BROWN PACES NO. 19 BLUE DRAGONS PAST OTERO

Hutchinson CC Sports Information

Freshman guard Whitney Brown's efforts on both sides of the floor powered the 19th-ranked Hutchinson Community College women's basketball team to a decisive victory in the Hutch Women's "BreatheFire" Classic on Saturday at the Sports Arena.

The Blue Dragons won their third game in a row, defeating the Otero Rattlers 82-59 to close the non-conference portion of their schedule.

Hutchinson will take a 5-1 record into its KJCCC opener against Garden City on Wednesday at the Sports Arena.

Brown scored a season-high 19 points, hitting a pair of 3-pointers and going 5 of 6 from the free-throw line to lead the Blue Dragons. Brown tied a season high with six assists. Defensively, Brown had three steals as the Blue Dragons forced an opponent-season-high 25 turnovers which were converted into a 25-12 scoring advantage in points off turnovers.

Two other Blue Dragons scored in double figures in a balanced offensive attack. Ten of 11 Blue Dragons to play scored in the game.

Freshman KaMyra Barber scored 15 points on 7 of 15 shooting with five rebounds. Sophomore Katie Duncan tied a career-high four 3-pointers and finished with 14 points.

Freshman Jamya McPherson hit three 3-pointers on seven attempts to finish with a season-high nine points. Sophomore Dylan Alexander had eight points and five rebounds.

The Blue Dragons shot 40.0 percent overall (28 of 70). The Dragons hit a season-high 11 3-pointers on 34 attempts went 15 of 19 from the foul line. Hutchinson out-rebounded Otero 45-33 with 16 offensive rebounds.

Otero shot 39.0 percent (23 of 59 overall), going 12 of 28 from 3-point range and 1 of 2 from the foul line.

Itzasne Fernandez Arguello had a team-high 15 points to lead Otero. Brooklyn Kaiser hit four 3-pointers and finished with 14 points.

The Rattlers hit 5 of 10 3-pointers in the opening quarter and built a 21-16 lead after the first period. The Dragons started the game shooting only 6 of 18 from the floor.

The Blue Dragons immediately turned that deficit around as McPherson hit a pair of 3-pointers and sophomore Delora Precop scored her first points of the season in a 9-0 Hutchinson run over the first 3:35 of the quarter. McPherson's second 3-pointer gave the Dragons a 25-21 lead with 6:25 remaining in the half.

The Dragons extended their start to the second quarter into an 18-2 run. Barber's transition layup with 3:01 remaining upped the Dragon lead to 34-23. The Blue Dragons outscored Otero 23-6 in the second quarter, limiting the Ratters to 3 of 12 shooting and no 3-pointers. The Dragons led 39-27 at halftime.

The Blue Dragons totally broke the game open with a 12-0 run to start the third quarter. Five different players scored in the run over the first 4:36 of the third quarter. Kaia Smith's free throws with 5:24 to go gave the Dragons a 51-27 lead. Otero got hot from 3-point range hitting 6 of 14 treys in the third and Hutchinson took a 63-48 lead into the fourth quarter.

Otero got the Dragon lead down to 11 with 8:49 to play in the fourth quarter, but Brown hit a 3-pointer after an offensive rebound to start a 14-4 run over the next 6:08 to maintain control of the game.

GAME NOTES – The Blue Dragons had a team season-high 22 assists. … This was head coach John Ontjes' 299th win at the Sports Arena as a Blue Dragon head coach. … This was Hutchinson's first win ever over Otero, evening the all-time series at 1-1. … The Blue Dragons tied their largest deficit to come back and win this season of five points.