DEFENSE POWERS DRAGONS TO WIN OVER COLBY
Hutchinson CC Sports Information
The Hutchinson Community College women's basketball team produced a season-low offensive output for the second-straight game, but the Blue Dragons' No. 4-nationally ranked defense was rolling on Saturday night at the Sports Arena.
Hutchinson's defense turned a three-point deficit after one quarter into a 17-point lead at halftime as the No. 6-ranked Blue Dragons defeated the Colby Trojans 53-38 on Pink-Out Night.
The Blue Dragons improve to 25-3 overall and remain tied for first place in the Jayhawk West with Seward County at 17-2. Colby falls to 17-11 overall and 8-11 in the Jayhawk West as the Dragons complete the 14th-straight season sweep of the Trojans.
Colby hit 6 of its first 10 shots and built a 13-10 lead after one quarter. The Blue Dragon defense then turned up the heat and the Trojans missed 38 of their final 43 shot attempts, including going a span of 17 minutes, 30 seconds between field goals.
An Afiya Vincent field goal with 7:10 to play in the second quarter gave the Trojans a 15-14 lead. That turned out to be the final points of the half for Colby as Hutchinson scored 16 unanswered points to close out the first half, outscoring Colby 20-2 in the second quarter for a 30-15 lead.
Colby went 0 of 8 in the third quarter and finally got a Nyrobi Pillers' putback with 9:40 to play in the fourth quarter to end a streak of 19 consecutive missed shot attempts. Hutchinson outscored Colby 30-10 over that streak.
Hutchinson held Colby to 18 percent shooting in a 75-34 win at Colby on January 26. The Blue Dragons kept the Trojans at 20.8 percent shooting (11 of 53) on Saturday, including 1 of 14 from 3-point range. Colby was 15 of 22 from the foul line. The Trojans also had 21 turnovers.
Sophomore center Brooklyn Betham posted her second-straight and sixth overall double-double of the season with 24 points and 12 rebounds. Betham was 10 of 11 shooting from the field. She added a career-high three blocked shots to lead the Blue Dragons.
Sophomore Makayla Vannett returned to the lineup after missing two games because of injury. She hit three 3-pointers in the second quarter and finished with 10 points. Tor'e Alford was next for the Blue Dragons with six points, six assists and five rebounds.
The Blue Dragons shot 35.7 percent for the game (20 of 56), hitting 5 of 17 from distance and only 8 of 18 from the free-throw line. The Dragons had a slight 44-42 rebounding advantage. Gelecia Cooper reached double figures in rebounds for the third time this season for Hutchinson with 11 rebounds.
Estrella Avalos and Aerihna Afoa had seven points each to lead Colby, which was held 24 points under its season scoring average.
The Blue Dragons play their final regular-season road game on Wednesday at Barton in a 5:30 p.m. tipoff at Great Bend.
GAME NOTES – The Blue Dragons are 51-14 all-time vs. Colby, 26-3 in the Sports Arena. … The Dragons earned all-time win No. 1,001. … The two points scored by Colby in the second quarter was the lowest by a Hutchinson opponent in the second period this season. … This was the ninth time this season Hutchinson has held an opponent to less than 30 percent shooting and sixth time to hold an opponent to less than 40 points. … Makayla Vannett now has 176 career 3-pointers, which is No. 3 on the career Blue Dragon 3-point list.