BLUE DRAGONS DOWN BUSTERS TO RUN WIN STREAK TO 5

Hutchinson CC Sports Information

GARDEN CITY – For the third-straight game sophomore Alicia Brown scored a career high to lead four players in double figures as the No. 12 Hutchinson Community College women's basketball team ran its winning streak to five after a 73-59 victory over the Garden City Broncbusters at Conestoga Arena.

One week ago at Neosho County, Brown established a career high with 19 points. On Wednesday, Brown produced her first career 20-point game. On Saturday at Garden City, Brown topped that with a career-best 21-point performance, hitting 7 of 13 from the field with two 3-pointers and 5 of 6 from the free-throw line.

The Blue Dragons improve to 7-2 overall and 5-2 in conference play. The Broncbusters fall to 5-5, 3-4 in the Jayhawk.

Hutchinson shot a blistering 70.6 in the third and fourth quarters as the Blue Dragons extended a seven-point lead to as large as 24 points in the second half. The Blue Dragons were once again plagued by turnovers with 17 of their 23 turnovers in the second half. Garden City scored 24 points of Dragon turnovers.

The Blue Dragons had four players scoring in double figures for the first time this season.

Freshman Jada Mickens had her fourth double-double with 16 points and 17 rebounds. Mickens scored 14 points in the second half.

Tia Bradshaw had two 3-pointers and finished with 15 points. Dejanae Roebuck hit two 3-pointers and finished with 12 points and seven boards.

Hutchinson shot 46.9 percent overall (23 of 49), going 7 of 15 from 3-point range and 20 of 28 from the free-throw line. The Blue Dragons owned a 46-32 rebounding advantage.

Jada Washington had 11 points and Kala Jones had 10 points to lead Garden City. The Busters shot 19 of 66 (31.3 percent), going 7 of 31 from 3-point range and 14 of 18 from the free-throw line. The Busters had 12 turnovers.

Garden City led by as many as four points in the first quarter before the Blue Dragons rallied to take an 11-10 lead after one quarter. The Busters used an 11-3 run and built their largest lead of the game at 19-14 after a Talia Roberts 3-pointer with 7:12 to play in the second quarter. The Blue Dragons then scored seven unanswered points, tying the game on a Roebuck 3-pointer and taking a 21-19 lead after two Mickens free throws with 5:04 remaining in the first half.

Tied at 24, a Bradshaw layup started a 6-0 run as Hutch built a 30-24 lead with 2:39 to play after a Roebuck layup. Leading by 5 in the final minute, Brown scored with 30 seconds to play and the Blue Dragons led 33-26 at halftime.

Garden City pulled within 33-31 before the Blue Dragons exploded with a 12-0 run. Brown had seven points in the run, starting it with a 3-pointer. Then her layup with 5:42 left in the third quarter capped off the run and Hutchinson led 45-31 with 4:18 to play in the third. The Busters made a run and pulled within 51-43 after three quarters.

The Dragons finally broke the game open with a 15-0 run to start the fourth quarter Garden City went scoreless for 5 minutes, 6 seconds. Bradshaw and Brown hit 3-pointers in the run and Mickens' putback with 5:08 left gave the Dragons a 66-43 lead.

The Blue Dragons will conclude their two-game road trip on Wednesday with a 5:30 p.m. tipoff at Butler in El Dorado.