BLUE DRAGONS HOLD OFF BUSTERS EXTEND WIN STREAK TO 4
Hutchinson CC Sports Information
Sophomore Morgan Browning snapped a scoring slump with a key 19-point performance to lead the Hutchinson Community College women's basketball team to a regular-season finale victory over the Garden City Broncbusters on Wednesday at the Sports Arena.
The Blue Dragons head into the postseason on a four-game winning streak after a 72-65 victory over the Broncbusters.
Hutchinson closes the regular season with a 23-7 overall record and finished fourth in the Jayhawk Conference with a 17-7 record. The Blue Dragons will have an opening-round bye for the Region VI Tournament that begins Saturday. Fourth-seeded Hutchinson will play the Coffeyville-Pratt winner in the quarterfinals at 5:30 p.m. Tuesday at the Sports Arena.
Browning tied career highs with 19 points and three 3-point goals to lead the Blue Dragons to the season sweep of Garden City. Browning scored eight points in a first quarter that saw the Dragons jump out to a 22-10 lead. Browning scored seven points in a fourth quarter, including a key 3-point goal with 4:03 to play that started game-clinching 13-6 run that heled Hutchinson extend a four-point lead to 71-60 with 45 seconds to play.
Sophomore Mya Williams pulled with 24 points of the career scoring record with a 12-point performance. Williams now has 1,153 career points.
Sophomore Kali Howard posted her sixth double-double of the season with 10 points and 11 rebounds off the bench. Freshman Journey Armstead chipped in 11 points, four assists and four rebounds. Freshman Monae Duffy finished with eight points, seven rebounds and a career-high five assists. Sophomore Natalie Payne hit two big 3-pointers and finished with eight points.
The Blue Dragons finished shooting 40.3 percent (27 of 67), hitting 8 of 22 from 3-point range and 10 of 14 from the foul line. The Blue Dragons out-rebounded Garden City 39-38 and had just nine turnovers.
Dayshawna Carter scored 25 points and Ariyah Brooks added 19 points to pace Garden City. The Busters shot 39.0 percent (23 of 59), going 4 of 8 from 3-point range and 15 of 18 from the foul line. The Busters had 12 turnovers.
After four early lead changes, a Williams transition layup started an 11-0 Blue Dragon run. Browning capped the run with a 3-point goal with 46 seconds left in the quarter for a 19-8 lead. Leata Te-Nana Williams nailed a 3-pointer with 7 seconds to play to give Hutchinson a 22-10 lead. The Dragons were 4 of 7 from 3-point range in the opening 10 minutes.
Howard's inside basket 20 seconds into the second quarter gave the Dragons a 14-point lead at 24-10. The Dragons went cold after that, missing 14 of their next 17 shots in the quarter, going 0 of 7 from 3-point range. The Busters warmed up and used a 15-4 run over the next 7 minutes to pull within 28-25 after a Carter layup with 3:06 to go. Armstead scored inside for a 30-25 lead and held Garden City to just 1 point over the final 3 minutes. The Dragons lead 30-26 at halftime.
Garden City started the third quarter with an 8-2 run to tale a 34-32 lead after a Brooks' bucket with 6:21 to play in the period capping a 16-point turnaround since early in the second quarter. Payne quickly regained the lead with her second 3-pointer with 6:02 to play for a 35-34 lead. Leading 43-42, Armstead nailed a 3-pointer, Williams had a putback bucket and Te-Nana Williams hit 1 of 2 free throws in a 72-second span to lead by seven. Hutchinson led 49-44 after three quarters.
Duffy's first points of the game came with 6:03 to play in the fourth quarter and that bumped the Dragon lead back to 10 at 58-48. After missing 24 of 33 shot attempts in the second and third quarters, the Blue Dragons were 9 of 14 (64.3 percent) in the final 10 minutes from the field and hit 10 of 14 free throws to clinch the victory.
GAME NOTES – The Blue Dragons secure their 31st season sweep of Garden City and now lead the all-time series 78-19. … The Dragons are 14-2 at the Sports Arena this season.