DUFFY JOINS RARE GROUP IN BLUE DRAGON WIN OVER MAVERICKS

Monae Duffy goes for 25 points and 20 rebounds in the Blue Dragons' 73-63 victory over Northwest Tech on Saturday at the Sports Arena. (Andrew Carpenter/Blue Dragon Sports Information)

February 18, 2023

Hutchinson CC Sports Information

Freshman forward Monae Duffy posted her eighth double-double of the season and it was an historic won for the Hutchinson Community College women's basketball team on Saturday.

Duffy became just the second Blue Dragon in the 49-year history of the program to have a 20-point, 20-rebound game to lead Hutchinson to a key73-63 Jayhawk Conference victory over Northwest Tech on Saturday afternoon at the Sports Arena.

The Blue Dragons improved to 21-7 overall and 15-7 in the KJCCC. Hutchinson's victory and Seward County's loss to Barton clinched fourth place in the Jayhawk Conference. The Blue Dragons will earn a first-round bye for the upcoming Region VI Tournament. Northwest Tech had a three-game winning streak snapped and fell to 10-16 overall and 4-16 in the KJCCC.

Duffy scored a career-high 25 points and added her second 20-rebound game of the season. She joins Ariella McGhee, who had 20 points and 20 rebounds against Seward County in 2009, as the only Blue Dragon players to have a 20-point/20-rebound game. Duffy's 20 rebounds tied McGhee for the third-most rebounds in a single-game in program history. Duffy now owns 2 of the top 5 single-game rebounding performances in team history.

Duffy played a huge role in Hutchinson's fourth-quarter surge. After the Dragons built a 13-point lead early in the third quarter, Northwest Tech pulled within 48-47 with 1:36 to play in the period. From that point, Duffy scored eight points and had 10 rebounds as Hutchinson outscored Northwest Tech 25-16 over the remainder of the game.

Sophomore Mya Williams was the only other Blue Dragon to score in double figures, finishing with 18 points with a pair of 3-pointers. Williams moved within 49 points of becoming the program's all-time leading scorer with 1,128 points.

Sophomore Natalie Payne finished with nine points. Sophomore Leata Te-Nana Williams had seven points and Morgan Browning added six points.

The Blue Dragons shot 41.1 percent for the game (23 of 56), going 4 of 13 from 3-point range and 23 of 37 from the free-throw line. The Dragons out-rebounded Northwest Tech 46-35 and had to overcome 20 turnovers.

Elisa Sanchez led Northwest Tech with 19 points, four assists and an opponent single-game high six steals. Sarengbe Sanogo and Mariam Sanogo had 14 points each.

The Mavericks shot 40.9 percent for the game (26 of 66), going 3 of 17 from 3-point range and 6 of 14 from the foul line.

The Blue Dragons scored the first five points of the game and then the teams trades baskets for the remainder of the opening quarter. The Dragons maintained the lead or the game was tied throughout the period, but Tech tied the game with 13-all when Alexzandria Thompson hit a 3-pointer with 57 seconds to go in the quarter.

Te-Nana Williams started the second quarter with a 3-pointer, which sparks a 11-4 run over the first 3 minutes of the period. The Dragons hit four free throws after a foul and technical foul were assessed at the 7:00 mark. Hitting all four free throws, the Dragons led 24-17. The Blue Dragons outscored Tech 230-14 in the quarter to lead 36-27 at halftime.

Two Duffy free throws with 6:41 to play in the third quarter gave Hutchinson a 41-28 lead, but the Dragons missed 9 of their first 11 shot attempts of the period and committed seven turnovers that led to 11 Tech points as the Mavericks went on a 19-7 run to pull within 48-47 with 1:36 to play. Journey Armstead hit a free throw and Kali Howard scored inside, but Sanchez scored with 5 seconds left in the period to cut the Dragon lead to 51-49 after three quarters.

Hutchinson took command of the game again early in the fourth quarter with an 11-4 run. The Dragons scored eight unanswered points in the run and built a 60-51 lead on a Browning basket with 5:18 to go. Williams sank a 3-pointer with 3:35 to play to Hutchinson a 67-55 lead. The Dragons outscored Tech 22-14 in the final quarter.

GAME NOTES – The victory was the 250th Jayhawk Conference regular-season victory in John Ontjes' era. … The Dragons are now 11-1 against Northwest Tech. … Mya Williams tied Tessa Morrow for eighth place on the career 3-point list with 148. Williams tied Kim Kroupa for eighth on the career free-throw list with 252. … The Dragons are 13-2 at home this season.