DRAGONS OVERCOME SLOW START TO DEFEAT INDY

Hutchinson CC Sports Information

The Hutchinson Community College women's basketball team suffered through its worst half of offense this season and trailed the Independence Pirates by four points at halftime on Saturday night at the Sports Arena.

But the offense finally found some traction and outscored Independence by 16 points in the second half and the No. 13-ranked Blue Dragons downed the Pirates 53-41 in a Jayhawk Conference matchup.

The Blue Dragon remain undefeated at 9-0 (2-0 in the Jayhawk West) despite shooting 17 percent in the opening half. Independence, which ousted Hutchinson last season in the Region VI Tournament semifinals, falls to 5-4 overall and 0-2 in the Jayhawk East.

Hutchinson had an ice-cold shooting opening half, missing 19 of 23 total shots and going just 6 of 15 from the free-throw line. The Dragons and Pirates were tied at 9-all after one quarter and trailed 20-16 at halftime. Hutch trailed 4-0 early and didn't score its first points until a Dejanae Roebuck 3-pointer with 6:31 to play in the first quarter.

Hutchinson's defense kept the Blue Dragons within striking distance by holding Independence to a season-low 41 points, which tied for the second-fewest points scored by Independence in series history.

The Pirates were 6 of 25 shooting with 11 turnovers in the first half, but led 20-16 at halftime, which is the first time that Hutchinson trailed at intermission this season.

Independence still led 25-21 with 5:42 to play in the third quarter, but the Dragons continued to defend hard and the Pirates went scoreless for the next three minutes. The Blue Dragons finally grabbed the lead at 26-25 on a Tijuana Kimbro layup with 4:09 to go in the third quarter. Hutch outscored Independence 17-11 in the third and led 33-31 after three periods. The Dragons were 7 of 15 shooting in the third, while the Pirates were 3 of 12.

The Dragons went scoreless for the first 2 1/2 minutes of the fourth quarter and Indy tied the game at 33-all on a Brittany Reeves bucket with 8:13 left in the period. Tia Bradshaw's transition layup with 7:21 left sparked a 7-1 run and led 41-34 with 5:50 to play after a Bradshaw layup. Indy scored four-straight points, but Hutch countered with a 9-0 run to build a 52-38 lead with 1:19 to go. The Dragons outscored Independence 20-10 in the fourth quarter.

Roebuck was the Blue Dragons' top scorer with 11 points and six rebounds. Bradshaw had 10 points with four rebounds and four steals. Makayla Vannett finished with nine points.

Abby Ogle finished with six points, but had a season-high eight assists to go with six rebounds and four steals. Ogle's 3-pointer with 6:42 to go in the fourth quarter sparked Hutch's fourth-quarter surge.

The Blue Dragons finished 18 of 50 shooting (36.0 percent), hitting 5 of 18 3-pointers and a season-worst 12 of 29 from the foul line. The Dragons out-rebounded Independence 44-39.

Reeves had a double-double to lead Independence with 12 points and 12 rebounds. The Pirates finished 13 of 53 shooting (24.5 percent), going 4 of 20 from the 3-point line and 11 of 20 from the foul line. The Pirates had 26 turnovers.

Hutchinson will be at Neosho County on Wednesday.