HUGE 2ND HALF POWERS BLUE DRAGONS PAST COFFEYVILLE

Mya Williams drops a season-high 25 points, 18 coming in a huge second-half comeback as the Blue Dragons rally for seven down for a 64-46 victory over Coffeyville on Wednesday at the Sports Arena. (Sammi Carpenter/Blue Dragon Sports Information)

December 7, 2022

Hutchinson CC Sports Information

Down two points at halftime, the Hutchinson Community College women's basketball team turned the table on Coffeyville in the second half and snapped a two-game losing streak in the process.

Sophomore Mya Williams scored 18 of her season- and game-high 25 points in the second half as the Blue Dragons rallied from seven points down in the final 17 minutes to defeat Coffeyville 64-46 in a Jayhawk Conference contest on Wednesday at the Hutchinson Sports Arena.

The Blue Dragons improved to 10-3 overall and 4-3 in the KJCCC. The Blue Dragons travel to No. 21 Dodge City at 1 p.m. on Saturday. Coffeyville is now 9-4 and 5-2 in the league.

The Blue Dragons trailed 24-22 at halftime and trailed 31-24 after a Kyleigh Ortiz 3-pointer with 7:39 to play in the third quarter. Kali Howard's putback basket with 7:10 to play ignited a momentum-turning 36-9 run over the next 11 minutes.

Williams had 13 points in a third quarter where Hutchinson shot 52.9 percent with five 3-pointers and outscored Coffeyville 27-13. The Dragons led 49-37 after three quarters and expanded their lead to 60-40 with 3:58 to play after a Williams steal and layup.

Williams finished with 25 points to lead all scorers. She was 4 of 13 from 3-point range and finished with five rebounds and a career-high five steals. Williams moved into 10th place on the career 3-point list, moving past Wendy Fehrenbach, with 122 3-pointers.

The Blue Dragons tied a season-high with 13 steals and forced an opponent season-high 24 turnovers against the Red Ravens. The Dragons had a 24-3 scoring advantage in points off turnovers.

Morgan Browning hit a pair of 3-pointers and finished with 12 points. Freshman Monae Duffy had 10 points. Freshman Journey Armstead finished with eight points, five assists and a season-high four steals.

The Blue Dragons shot 33.8 percent for the game (22 of 65), hitting 9 of 35 on 3-pointers and 11 of 15 from the free-throw line. The Dragons had just seven turnovers, but were out-rebounded 41-37.

Cheyenne Banks had a double-double with 14 points and 10 rebounds to lead Coffeyville. Jordynn Conner had 10 points.

The Red Ravens were held to season lows of 31.9 percent shooting, going 3 of 17 from 3-point range and 13 of 16 from the free-throw line.

Except for a 7-6 lead in the first quarter, the Blue Dragons trailed the entire first half. Trailing 9-7, the Blue Dragons held Coffeyville without a field goal for the final 4:05 of the opening quarter, but still wound up trailing 14-9 with 1:30 to play. Williams hit a 3-pointer and Armstead sank 1 of 2 free throws to cut the Raven lead to 14-13 after the first quarter. The Dragons were 3 of 15 shooting in the first 10 minutes. Coffeyville was 3 of 7, but had seven turnovers in the opening period.

Points continued to be at a premium in the second quarter. The Ravens had five-point leads at 18-13 and 22-17. Despite hitting only 4 of 19 shots in the period, the Dragons managed to stay close. Trailing 22-17, Armstead hit a 3-pointer, but Kania Starks answered with a second-chance bucket with 57 seconds left in the period for a 24-20 Raven lead. The Dragons got a late steal and Browning scored in transition to pull Hutchinson within 24-22 at halftime.

Trailing 31-24 in the third quarter, the Dragon defense started to take command. Williams had a steal, but couldn't finish the layup, which was rebounded by Howard for a putback to cut the Raven lead to five. Down 33-28, Duffy nailed a 3-pointer and then Williams stole the ball and scored to tie the game at 33-all with 5:50 to play in the third quarter. Tied at 35, Williams hit 33-pointers with 4:47, 4:12 and 2:12 remaining to build a 44-35 lead. Browning finished off a 25-4 run to close the third quarter with a 3-pointer and two free throws to help Hutchinson built a 49-37 lead.

Leading 49-40, sophomore Natalie Payne banked in a 3-pointer from the top of the key to push the lead back to double figures. Williams' layup with 3:40 left capped the huge Hutchinson run and gave the Dragons a 60-40 lead.

GAME NOTES – The Blue Dragons are now 17-13 all-time against Coffeyville, including 9-2 at the Sports Arena. … Mya Williams jumps two spots to No. 17 on the Blue Dragon career scoring list with 858 points. … This was Williams seventh 20-point game of the season and 19th of her career. … The Dragons are now 2-2 when trailing at halftime.