BLUE DRAGONS DOWN PRATT TO CLOSE HOMESTAND

Hutchinson CC Sports Information

The 17th-ranked Hutchinson Community College women's basketball team finished out a rare four-game conference homestand with a decisive 71-47 victory over the Pratt Beavers on Wednesday at the Sports Arena.

The win was a milestone for the program, winning for the 500th time in The Sports Arena.

More importantly, the victory over Pratt kept the Blue Dragons one game out of first place in the Jayhawk conference. The Blue Dragons improved to 17-3 overall and 13-3 in conference play. Pratt drops to 2-17 and 1-15.

Sophomore Dejanae Roebuck led the Blue Dragons in scoring with her second-straight 20-point game. She had 20 points on 8 of 13 shooting, including a 3-pointer, with three rebounds and three steals.

Roebuck's inside presence helped the Blue Dragons shoot 64.3 percent in a first quarter where Hutchinson built a 24-11 lead.

Hutchinson finished shooting 45.8 percent from the field (27 of 59) despite two extended scoreless streaks of 6 minutes, 44 seconds in the second period and 6 minutes, 11 seconds primarily through the fourth quarter.

Freshman Jada Mickens had 13 points and eight rebounds. Sophomore Alicia Brown finished with 10 points and five rebounds. Sophomore Kayla Barber had nine points and a game-high nine rebounds for the Blue Dragons.

Hutchinson out-rebounded Pratt 42-26 with 15 offensive rebounds. The Dragons had only 11 turnovers.

Jada Catlin had 13 points to lead Pratt. Nya Mach and Dakota Smith had eight points each.

The Beavers shot 30.4 percent from the floor (14 of 46), going 6 of 22 from 3-point range and 13 of 19 from the foul line. The Beavers also committed 18 turnovers.

The Blue Dragons jumped out to a quick 11-0 lead just 4 minutes, 32 seconds into the game. The lead blossomed to 19-3 after a Roebuck 3-pointer with 2:02 remaining in the period. Roebuck finished with nine points in the period as Hutchinson led 24-11 after one quarter.

Anther inside bucket by Roebuck gave Hutch a 28-11 lead with 8:55 remaining. After trading baskets, Pratt scored four points in a row to cut the lead to 30-17 with 7:26 to play. Neither team scored for the next 4:43and Pratt put together a 7-0 run to pull within 30-21 with 1:48 to go in the half. The Dragons' drought ended at 6:44 in elapsed time and nine-straight missed shots with a Kelsey Brett 3-pointer with 1:37 to play. Barber added another 3-pointer and Hutch led 36-21 at halftime.

The Blue Dragons shot 56.3 percent in the third quarter and outscored Pratt 23-13. The lead reached 20 for the first time when a Barber free throw with 2:40 left made it 50-30. The Dragons went on a 9-0 run to build a 56-30 lead after a Mickens putback with 1:37 left. Brett's layup with 27 seconds to go make it 59-32 and 59-34 after three quarters.

The offenses went silent against to start the fourth quarter and Pratt scored the only five points in the first five minutes of the period. The Beavers' 7-0 run pulled with 59-39 with 5:05 left after a Catlin 3-pointer. Roebuck finally ended the scoreless streak of 6:11 with an inside basket at the 4:16 mark. Hutch finished the game with a 13-8 run.

The Blue Dragons will be at Coffeyville for a 5 p.m. game on Saturday at Nellis Hall.

GAME NOTES – The Blue Dragons completed their 36th regular-season sweep of Pratt and are now 75-11 overall, 37-5 at the Sports Arena. … The Blue Dragons are 500-132 all-time in the Sports Arena. … This was Dejanae Roebuck's sixth time to lead the team in scoring this season. … The Blue Dragons are 9-1 at home. … The Dragons have out-rebounded 19 of 20 opponents this season. … The Blue Dragons outscored Pratt 40-12 in the paint.