BALANCED ATTACK, FAST START POWER DRAGONS TO 10-0

Hutchinson CC Sports Information

Seven players scored at least seven points and the No. 14-ranked Hutchinson Community College women's basketball team raced out to a 29-point halftime lead as the Blue Dragons reached 10-0 to start the season on Saturday night.

Hutchinson starts a season 10-0 for the 15th time and sixth time in the John Ontjes era after a 98-47 Jayhawk Conference victory over the Pratt Beavers at the Sports Arena.

The Blue Dragons are now 4-0 in Jayhawk Conference play. Hutchinson travels to Cloud County on Wednesday. The Dragons also defeated Pratt for the 18th consecutive time. Pratt fell to 6-4 overall and 1-4 in the Jayhawk Conference.

Journey Armstead led the balanced offensive attack in the first half with 12 points. The Dragons shot 44.2 percent (19 of 43) in building a 21-10 lead after one quarter and outscoring Pratt 28-10 in the second. Defensively, the Dragons locked down the Beavers to a season-low 20 first-half points and 7 of 34 shooting in the first two quarters.

Freshman Hailey Jackson led four Blue Dragons in double figures with 17 points on 7 of 10 shooting. She added five rebounds. Freshman Kiki Smith had 14 points and four rebounds. Armstead finished with 12 points, four rebounds, three assists and three steals. Freshman Madi Denison had 11 points.

Sophomore Akaysha Muggeridge had nine points and a career-high seven rebounds. Sophomore Monae Duffy finished with eight points and a season-high 15 rebounds. Freshman Kahlen Norris had eight points and sophomore Bree Horyna had seven points and a career-high-tying 12 rebounds.

Hutchinson finished shooting 37 of 75 (49.3 percent) for the game. The Dragons shot 56.3 percent (18 of 32) in the second half. The Blue Dragons were 6 of 25 from 3-point range and 18 of 30 from the free-throw line.

The Blue Dragons posted their fourth game with 60 or more rebounds, out-rebounding Pratt 66-31. The 66 rebounds are the fourth most in Blue Dragon single-season history and second-most this season.

The Dragons limited Pratt to an opponent-low 20.0 percent shooting (14 of 70). The Beavers were 4 of 32 from 3-point range and 15 of 21 from the foul line. Princess Anderson, the KJCCC's leading scorer, finished with 18 points on 6 of 23 shooting. Isis Sanders had 12 points.

A Jackson transition layup got the Dragons out to an 8-2 start over the first 4:19 of the game. Smith's 3-pointer with 3:27 capped a 7-0 Dragon run for a 17-5 lead. Smith's layup with 1 second left in the half gave the Dragons a 21-10 lead after one quarter.

The Dragons steadily pulled away in the second quarter. A Jackson free throw with 5:05 left gave the Dragons a 30-14 lead. Denison scored inside with 1:44 left to cap an 8-1 run for a 40-17 lead. Hutchinson outscored Pratt 9-2 in the final 51 seconds to lead 49-20 when Smith hit a 3-pointer at the buzzer.

Leading 51-24 in the third quarter, the Blue Dragons tied their longest unanswered scoring run of the season with a 19-0 run over a span of 4:17 to take a 70-24 lead after a Muggeridge 3-pointer with 4:03 remaining in the third quarter.

Hutchinson outscored Pratt 29-11 in the third quarter and 20-16 in the fourth quarter.

GAME NOTES – Kahlen Norris had a season-high four rebounds. … Monae Duffy had her fourth double-figure rebounding game this season and her 15th-career game of 10 or more rebounds. … The Blue Dragons are now a plus 127 in scoring margin in the second quarter alone. The Dragons have outscored opponents in the second quarter in 9 of 10 games this season. … Hutchinson is now 87-11 all-time against Pratt. … The Dragons outscored Pratt 56-16 in the paint.