Hutchinson CC Sports Information

The 21-game odyssey known as the Jayhawk Conference Western Division season comes down to one game to decide a champion on Saturday night.

The No. 12-ranked Hutchinson Community College women's basketball team will be the host for this winner-take-all showdown with rival Seward County, the Saints are ranked No. 18 in the NJCAA Rankings. Game time is set for 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 Steve Carpenter (play by play) and Dan Naccarato (color) calling the action. The game will also be streamed on the Blue Dragon Sports Network beginning at 5:20 p.m.

The 26-3 Blue Dragons and the 23-5 Saints are tied atop the Jayhawk West standings with 18-2 records. The Blue Dragons' only league losses have been to Cowley and Dodge City, while the Saints have suffered losses to the Blue Dragons and Pratt.

The winner earns a conference championship and an opening-round bye in the Region VI Tournament. The loser must play host to either Allen or Cloud County in the opening round on Wednesday at home.

The first meeting between Hutchinson and Seward County was everything a nationally ranked showdown should be and it went down to the wire. Abby Ogle scored in the paint with 2.7 seconds left in regulation and the Blue Dragons allow the Saints to get a final shot off in a 72-70 Hutchinson win that snapped Seward's 61-game home-court winning streak.

Ogle led Hutchinson in the first meeting with Seward County with 20 points, while Makayla Vannett had four 3-pointers and finished with 17 points. Karolina Szydlowsla had 15 points, while Leilani Augmon and Tianna Johnson had 14 points each for Seward County.

The Blue Dragons were scuffling offensively coming into the final week of the regular season with back-to-back season-low offensive outputs against Dodge City and Colby. The Dragons rebounded nicely in an 86-67 win on Wednesday at Barton as the Blue Dragons shot 52.5 percent overall and nailed 13 of 30 3-pointers. Tor'e Alford had career highs of 24 points and seven 3-point goals to lead the Dragons. Brooklyn Betham posted her third-straight double-double with 12 points and 11 rebounds.

Seward County struggled early at Northwest Tech before finding its groove and defeated the Mavericks 69-44.

Saturday is Sophomore Night at HutchCC. After the game Ogle, Vannett, Lauryn Mapusua, Betham, Sasha Francis and Gelecia Cooper will be honored.