50 percent or better for the sixth time in the conference season and earned a 71-60 victory over No. 19 Barton last Saturday at the Sports Arena.
Colby (19-8, 7-6) dropped a 77-67 decision on Saturday at Butler.
The Blue Dragons have been a good road team in 2011-12, winning 5 of 6 games away from the Sports Arena. The Blue Dragons are 14-3 all time in the Colby Community Building.
Colby is 11-2 at home, losing only to nationally ranked Barton and Seward County.
Game Coverage
Internet: The Blue Dragon Sports Network will provide a live videostream beginning at 7:50 p.m. The link to BDSN can be found at BlueDragonSports.com and click on Game Day or Broadcast Schedule.
Radio: Blue Dragon flagship station KHUT-FM (102.9) and sister station KWBW-AM (1450) will broadcast live with Glen Grunwald (play-by-play) and Steve Carpenter (analysis) calling the action beginning at 7:50 p.m.
Live Statistics: Live stats will be available just before tipoff on Blue Dragon Game Day or on the Blue Dragon Sports Network Broadcast schedule at BlueDragonSports.com just before tipoff.
The Coaches
Hutchinson: Steve Eck is in his third season with the Blue Dragons. He has a 73-18 record with HCC. Eck is in his 14th season as a junior college head coach with a record of 395-70. Eck is in his 32 overall season as a head coach and has a 723-104 record.
Colby: Dustin Pfeifer is in his fourth season with Colby. He has a 45-72 record with the Trojans. He is 2-5 against the Blue Dragons.
About The 2011-12 Blue Dragons
The Blue Dragons continue to recover from a 1-4 start in the Jayhawk West with improved play on both ends of the floor during a seven-game winning streak.
Entering play on Wednesday, the Blue Dragons are 11th in the Jayhawk Conference in scoring offense at 76.6 points per game and sixth in the league in field-goal percentage at 48.2 percent. The Blue Dragons have shot 50 percent or better in 6 of the last 9 games. The Dragons are 11th in 3-point percentage at 31.4 percent.
Defensively, the Blue Dragons are once again second in the Jayhawk in scoring defense at 65.3 points per game, seventh in defensive field goal percentage (39.2%) and leads the KJCCC in 3-point defense (25.3%).
Hutch is averaging 73.1 points per game, 46.3 percent field-goal percentage and 30.1 percent from 3-point range during conference play. Defensively, Hutchinson is allowing 68.5 points, 41.6 percent shooting and 26.7 percent from 3-point range.
Sophomore Anthony Thomas is HCC’s leading scorer at 14.9 points per game, 14.6 points during conference games. He is shooting 48.1 percent from the floor.
Sophomore Mark Braden is averaging 14.3 points per game while shooting 48.3 percent from the floor.
Freshman Alex Davis comes off the bench to average 11.2 points per game, shooting 56.6 percent from the field. Davis is shooting 58.3 percent and is averaging 10.3 points per game in league play.
A.J. Spencer averages 7.9 points off the bench. Rozell Nunn is averaging 8.0 points per game over his last five games.
The Blue Dragons have lost the services of sophomore point guard Michael Spease for the foreseeable future after emergency surgery on Sunday to repair a strangulated hernia. Spease was averaging 9.0 points and 3.5 rebounds per game.
The Blue Dragons are a plus-2.1 in rebounding margin, pulling down 38.6 boards per game, which ranks ninth in the KJCCC. Thomas has a team-high 6.8 caroms per contest.
HCC turns the ball over 16.7 times per game, while forcing 17.8 turnovers. HCC averages 14.1 assists (Braden now has a team-high 64 assists, Thomas has 61 and Spencer has 47), 7.5 steals (Braden leads with 39) and 4.3 blocked shots per game (Davis is sixth in the league with a team-high 1.76 blocks per game).
Scouting Colby
Sophomore Carson Konrade pulls the trigger on a very good Colby offensive team that averages 78.3 points per game and shoots 42.1 percent from the field.
