DRAGONS HOLD ON TO DEFEAT CASPER, ADVANCE TO 2ND ROUND

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Hutchinson CC Sports Information

LUBBOCK, Texas – A Mya Williams three-point play just 1 minute, 48 seconds into Thursday's NJCAA Division I National Tournament opener gave the Hutchinson Community College women's basketball team the lead.

The Blue Dragons stubbornly never relinquished that lead and advanced to the national tournament's second round.

The No. 19 seeded Blue Dragons turned 14th-seeded Casper away in every attempt the Thunderbirds had to take a lead, including two potential game-tying 3-point attempts on the final play of the game, as Hutchinson defeated Casper 73-70 at the Rip Griffin Center. Hutchinson's win snapped Casper's 16-game winning streak.

Hutchinson (29-5) advances to play No. 3 seed Georgia Highlands (29-2) at 5 p.m. on Friday in the second round.

The Blue Dragons won their 20th NJCAA Tournament game in team history on Monday. The Blue Dragons are now 6-2 in opening-round games.

Tied at 41-all with 3:21 to play in the third quarter, the Blue Dragons closed the quarter on an 8-3 run to take a five-point lead into the fourth quarter. Casper – which forced nine ties, but never got the lead – scored the first five points of the fourth quarter to knot the score at 49-all.

The Blue Dragons had just three field goals in the fourth quarter, the final one coming at the 4:05 mark on a Mele Kailahi layup. Going to the free-throw line just nine times in the first three quarters, the Blue Dragons were 17 of 22 from the foul line in the fourth quarter.

Mya Williams sank two free throws with 13 seconds left for a 73-70 lead. Casper missed game-tying 3-point attempts from Dejaan Schuler and Sandra Frau in the final seconds to secure the win.

Williams posted her 12th game of 20 or more points with a game-high 20 points. Williams was 6 of 13 shooting with one 3-pointer, but she was 7 of 7 from the free-throw line, 6 of 6 in the fourth quarter. Williams also moved past Jamie Patrick (2014) into second place on the Blue Dragon single-season scoring list with 639 points scored.

Kailahi posted her ninth double-double of the season with 17 points and 12 rebounds. She hit a momentum-changing 3-pointer with 5:20 to play in the fourth quarter to give Hutchinson a 58-54 lead. Kailahi had nine points in the fourth quarter.

Sophomore Tor'e Alford finished with 11 points, five rebounds and fourth assists. Alford was 4 of 4 from the free-throw line.

Alford and Kailahi, Hutchinson's third-year sophomores, both surpassed the career 1,000-point mark on Thursday. Alford became the fifth Blue Dragon to score 1,000 points – now with 1,007 points. She moved past Dejanae Roebuck and Janay Vulgamore into fifth place on the career scoring list, Kailahi now has 1,002 career points, which spans two seasons at McLennan Community College and her one season with the Blue Dragons.

Kalyn Ervin added eight points and Chanteese Craig finished with six points.

The Blue Dragons shot 46.0 percent for the game (23 of 50), going 5 of 21 from 3-point range. The Blue Dragons tied a season low with nine rebounds and out-rebounded Casper 37-35.

Frau had 18 points to lead the Thunderbirds (28-5). Schuler had 15 points and Kate Robertson had 11.

The Thunderbirds were held to 40.0 percent shooting (24 of 60). Casper was 3 of 15 from 3-point range – Schuler had all three 3-pointers in the fourth quarter. The Thunderbirds were 19 of 26 from the free-throw line.

Ervin's 3-pointer with 6:22 to play in the opening quarter capped a game-opening 8-2 Blue Dragon run. Casper scored five unanswered to pull within one. That run was snapped with a Janaya Washington free throw for a 9-7 lead. The game was tied at 11-all and 13-all before Williams nailed a 3-pointer for a 16-13 lead. Hutchinson led 16-14 after the first quarter.

Alford sank a 3-pointer with 8:18 to play in the second quarter to boost the Dragon lead to 23-16. Washington added a 3-pointer from the left corner with 6:47 left to give the Dragons a 28-20 lead. The Williams scored with 5:02 left to push the Dragon lead to 32-22. The Dragons then went scoreless for 3 minutes, 8 seconds. Casper closed the half on a 9-2 run to cut the Hutchinson lead to 34-31 at halftime.

Tied at 41-41 with 3:21 to play in the third quarter, the Blue Dragons put together an 8-3 run to close the period. An Alford three-point play pushed the Blue Dragon lead to 47-42 with 1:20 to play in the period. Hutchinson led 49-44 after three quarters.

Casper quickly tied the game at 49-49 in the first 44 seconds of the fourth quarter. Kailahi hit a 3-pointer from the right corner with 5:20 to go and then scored in the paint with 4:55 lead to give Hutchinson a 60-54 lead. The lead grew to 67-59 after two Williams' free throws with 2:34 left. A Schuler 3-pointer, her third of the quarter, cut the Dragon lead to 68-66 with 1:21 to go. The Dragons hit five free throws in the final minute to secure the win.

GAME NOTES – The Blue Dragons are now 17-9 in the NJCAA Tournament under head coach John Ontjes and are now 45-25 against nationally ranked opponents. … The Dragons are now 2-1 all-time against Casper, scoring the most points in series history. Casper tied its high-point total in series history. … The Blue Dragons are 20-11 all-time in the NJCAA Tournament. … The Blue Dragons are 28-2 when leading at halftime and 28-1 when leading after three quarters. … Mya Williams scored in double figures for the 32nd time this season. … Williams tied Amanda Flick (1995) for fifth on the single-season free-throw list (146). … Tor'e Alford passed Ellington Spears (1987-88) and tied Jen'Von'Ta Hill (2013-14) and Kalani Purcell (2014-15) for fifth on the career assist list with 322. … Alford tied Joell Meyer (1993-94) for fifth on the career 3-point list with 150. … The 2022 Blue Dragons jump from seventh to third on the season free-throw list with 566.