BALANCED BLUE DRAGONS ROLL PAST ALLEN

Hutchinson CC Sports Information

IOLA – The No. 22-ranked Hutchinson Community College women's basketball team shot a season-high 57.4 percent and placed five players in double figures as the Blue Dragons cruised to an 82-48 victory over the Allen Red Devils on Wednesday at the Allen Gym.

The Blue Dragons improve to 23-5 overall and 19-5 in the Jayhawk Conference. The Dragons defeated the Red Devils for the fifth-straight time. Allen dropped it eighth-straight game to fall to 6-22 and 4-20.

Hutchinson led 36-26 at halftime and dominated the second half, outscoring the Red Devils 46-22.

Hutchinson hit 31 of 54 overall shots, including 8 of 14 from 3-point range. The Blue Dragons were balanced offensively with five players scoring in double figures and six players dishing out at least three assists. Hutch had 23 assists on 31 games.

Sophomore Kayla Barber came off the bench to lead all scorers with 17 points on 7 of 10 shooting, hitting 3 of 3 from the 3-point line. Barber added five rebounds and two steals.

Sophomore Alicia Brown scored 16 points on 6 of 7 shooting. She had three assists.

Freshman Jada Mickens scored 15 points for the Dragons. Dejanae Roebuck finished with 13 points, eight rebounds and three assists. Tia Bradshaw finished with 11 points, four assists and two steals. Sara Cramer added eight points.

Hutchinson was 12 of 16 from free-throw line and owned a 33-27 rebounding advantage. The Dragons had 18 turnovers but forced 21 Allen turnovers.

Allen shot 17 of 51 overall (33.3 percent), hitting only 2 of 15 shots from 3-point range and 12 of 20 from the foul line. Jakira Wilson led the Red Devils with 12 points and Kamri Summons had 10 points.

The Blue Dragons jumped out to a 17-9 lead after Bradshaw split the Allen defense for an uncontested layup with 2:18 to play in the opening quarter. The Dragons never quite got rid of the Red Devils in the first two quarters. Despite hitting 8 of 12 total shots in the first quarter, Hutch led 17-13 after the first quarter.

Hutchinson opened the second quarter on a 12-3 run to build a 29-6 lead after an aggressive drive by Brown for a bucket. Another Brown score gave the Dragons a 33-19 lead with 2:20 left. Allen responded with a 7-0 run to pull within seven points in the final seconds of the half. Barber helped stymie the Red Devil momentum with a buzzer-beating 3-pointer that gave the Blue Dragons a 36-26 lead at halftime.

The lead was still at 10 two minutes into the third quarter when the Dragons broke the game open with a 9-2 run. A pair of Cramer free throws with 5:15 to play in the period capped that run and extended the lead to 50-33. A Barber jumper with 2:48 left pushed the Blue Dragon led to 58-38. The Blue Dragons steadily pulled away from there.

The Dragons held Allen scoreless for 8 minutes, 32 seconds and scored 16 unanswered points in the final stages of the third quarter and well into the fourth quarter. A Barber 3-pointer with 2:13 to play in the game were the final points of that run and it gave Hutch an 80-42 lead.

The Blue Dragons play host to Independence on Saturday in the final regular-season home game at 5:30 p.m. at the Sports Arena.

GAME NOTES – The Blue Dragons are now 28-3 all-time against Allen, including 8-0 in Iola. … Kayla Barber tied a career high with three 3-pointers. … This was Hutchinson's fourth game shooting 50 percent or better. … This was the eighth time this season that the Blue Dragons reached the 80-point mark in a game. … The Blue Dragons owned a 47-18 advantage in points in the paint.