Konrade averages 14.5 points per game while shooting 44.6 percent from the floor. He shoots 39.1 percent from 3-point range and is sixth in the Jayhawk Conference in made 3-pointers per game at 2.11. Konrade is 66 of 169 from long range this season.
He leads three players who score in double figures for fourth-year coach Dustin Pfeifer and assistant Rusty Grafel, a former Blue Dragon player.
Jamie Adams averages 12.8 points per game with 43 3-pointers and a team-high 143 assists. He has 35 3-pointers and is shooting 35.0 percent from long range in conference play.
Vincent Dillard averages 12.2 points per game. He also already gotten to the free-throw line 112 times and shoots 58 percent from the stripe.
As a team, Colby is shooting 34.0 percent from 3-point range and 62.6 percent from the foul line. The Trojans are also one of the better rebounding teams with a plus-7.0 rebounding margin and allowing only 11.1 offensive rebounds per game.
Defensively, the Trojans are allowing 69.9 points per game while opposing teams are shooting 42.4 percent overall and 31.3 percent from behind the arc.
Series History With Colby
This will be the 40th meeting between Hutchinson and Colby in a series that began in 1968.
The Blue Dragons own a 35-4 all-time record against the Trojans, including the first 17 meetings in series history.
The Blue Dragons are 19-1 all-time against Colby at the Sports Arena and 14-3 at Colby.
Hutchinson and Colby have met two times in the postseason. HCC won both with the last coming in 1977.
Last season, HCC won two narrow victories over Colby, winning 80-71 at Colby and 84-78 at the Sports Arena.
The Trojans defeated Hutchinson 73-67 in the first meeting of the season on Jan. 21 at Hutchinson.
Hutchinson is 27-4 vs. Colby since the Trojans joined the Jayhawk Conference before the 1996-97 season.
Seven-Game Winning Streak Spurred On By Defense
While the Blue Dragons have been better offensively over their seven-game winning streak as compared to the 1-4 start to the Jayhawk West season, the major reason for the turnaround has been on the defensive end of the floor.
Over the seven-game winning streak, the Blue Dragons have allowed only 63.7 points per game. That is compared to a defensive average of 75.6 points through the first five games of the conference season.
Opposing teams are finding easy shots much more difficult to come by, too. Over the last seven games, Hutchinson opponents have collectively shot just 37.2 percent overall and a frigid 19.7 percent from 3-point range. During HCC’s first five league games, opponents combined to shoot 48.6 percent and 40.3 percent from 3-point range.
Offensively, the Blue Dragons are scoring better over the last six games, averaging 74.4 points per contest, compared to 71.0 in the first five games. HCC is an improved 3-point shooting team, 32.5 percent to 27.2 percent earlier in the first five games. Rebounding has improved (40.3 in last seven games to 33.6 in first five games) and assists are up (13.0 per game over the last six to 10.0 in first five).
(HCC Sports Information)
LADY DRAGONS GO AFTER ANOTHER TEAM RECORD AT COLBY ON WEDNESDAY
Basketball - Men | 02.22.12
One game after setting a team record for consecutive wins to start a season, the No. 2-ranked Hutchinson Community College women’s basketball team bids to grab another team record on Wednesday when the Lady Dragons travel to Colby for a 6 p.m. tip at the Colby Community Building.
The Lady Dragons (25-0, 12-0 Jayhawk West) have won 24-straight Jayhawk West regular-season games dating back to last year. The HCC women’s basketball program last won 24-straight conference games from 1977 to 1979.
The defending Jayhawk West champions also look to clinch at least a tie for a second-straight conference crown. Entering play on Wednesday, the Lady Dragons have a three-game lead over second-place Seward County and Cloud County with four games to play.
Hutchinson comes off its worst offensive output of the season when the Lady Dragons defeated Barton 59-44. HCC also had a season-low shot percentage of 32.3 percent, but still defeated Barton for the sixth-straight time.
Since HCC’s 90-41 victory over Colby on Jan. 21 at the Sports Arena, the Trojans have gone 2-6 over their last eight games.
Colby (8-19, 4-9) has dropped two straight and 4 of 5 games. On Saturday, the Trojans dropped a 68-62 decision at Butler.
