DRAGONS CLINCH SHARE OF 3RD-STRAIGHT KJCCC TITLE

Hutchinson CC Sports Information

GARDEN CITY – The No. 25-ranked Hutchinson Community College women's basketball team clinched a share of the 2022 Jayhawk Conference championship on Wednesday after grinding out a 55-51 victory over Garden City at Conestoga Arena.

The Blue Dragons (25-5) tied Independence for the conference championship with a 19-5 league record. The Dragons won their third-straight league title and 10th in program history. The Blue Dragons will be the No. 2 overall seed for the Region VI Tournament. Hutchinson, which has an opening-round bye on Saturday, will play the winner of the Dodge City/Cloud County on Tuesday, March 1 in the Sports Arena.

Hutchinson head coach John Ontjes also earned career victory No. 419, which moved him past Jim Littell into second play on the all-time KJCCC and Region VI Coaching wins' lists.

Freshman guard Mya Williams reached a milestone of her own on Wednesday. Scoring a game-high 19 points, Williams became the all-time Blue Dragon freshman scoring leader with 558 points. Williams started the night third on the list and moved past Heather Robben (2009) and Cynthia Petke (2015) into the top spot. Williams is now No. 6 on the Blue Dragon single-season scoring list.

Williams hit 5 of 7 shots from 3-point range on Wednesday. She hit a 3-pointer in the midst of a critical 14-3 Blue Dragon run in the fourth quarter that saw Hutchinson break a 30-all tie and lead 44-33 at the end of the third quarter. She sank her fifth 3-pointer of the game with 6:29 to play to give the Blue Dragons a 51-39 lead.

Kalyn Ervin was the only other Blue Dragon to reach double figures with 11 points. Ervin was 7 of 7 from the free-throw line, including two game-clinching free throws with 9 seconds left to give the Dragons a two-possession lead.

Tor'e Alford scored nine points and tied a career high with 10 rebounds. Mele Kailahi had seven points and 13 rebounds.

The Blue Dragons were 18 of 56 shooting (32.1 percent), hitting 6 of 17 from 3-point range and 13 of 17 from the free-thrown line. The Dragons were 8 of 9 from the stripe in the second half. Hutchinson out-rebounded Garden City 37-36 and committed 15 turnovers.

The Blue Dragons also survived serious foul trouble with Ervin, Kali Howard, Williams and Chanteese Craig all strapped with four fouls.

Garden City was led by Dayshawna Carter's 14 points. Justis Odom had 13 points and 11 rebounds. Ashton McCorry had 10 points and six boards.

The Busters were 20 of 56 shooting overall (35.7 percent), going 0 of 5 from 3-point range. That's the first time in 291 games that the Blue Dragons shut out an opponent from the 3-point line. Garden City was 11 of 17 from the free-throw line.

A fast start by Williams – three 3-point goals – staked the Blue Dragons to a 15-6 lead with 2:54 to play in the opening quarter. The Dragons went scoreless for the remainder of the first quarter and Garden City pulled within 15-11 at the break.

The Blue Dragon offense continued to sputter in the second quarter, shooting only 4 of 14 from the floor and going 6 1/2 minutes without a field goal. Garden City tied the game at 20-all after a Desiree Smith layoff with 3:17 to play. Alford hit a 3-pointer with 1:26 left and Williams added a jumper with 1:05 to play for a 25-20 lead. Carter scored the final four points of the half for Garden City and the Blue Dragons led 25-24 at halftime.

Garden City made it a 9-0 run with the first five points of the third quarter. An Odom jumper gave the Busters a 29-25 lead. Tied at 30-all, the Blue Dragons started their big third-quarter run with a Kailahi layup. Leading 37-33, Howard sandwiched to key short jumpers around a Williams' 3-pointer for a 44-33 lead after three quarters.

Williams buried her fifth 3-pointer of the game to give Hutchinson a 51-39 lead with 6:29 to play. The Dragons scored only four points over the remainder of the fourth quarter. A Chanteese Craig layup with 2:32 to play gave the Dragons a 53-45 lead. Garden City then got baskets from Odom and two from Carter to pull with 1:09 to play. Ervin hit two free throws with 9 seconds to play gave the Dragons a 55-51 lead.

GAME NOTES – The Blue Dragons defeated Garden City for the ninth-straight time and own a 76-19 all-time series lead. … The last time the Blue Dragons held an opponent without a 3-point goal was Labette on November 2, 2013 (0 of 16). … Ervin's seven free throws tied a career high. … The Blue Dragons are now 8-4 on the road, winning six games in a row. … This was the third time Tor'e Alford has had 10 rebounds in a game. … Mele Kailahi recorded her 11th games of the season with double-figure rebounds, her sixth of 12 or more rebounds.