DRAGONS, TIGERS BATTLE FOR REGIONAL SEEDINGS SATURDAY

Hutchinson CC Sports Information

While not mathematically eliminated from championship contention, the No. 23 Hutchinson Community College and Cowley College women's basketball teams are more concerned with their potential regional seedings when the regular season ends in 10 days.

The Blue Dragons and Tigers are tied for third place in the Jayhawk Conference entering play on Saturday at 5:30 p.m. at the Hutchinson Sports Arena.

The game will be broadcast live on Blue Dragon Flagship station KHUT-FM (102.9) and on sister stations KWBW-AM/FM (1450/98.5) beginning at 5:20 p.m. with Glen Grunwald (play-by-play) and Rusty Hilst (analysis) calling the action. The game will also be videostreamed live on the Blue Dragon Sports Network at 5:20 p.m.

Saturday's game is the seventh-annual Blue Dragon Pink-Out night. At halftime, there will be a special presentation to the Cancer Council of Reno County. Pink-Out shirts will be available for purchase on Saturday.

The winner of Saturday's game gives it the inside track to be placed on the opposite side of the Region VI Tournament bracket from No. 6 Seward County, which is closing in on the No. 1 seed as the Jayhawk Conference champion. Saturday's loser would likely finish as the No. 4 seed and face a potential semifinal showdown with the Saints.

The Blue Dragons snapped a two-game losing streak on Wednesday when they regained their offensive touch in a 75-57 win over Barton in Great Bend. The Dragons shot a season-high 53.8 percent and played five players in double figures in the victory.

Cowley pulled off a fourth-quarter comeback on Wednesday to defeat Dodge City 65-61 in Arkansas City.

Both Hutchinson and Cowley are 7-3 in their last 10 games.

The Blue Dragons get their second look at the Jayhawk Conference's leading scorer in Cowley's Kaitlyn Potter, who is averaging 40.8 points per game and shoots 37.0 percent from 3-point range. She has made a conference-best 97 3-pointers.

In Hutchinson's 78-70 victory over Cowley on January 3 in Arkansas City, the Blue Dragons held Cowley to 1 of 22 shooting from 3-point range. Potter needed 17 shot attempts to score 16 points. She was 0 of 8 from 3-point range in the first meeting.

Hutch's No. 3-ranked scoring defense is allowing 53.0 points per game with opponents shooting 42.9 percent and 26.3 percent from 3-point range.

Offensively, the Dragons are averaging 68.8 points per game shooting 42.2 percent overall and 37.0 percent from 3-point range.

Cowley is the conference's second-leading scoring offense at 74.5 point per game. The Tigers are fourth in field-goal percentage at 41.0 percent and sixth in 3-point shooting at 29.8 percent. The Tigers are allowing 57.4 points, 37.2 percent field-goal shooting and 29.4 percent from 3-point range. The Tigers are second in steals at 13.7 per game and sixth in blocked shots at 3.3 rejections per game.