Hutchinson goes after a Colby-series record 12th-straight victory.
GAME COVERAGE
Live Radio: Blue Dragon flagship station KHUT-FM (102.9) and sister station KWBW-AM 91450) will provide live coverage with Steve Carpenter (play-by-play) and Glen Grunwald (Analysis) calling the action beginning at 5:45 p.m.
Internet: The Blue Dragon Sports Network will provide a live videostream beginning at 5:45 p.m. The link to BDSN can be found at BlueDragonSports.com and click on Game Day or Broadcast Schedule.
Live Statistics: Live stats will be available just before tipoff on Blue Dragon Game Day or on the Blue Dragon Sports Network Broadcast schedule at BlueDragonSports.com just before tipoff.
THE COACHES
Hutchinson: John Ontjes is in his fifth season with the Lady Dragons. He is 139-21 with the Lady Dragons, including one Jayhawk West and one Region VI championship.
Colby: Brady Jasper is in his third season as women’s head coach at Colby. He is 27-62 with the Trojans and 0-5 against HCC this season.
ABOUT THE 2011-2012 LADY DRAGONS
The Lady Dragons continue to set a team-record offensive pace through 25 games. HCC’s 81.3 point-per-game scoring average ranks eighth in the NJCAA and first in the Jayhawk Conference.
HCC is first in the league and fifth in the nation in field goal percentage at 46.4 percent. The Lady Dragons are second in the KJCCC in 3-point shooting at 32.5 percent and is fourth in the league in free-throw percentage at 67.1 percent.
Defensively, the Lady Dragons are tops in the league and 10th in the NJCAA in scoring defense at 50.1 points per game. HCC also ranks first in the KJCCC in field-goal defense at 30.3 percent and blocked shots at 6.6 per game.
In conference play, HCC is averaging 77.3 points, is shooting 45.6 percent overall and 31.7 percent from 3-point range offensively. Defensively, Hutch is allowing 49.3 points and shoots 30.9 percent and 27.1 percent from 3-point range.
Sophomore guard Laura Patrick is eighth in the KJCCC in scoring at 13.7 points per game. Patrick ranks No. 6 in the league in made 3-pointers (1.8 per game), ranks fourth in the league in 3-point percentage (40.2), second and 10th, respectively, in free-throw percentage (87.3%) and is fourth in the Jayhawk Conference in field goal percentage (52.4%). In conference play, Patrick is averaging a team-high 15.3 points per game.
All-American Jackie Patterson is averaging 11.6 points per game. She has five double-doubles.
Sophomore Chelsea Small is averaging 10.8 points per game and is shooting 47.8 percent. Small shoots 32.7 percent from 3-point range. Small has five double-doubles this season.
Sophomore Alysse Barlow is averaging 10.0 points overall.
HCC is third in the league in rebounding at 44.8 percent. Patterson averages a team-high 7.8 rebounds (7th in the KJCCC), while Small averages 7.1 rebounds.
The Lady Dragons are No. 1 in assists at 21.6 per game. Barlow is third in the KJCCC at 4.97 assists per game. Sophomore Lanicia Lawrence averages 3.62 assists per game.
HCC is fourth in the league in steals at 11.8 per game. Barlow is seventh individually at 2.67 steals per game. Small is second in the league at 1.85 blocks.
SCOUTING COLBY
The Trojans have dropped two straight, 4 of 5 and 6 of 8 since dropping a series-worst 49-point decision to Hutchinson on Jan. 18 at the Sports Arena.
Third-year coach Brady Jasper has a good inside presence in 2011-12
Left-handed sophomore forward Liga Vente, who was named the Jayhawk West player of the week two weeks ago, is averaging a team-high 12.7 points and 8.6 rebounds per game. She is shooting 36.7 percent, but is very active on the boards with 74 offensive caroms this season.
Sophomore forward Marie McAbee is Colby’s other double figure scorer at 12.6 points and 6.3 rebounds per game.
