NO. 21 DODGE CITY SURGES BY BLUE DRAGONS
Hutchinson CC Sports Information
DODGE CITY – The Hutchinson Community College women's basketball team survived two major scoring runs by No. 21 Dodge City on Saturday, but wasn't able to withstand a third.
A 14-0 Dodge City run late in the third quarter and early in the fourth quarter put the Blue Dragons in a hole too deep to dig out of as Hutchinson fell to the first-place Conquistadors 69-55 at the DC3 Student Events Center.
The Blue Dragons fell to 10-4 overall and 4-4 in the Jayhawk Conference). The Dragons close out the first semester at 5:30 p.m. on Monday at the Sports Arena against Colby. Dodge City won its fourth in a row and improved to 11-2 overall and 6-1 in the league.
Dodge City had two 7-0 scoring runs in the first half. The Blue Dragons rallied back from each of those runs and trailed just 37-34 at halftime. A Morgan Browning free throw with 2:32 to play in the third quarter cut the Dragon deficit to two points and 48-46.
From that point, the Blue Dragons went scoreless for the next 4 minutes, 52 seconds. Dodge City scored the final seven points of the third quarter and the first seven points of the fourth quarter and built a 62-46 lead on two Leah Mafua free throws with 8:08 remaining in the game.
Sophomore Mya Williams led the Blue Dragons with 22 points, hitting 3 of 8 3-point goals. Williams also had five rebounds and two steals to pace the Blue Dragons.
Browning was the only other Blue Dragon in double figures, scoring 10 points with four rebounds and four assists. Journey Armstrong finished with nine points.
The Blue Dragons shot 32.8 percent for the game (20 of 61), going 6 of 25 from 3-point range and 9 of 13 from the free-throw line. The Blue Dragons had a slim 33-32 rebounding advantage and turned the ball over 14 times.
Leah Mafua and Jada Burton had 15 points each to pace the Conquistadors. Jenna Rose Mafua had 14 points and Shakara Anderson added 11 points.
The Conquistadors shot 48.1 percent for the game – the best opponent shooting percentage against Hutchinson this season. Dodge City hit 6 of 19 from 3-point range and 11 of 18 from the foul line.
Dodge City's first run of the game, a 7-0 stint, gave the Conquistadors a 9-2 lead. Bree Horyna banked in a 3-point goal to cut the lead to four. The Dragons and Conquistadors traded baskets. Kali Howard's putback cut the Dodge lead to 17-13. Dodge City led 22-14 after one quarter after Hutchinson shot 5 of 16 from the floor.
Williams had a three-point play with 8:18 to play in the second quarter to cut the deficit to five. Trailing 27-20, the Blue Dragons got a Williams 3-point goal and an Armstead jumper after an offensive rebound to pull within 27-25 with 5:08 to play in the half. A Natalie Payne jumper with 5:00 to play and an Armstead bucket with 3:50 to go gave the Dragons a 29-28 lead.
Dodge City then went on another 7-0 run to lead 35-29. Hayley Hughes snapped that run with a 3-point goal at the 1:35 mark. Williams added two free throws with 15 seconds left to cut the Dodge lead to 37-34 at halftime.
The game looked to be getting away from the Dragons midway through the third quarter as Dodge City opened a 45-36 lead. The Dragons climbed back into the game with a 9-3 run and cut the lead to 48-46 after a Browning free throw with 2:32 to play. That's when Dodge City started its game-controlling 14-0 run over the next five minutes.
GAME NOTES – The Blue Dragons are now 47-27 against nationally ranked opponents under head coach John Ontjes. … The Dragons are 74-29 all-time against Dodge City, but had a five-game win streak against the Conquistadors snapped. … Mya Williams moved up two spots to No. 15 on the career scoring list with 870 points, moving past Amanda Fessenden and Natasha McAtee. … Williams posted her eighth 20-point game of the season and 19th of her career. … The Dragons had a season-low seven assists.