DRAGONS TURN THINGS AROUND FAST TO TOPPLE PANTHERS

Hutchinson CC Sports Information

The Hutchinson Community College women's basketball team trailed Neosho County by 10 points with 3:42 remaining in the first quarter on Tuesday night at the Sports Arena.

From that point, the Blue Dragons outscored the Panthers by 54 points as Hutchinson rallied to defeat Neosho County 107-63.

The Blue Dragons (3-0) will play Labette on Friday and Neosho County on Saturday in the Barton Classic in Great Bend. Games each day are at 1 p.m.

The Blue Dragons scored 100 points in game for the first time since February 8, 2020 when they scored 103 points against Garden City. The Blue Dragons also racked up 67 total rebounds and were a plus-16 in rebounding margin. The 67 rebounds were the third most ever recorded in a single game.

Monae Duffy scored a game-high 24 points, hitting 11 of 12 shot attempts to lead the Blue Dragons. Duffy had six rebounds.

Freshman Kiki Smith had season highs of 19 points, nine rebounds and four assists.

Sophomore Bree Horyna posted her second-straight career double-double with career highs of 14 points and 12 rebounds. Horyna also had four assists and three steals.

Sophomore Journey Armstead scored 12 points with a season-high six assists. Freshman Hailey Jackson had 11 points and nine rebounds. Jada Pleasant added nine points and Brynn McCormick had eight points.

The Blue Dragons shot a season-high 48.7 percent (38 of 78) for the game. The Dragons were just 2 of 18 from the free-throw line and 29 of 41 from the free-throw line. The Dragons had a season-high 25 assists.

After a fast start, Neosho County shot only 22.9 percent (19 of 84), hitting 10 of 42 3-pointers and 15 of 26 from the foul line. The Panthers committed 27 turnovers.

The Panthers were 9 of 22 shooting with five 3-pointers in the opening quarter. The Blue Dragons held them to 10 of 62 over the final three quarters.

Tiara Hozumi had 15 points and Jahniya Brown had 14 points for Neosho County.

The Panthers jumped out fast, hitting four 3-point goals in the first 9:39 of the game and built a stunning 21-11 lead after a Hozumi 3-pointer with 11:21 to play. The Blue Dragons answered with an immediate 7-0 run, cutting the deficit to 21-18 after an Armstead fastbreak layup with 1:50 to play in the quarter. Another Hozumi 3-pointer gave Neosho County a 26-20 lead with 1:12 to play. Duffy had a layup and Pleasant added two free throws in the final minute to cut Neosho County's lead down to 26-23 after one quarter.

The Blue Dragon extended their final-minute first quarter run to 9-0 in starting the second quarter. Two Smith free throws gave the Dragons the lead for the first time and her layup with 7:49 to play upped the Dragon lead to 21-26. Leading 33-30, the Dragons broke the game open with a 13-0 run. Madi Denison's putback hoop with 2:29 to play gave the Dragons a 46-30 lead. Hutchinson held Neosho County to 1 of 19 shooting and outscored the Panthers 26-8 in the second quarter and led 49-32 at halftime.

The Dragons scored the first six points of the third quarter to led 55-34 after an Armstead layup with 8:34 remaining. Leading by 19 points late in the period, Hutchinson closed the half on an 8-0 run to lead 76-49 after a Smith breakaway layup.

The Dragons had an 11-0 run to build a 40-point lead with 2:49 to play after a Pleasant free throw. The Dragons reached the Century mark with 49 seconds left on a Denison fastbreak hoop.

GAME NOTES – The 107 points scored are the most by the Blue Dragons in a game since scoring 111 against Neosho County on Dec. 4, 2019. … Monae Duffy's 24 points were her sixth career 20-point game … The Blue Dragons have had three-straight games with 60 or more rebounds. … Head coach John Ontjes earned his 449th victory with the Blue Dragons. … The Blue Dragons outscored Neosho County 70-14 in the paint and 22-9 on second-chance points. … The Dragon bench outscored Neosho's 43-7.