Colby has a couple of 3-point snipers in Morgan Rickwartz (6.5 ppg), who has a team-high 32 treys and shoots 34.0 percent from long range. Brooke Bursiek is Colby’s third-leading scorer at 8.7 points per game. She shoots 32.6 percent with 28 treys for the season.
Offensively, Colby is averaging 58.0 points per game, shooting 35.2 percent overall and 28.5 percent from 3-point range. The Trojans are one of the better free-throw shooting teams in the Jayhawk Conference at 68.3 percent, which is No. 2 in the league behind Pratt.
Defensively, the Trojans allow a league-worse 65.7 points per game. Opposing teams are shooting 36.9 percent and 29.3 percent from 3-point range.
SERIES HISTORY WITH COLBY
This will be the 48th meeting between Hutchinson and Colby in a series that began in 1975.
The Lady Dragons have won the last 11 games in the series and have built a 35-12 series advantage. Before the current 11-game Hutchinson winning streak, Colby had am eight-game winning streak going.
HCC is 17-6 in games played at the Sports Arena and 12-6 in games played in Colby. The Lady Dragons are 4-0 on neutral courts and 2-0 in Region VI postseason meetings. Hutchinson and Colby haven’t met in Region VI play since 1977.
HCC won the first meeting this season 90-41 at the Sports Arena, the biggest margin of victory by the Lady Dragons over Colby in series history.
LADY DRAGONS SPLIT PAIR WITH FRIENDS UNIVERSITY JV
Softball | 02.21.12
After a third-straight run-rule victory to start the season, the Hutchinson Community College softball team couldn’t come up with the big hit in the second game against the Friends University Junior Varsity on Sunday at Fun Valley and split a doubleheader.
Sophomore Lindsey Vitale threw a second-straight complete game and struck out six as Hutchinson defeated the Falcons 9-1 in five innings in Game 1. HCC stranded nine runners, leaving the bases loaded twice, in a 2-1 loss in the nightcap.
HCC is now 3-1 to start the season. The Lady Dragons will play host to Butler in a doubleheader at 2 p.m. on Tuesday at Fun Valley.
GAME 1 – HCC 9, FRIENDS 1, 5 INN. - BOXSCORE
Vitale (2-0) scattered just three hits and allowed one earned run in her second-straight run-rule five-inning outing this season. She struck out a season-high six batters and walked two.
Vitale worked out of one minor jam in the second inning. Friends had runners at first and second with one out and Vitale struck out the next two batters to end the threat. The only run scored against her came from a mental lapse when Danielle Durben stole home after a pitch to cut the lead to 3-1 at that point.
The sophomore got plenty of run support with 11 hits and the Lady Dragons scored in four of five offensive at-bats, including a four-run fourth inning.
Mallory Reese went 3 for 3 with two runs scored to lead HCC offensively. Leadoff hitter Vicki Landwehr and second baseman Mariah Wedel had two hits each.
The big hit in the game came from third baseman Brandi Brown, who delivered a two-out three-run double in HCC’s four-run fourth inning to give the Lady Dragons a 6-1.
Hutchinson closed out the game in the fifth when Taylor Rains scored on a wild pitch and Mallory Reece scored on a Hannah Kruskop fielder’s choice.
GAME 2 – FRIENDS 2, HCC 1 - BOXSCORE
One bad defensive inning was enough to do the Lady Dragons in in the nightcap. Friends capitalized on three walks and parlayed them into two first inning runs in a one-run victory over HCC.
Kelly Buckman (1-1) gave up an RBI single to Hannah Hutchinson and a sacrifice fly to center to Karsen Wohler in the first inning and then shut the Falcons down over his 6 1-3 innings. The walks were the only downer in Buckman’s performance as she allowed eight free passes, two earned runs and only three hits, while striking out two.
Hutchinson out-hit Friends 7-3, but HCC couldn’t take advantage of three Falcon errors.
HCC’s only run of the game was unearned. Brown scored from third on a two-out error off the bat of Reese to cut the Friends lead to 2-1.
