WILLIAMS’ 31 POWERS DRAGONS PAST COWLEY

Hutchinson CC Sports Information

Hutchinson Community College freshman Mya Williams poured in a career-high 31 points to spark a struggling offense as the Blue Dragons earned a key Jayhawk Conference victory over the Cowley Tigers on Wednesday night at the Sports Arena.

Williams paced the Blue Dragons to a 63-53 victory over the Tigers, the fourth-straight triumph over Cowley.

Hutchinson improves to 9-2 overall and 3-2 in the Jayhawk Conference. Conference co-leader and No. 7-ranked Butler comes to the Sports Arena at 5:30 p.m. on Saturday. Cowley falls to 6-4 overall and 2-3 in league play.

Williams posted the 33rd 30-point game in team history, becoming the first player since Jada Mickens, who scored 34 against the Bethany College JV on Nov. 1, 2017, to reach the 30-point mark in a game. The last time a 30-point game occurred against an NJCAA Division I opponent was Jamie Patrick's 38 points against Northwest Tech in 2014.

Along the way, Williams became just the 12th Blue Dragon player with at least seven 3-pointers in a contest, the first since Tor'e Alford torched the Tigers for eight 3-pointers in a Region VI victory over the Tigers this past April.

Williams hit 7 of 13 shots from distance and 10 of 22 shots overall in her career-high performance. She also had four rebounds, including two put-back buckets in a key fourth-quarter surge that carried the Dragons to the victory.

The Blue Dragons also turned in a tremendous defensive performance, especially in the second half. Hutchinson forced 24 Cowley turnovers which led to a decisive 26-4 advantage in points off turnovers for the Blue Dragons. The Dragons were at a rebounding deficit for most of the game, bur turned that around in the second half, 38-35, and grabbed 13 offensive boards to the Tigers' four.

The Blue Dragons were outshot by Cowley. The Dragons shot only 30.9 percent for the game (21 of 68), hitting 11 of 40 from distance and 10- of 14 from the free-throw line. Hutchinson had just nine turnovers.

Sophomore Kalyn Ervin hit 3 of 8 3-pointers and finished with 14 points, the only other Blue Dragon scoring in double figures. Ervin added five assists, two rebounds, two steals and two blocked shots. Alford finished with nine points and Natalie Payne had four points. Mele Kailahi had a game-high-tying nine rebounds.

The Tigers shot 43.8 percent (21 of 48), going 4 of 16 from 3-point range and 7 of 10 from the free-throw line.

Carson Dean had 20 points to lead Cowley. Martyna Kowalska had 15 points.

The Blue Dragons jumped out to a 7-2 lead with 6:37 to play in the first quarter, but went scoreless for the next 4:43 as Cowley outscored the Dragons 10-2 throughout the first of the first quarter. Kali Howard snapped the scoreless drought with 1:54 remaining in the quarter, but Hutchinson trailed 12-9 after the first quarter.

Alford hit a 3-pointer to start the second quarter and tie the game and Williams started her scoring onslaught with three second-quarter 3-pointers. Trailing 19-18 with 2:59 to play in the period, Williams hit a 3-pointer, Payne scored inside and Williams added a free throw to give the Blue Dragons a 24-19 lead with 18 seconds to play in the half. Cowley looked to carry momentum into halftime, but Cowley's Melena Fromming hit a guarded fade-away 3-pointer at the buzzer to trim the Dragon advantage to 24-22 at halftime.

The Blue Dragons jumped out to an immediate eight-point lead in the first 47 seconds of the third quarter on back-to-back Williams 3-pointers, but the Blue Dragons went scoreless after that for 4:59 and Cowley scored eight in a row to tie the game at 30-all on a Dean layup with 4:25 remaining. The Blue Dragons closed the third quarter with a 10-3 run to lead 40-33 heading into the fourth quarter.

The Dragons pushed their lead to as many as 14 points in the fourth quarter. A Williams put-back bucket with 3:32 to play carried Hutchinson to a 56-42 lead. Cowley answered with a 9-2 run to pull within 58-51 with 1:48 to play. The Dragons closed the game out, hitting 5 of 6 free-throw attempts in the final 1:37.

GAME NOTES – The Blue Dragons now lead the all-time series with Cowley 29-23, including 13-6 in the Sports Arena.