NO. 14 DRAGONS ROLL BY PIRATES AT INDEPENDENCE

Hutchinson CC Sports Information

INDEPENDENCE – The trio of Kiki Smith, Monae Duffy and Hailey Jackson combined for 51 points to pace the No. 14-ranked Hutchinson Community College women's basketball team to a Jayhawk Conference road victory on Wednesday night.

The Blue Dragons used a late second-quarter 12-2 run to pull away for a 73-48 KJCCC win over the Independence Pirates at the ICC Fieldhouse.

The Blue Dragons improved to 9-0 overall and 3-0 in the Jayhawk Conference. Hutchinson plays host to Pratt at 5:30 p.m. on Saturday at the Sports Arena. Independence fell to 5-4 overall and 0-4 in the KJCCC.

Smith led the Blue Dragons with 18 points, hitting 8 of 16 total shots, including a pair of 3-pointers. Smith added four assists and three steals.

Duffy scored 17 points and seven rebounds. Duffy made 8 of 17 shots with a 3-pointer.

Jackson scored 16 points on 4 of 7 shooting from the field and 8 of 9 shooting from the free-thrown line. She just missed a double-double with nine rebounds and had a season-high four steals.

Journey Armstead was the fourth Blue Dragon to score in double figures with 12 points. Armstead added seven assists, five rebounds and three steals.

The Blue Dragons shot 42.9 percent for the game (30 of 70), hitting 4 of 13 from the 3-point line and 9 of 16 from the free-throw line. The Blue Dragons out-rebounded Independence 41-35 and committed only 11 turnovers.

Independence shot 34.7 percent for the game (17 of 49), going 4 of 18 from 3-point range and 10 of 18 from the foul line. The Pirates had 23 turnovers.

Jasire Vick had 14 points to lead Independence.

The Blue Dragons trailed by as many as six points early at 12-6 with 5:24 remaining in the opening quarter. Duffy's 3-pointer with 5:08 to play jump-started the Dragon offense and cut that deficit immediately in half. A Duffy putback at the buzzer gave the Dragons a 17-16 lead after one quarter.

The Dragons led just 25-22 with 2:53 to play. An Armstead pull-up jumper sparked a quarter-closing 12-2 run by the Dragons. A Smith 3-pointer with 6 seconds left in the half gave the Dragons a 37-24 lead.

Hutchinson extended that late second-quarter surge to 24-3 by starting the third quarter off with an 11-1 run over the first 5 minutes of the period. Duffy's fastbreak layup capped the run and gave the Blue Dragons a 49-25 lead with 5:06 to play in the third quarter.

Hutchinson led 54-35 after three quarters. Leading 63-46, the Dragons closed the game strong with a 10-2 run.

GAME NOTES – The Blue Dragons are now 40-15 all-time against Independence, the Dragons have won four games in a row in the series. … The Dragons had their ninth-straight game forcing at least 20 turnovers and fourth game this season with 20 or more assists. … The Dragons had a 48-24 scoring advantage in the paint.