Hutchinson then left the bases loaded in the third and fourth innings and then loaded the bases with one out in the fifth. That inning ended when Friends third baseman Hutchinson snared a bullet of a line drive by Rains and doubled off Sam Cargile at first to end the inning.
The Lady Dragons went in order in the sixth and seventh innings against Friends starter Jamie Bouie, who struck out three and walked one over seven innings.
Brown and Rains had two hits each to lead the Lady Dragons. Landwehr, Cargile and Reese also had hits.
(HCC Sports Information) BLUE DRAGONS DEFEAT BARTON FOR 7TH-STRAIGHT VICTORY, MOVE INTO 2ND
Basketball - Men | 02.19.12
The Hutchinson Community College men’s basketball team won their seventh-straight game on Saturday night at the Sports Arena, defeating the 19th-ranked Barton Cougars 70-61 and propelling itself into second place in the Jayhawk West, just one game off the lead.
In front of the largest crowd of the year, estimated at 3,200, the Blue Dragons broke open a tied game at half with a 23-4 run to lead 52-33 with 11:52 to go in the game. The Cougars, who buried HCC by 22 points in the first meeting in Great Bend, got as close as seven in the final minute of the game.
“A really good crowd tonight,” HCC head coach Steve Eck said. “This time, we gave them something to cheer about.”
“I remember at the beginning of that losing streak, we still had a big crowd,” said sophomore forward Anthony Thomas, referring to HCC’s 1-4 start to league play. “We didn’t want to disappoint any one. We want to keep winning.”
Thomas and freshman Alex Davis led four Blue Dragons in double figures with 14 points each. Thomas was 6 of 9 shooting and had six rebounds. Davis was one rebound shy of a third-straight double-double with 14 points, nine rebounds and five blocked shots.
Freshman Rozell Nunn turned in another solid performance hitting all five of his shot attempts to finish with 12 points. Sophomore Michael Spease had 11 points and four assists. Sophomore Mark Braden had nine points. Sophomore Ryan Schultz had eight points and eight rebounds.
“It was tough, starting like that,” Braden said referring to HCC’s start to the league season. “But we came out and worked hard every day. Now, it’s paying off.”
The Blue Dragons shot 50 percent or better for the sixth time in Jayhawk West play and 12th time this season, hitting 24 of 48 shots (50.0 percent), going 4 of 14 from 3-point range and 19 of 29 from the free-throw line. HCC committed 13 turnovers, cutting that mark down from the first Barton game by eight. The Dragons were soundly out-rebounded 50-35 and allowed a season-worst 28 offensive rebounds.
Dwayne Brunson had a huge game for the Cougars (22-5, 8-5) with a double-double totaling 23 points and 16 rebounds. Algie Key had 13 points.
Barton, one of the top offensive teams in the NJCAA, was held 28 points under its season scoring average and to a season-low output of 60 points. The Cougars shot 32.9 percent from the field (24 of 73) and were shut out from 3-point range, missing all seven long-range attempts. Barton hit 12 of 20 free throws and committed 13 turnovers. The Cougars did score 20 points of those 28 offensive rebounds.
It was that offensive rebounding that helped Barton build a 23-18 first-half lead after back-to-back buckets by Key, the second a dunk off a steal.
HCC, which shot 52.9 percent (10 of 19) in the first half rode that wave of Barton momentum. Nunn stopped the Barton run on the next possession and then Davis sank his first 3-pointer of the year to pull HCC within 27-25 with 3:39 to go. Brunson scored again to give Barton a four-point margin.
A Braden bucket and Schultz 3-pointer was part of a 6-0 HCC run to give the Dragons a 29-27 lead with 2:50 to play. Brunson scored again to tie the game at 29-all with 2:11 to go. Neither team scored for the remainder of the first half.
An extended halftime to celebrate the induction of Blue Dragon basketball and track and field great Steve Fritz into the HCC Quarterback Club Hall of Fame turned into a huge delay as one of the shot clocks above one of the baskets malfunctioned. Swapping out the clock turned halftime into about a 40 minute delay.
“Not really,” Eck said when asked if the delay concerned him. “I said what I wanted to say at halftime. The guys in the locker room had a look like they were ready to go, and that’s the first time I’ve seen that. Sometimes, I don’t know, but they looked ready.”
The Blue Dragons were ready as Thomas scored on HCC’s first possession of the second half. HCC scored the first nine points of the opening half and led 38-29 after a Spease basket with 17:15 to play. Eight of HCC’s first 11 points in the second half came from the foul line, but an inside bucket by Nunn pushed the Dragon lead to double figures for the first time at 42-31 with 15:36 remaining.
After the initial 9-0 run, the Dragons scored eight unanswered to lead 47-31 with 13:33 to play and then scored five-straight to lead 52-33 after a Davis three-point play with 11:52 remaining. That play capped a 23-4 Blue Dragon run.
The Cougars answered with a 6-0 run to pull within 52-39 with 11:07 to go. HCC answered that with a 6-0 run, the final three on a Schultz three-point play, for a 58-39 lead with 9:14 remaining.
Barton then made a major push to get back into the game, going on a 13-2 run over the next 5 minutes, 16 seconds to pull within 60-52 with 3:58 to go. The only points of that stretch with a drive and dunk by Thomas with 5:25 to play.
Nunn’s bucket stopped the Barton run with 3:23 to play, but Barton had one run left. Turon Parker hit 1 of 2 technical free throws with 52 seconds remaining to pull within 67-60, but Spease sank a pair of free throws with 51 seconds left to go back up by nine. Barton chose not to foul in the final seconds and Davis scored with 7 seconds to go to close out the game.
HCC travels to Colby in another pivotal Jayhawk West contest. Tipoff is at 8 p.m. at the Colby Community Building.
GAME NOTES – The Blue Dragons are 74-22 all time vs. Barton … HCC is 3-1 vs. ranked teams this season and is now 6-4 vs. ranked teams under Steve Eck. … Eck won his 396th game as a junior college head coach. … HCC netted all-time victory No. 1,593. … The Blue Dragons are 15-4 at home this season. … This was the 12th time in 2011-12 HCC has shot 50 percent or better. .. .The Blue Dragons are 8-2 when out-rebounded. … This was the first time this season that HCC has shut a team out from 3-point range.
(HCC Sports Information)
HCC WOMEN BREAK RECORD FOR BEST START WITH RUGGED WIN OVER BARTON
Basketball - Women | 02.19.12
Despite the lowest offensive output of the season, the No. 2-ranked Hutchinson Community College women’s basketball team turned in another impressive defensive effort and defeated Barton 59-44 in a Jayhawk West matchup on Saturday night at the Sports Arena.
The 2012 Lady Dragons surpassed the 1977 Region VI Champion and NJCAA Final Four 1977 Lady Dragons for the best start in team history at 25-0. Hutchinson tied a team record for consecutive regular-season conference victories with 24 and extended their team-record home-court winning streak to 57 games. HCC has also won a series-record sixth straight over the Cougars.
Defending Jayhawk West Hutchinson (25-0, 12-0) also extended their lead in the league to three games over Seward County, which was idle on Saturday night.
Much like the first game with Barton on Jan. 18, Hutchinson started quickly, this time building a 13-2 lead just 4 minutes into the contest. But Barton’s active 2-3 zone combined with the Lady Dragons missing outside shots combined for HCC season lows in points, mad field goals (21) and shot percentage (32.2 percent)
“This was a late-season battle,” HCC head coach John Ontjes said. “It was low-scoring, low-possession. When you have games like this, you have to be good defensively, be a good rebounding team and be efficient on offense.”
“We were all struggling with our shot,” sophomore guard Laura Patrick added. “We were missing some easy ones. Nobody was making shots tonight.”
The Lady Dragon defense was equal to the task against the Cougars, who hit four 3-pointers in the first half to stay in the game. HCC held Barton to 22.6 percent shooting (12 of 53), the lowest shot percentage by a Jayhawk West opponent against Hutchinson this season. The Cougars were 6 of 24 in the first half, going 4 of 8 from 3-point range. The Lady Dragons were even better in the second half limiting the Cougars (16-11, 6-7) to 20.7 percent shooting (6 of 29) and 0 of 5 from long range. HCC blocked nine shots and had 11 steals.
“Defensively, we had a solid game,” Patrick said. “We struggled rebounding a little bit, but we didn’t give up many easy shots.”
Patrick posted her first career double-double with a game-high 17 points and a career-high 10 rebounds to go with a career-high three blocked shots and two steals.
Sophomore Jackie Patterson had 12 points, seven boards and three blocked shots. Jasmine Patterson had 10 points.
Freshman Kelsey Webber came off the bench to bury two second-half 3-pointers, both proved to be big Barton momentum-stoppers.
“Sitting on the bench almost benefited me because I saw what was open on the floor,” Webber said. “(Coach Ontjes) was mad at us turning down open shots.”
After going 1of 9 from 3-point range in the first half, HCC improved to shoot 5 of 22 for the game. The Lady Dragons hit 12 of 17 free throws and committed only seven turnovers. Barton did out-rebound HCC 50-41.
Shea Shoemaker finished with 14 points to lead the Cougars. Dionne Harris had 11 points and Netayna Jackson finished with seven points and 15 rebounds, the most by an HCC opponent this season.
Barton finished 4 of 13 from 3-point range and 16 of 21 from the foul line. They committed 18 turnovers.
The first five minutes of the game were all Lady Dragons. HCC was able to take long rebounds off missed shots and turn them into easy baskets in building a 13-2 lead just 4 minutes, 36 seconds into the game. Barton didn’t get its first field goal until the 14:59 mark when Devan Boeger buried a 3-pointer, but HCC build a 17-5 lead with 12:55 to play after two Alysse Barlow free throws.
HCC went more than 3 minutes without a field goal as Barton started bombing away from 3-point range. The Cougars’ first four field goals of the half were treys. When Shoemaker hit Barton’s first 2-point bucket of the game, HCC’s lead dwindled to 23-16 with 7:17 to play in the first half.
Back-to-back baskets by Patrick, one a layup and the other a short jumper, pushed the Lady Dragon margin back to 29-18 with 4:40 to play. HCC led 31-21 at halftime.
Hutchinson was only 8 of 30 shooting in the second half. The closest Barton got was seven points, but on two occasions the Cougars were building up steam. That’s when Webber hit two big shots to slow Barton’s momentum.
HCC led 39-31 after a Jackson basket with 11:27 to go. The teams traded possessions and then Webber hit a 3-pointer from the right wing to push the HCC advantage back to 42-31 with 10:34 to go.
A few minutes later, four-straight points pulled the Cougars within 44-38, but Webber once again thwarted the run with a 3-pointer from the left side with 6:55 to go for a 47-38 lead.
“You have on nights and you have off nights,” Webber said. “They played zone (defense) on us, and we took some shots that we missed, but we made some eventually.”
A Shoemaker bucket with 3:36 to go again got Barton within seven at 51-44, but the Lady Dragons held the Cougars scoreless the rest of the way and scored eight unanswered points – five free throws and a Patrick 3-pointer – to pull away at the end.
Hutchinson travels to Colby on Wednesday for a 6 p.m. contest at the Colby Community Building.
GAME NOTES – The victory breaks the HCC record for best start to a season at 25-0. … The victory ties the team record for consecutive conference wins at 24. … HCC extends its record home-court winning streak to 57 games. … Alysse Barlow scored just two points, but had seven assists to one turnover and five steals. She is alone in second place on the career steals list with 149. … HCC is now 24-52 all time vs. Barton. … This was only the sixth regular-season sweep of Barton in series history. … The 2012 sophomores tie the 2008 sophomores for fourth in most wins by a sophomore class with 55. … This was the 11th time HCC has held an opponent to less than 30 percent shooting. … Barton’s 22.6 percent was the lowest by a Jayhawk West team vs. HCC this season. … Jackie Patterson jumped up to 16th on the career scoring list with 748 points. … Kelsey Webber tied a career high with two 3-point goals.
(HCC Sports Information)
