DRAGONS PULL AWAY IN 4TH QUARTER TO TOPPLE SAINTS

Hutchinson CC Sports Information

The Hutchinson Community College women's basketball team shot 63.2 percent in the fourth quarter as the Blue Dragons earned their fourth-straight victory over Seward County and 15th-straight win to start the season on Wednesday night at the Sports Arena.

Playing for the first time this season as a Top 10 nationally ranked team, the No. 6-ranked Blue Dragons defeated the Saints 69-53 in a Jayhawk Conference battle.

The Blue Dragons are now 15-0 and 9-0 in the Jayhawk Conference. The Blue Dragons travel to Coffeyville at 2 p.m. on Saturday. Seward County fell to 7-8 overall and 3-6 in the Jayhawk.

Hutchinson led 33-22 at halftime, but Seward County started the second half on a 15-4 run to pull within 37-35 with 2:48 to play in the third quarter. The Dragons pushed the lead back to 43-37 at the end of the third quarter. Then Hutchinson outscored Seward County 28-18 in the final 10 minutes, hitting 12 of 19 shots (63.6 percent) and holding the Saints to 5 of 15 shooting with three turnovers.

Monae Duffy and Journey Armstead led four Blue Dragons scoring in double figures with 16 points each.

Duffy posted her third double-double of the season with 16 points and 13 rebounds. Duffy was 6 of 12 from the floor.

Armstead scored a season-high 16 points, hitting 2 of 6 3-pointers. She added five assists, three steals and three rebounds.

Akaysha Muggeridge scored a career-high 15 points on 5 of 8 shooting, including a career-high-tying two 3-pointers. Muggeridge had three assists and three steals.

Kiki Smith scored 10 points and Hailey Jackson added nine points and seven rebounds.

The Blue Dragon shot 37.1 percent (26 of 70), going 4 of 24 from 3-point range and 13 of 20 from the free-throw line. Rebounding was even at 42 each. The Dragons had 14 turnovers, but forced 28 to earn a 25-11 scoring advantage in points off turnovers.

Jamia Carter finished with a game-high 20 points to lead the Saints. Her eight made free throws were an individual opponent high this season. Xoe Rosalez had 14 points and Allie Myers had a double-double with 12 points and 14 rebounds.

Seward County finished shooting 34.0 percent (18 of 53), hitting 6 of 18 from 3-point range and 11 of 16 from the free-throw line.

Neither team got off to a good offensive start with only a combined 13 points in the first 5 minutes of the game. Trailing 7-6, the Blue Dragons took a 9-7 lead after Muggeridge hit 3 of 4 free throws on two different possessions. Tied at 9-all, Duffy scored on a drive to the hoop with 30 seconds left for an 11-9 lead. The Dragons held Seward County to just one field goal over the final 8:55 of the quarter, including the final 5:50 of the period.

Trailing 12-11, the Blue Dragons took the lead for good after a Smith three-point play and extended the lead to 16-12 after an Armstead transition layup with 7:12 to play in the quarter. Seward County pulled within one twice, the second time at 19-18. The Blue Dragons then finished off a 22-11 second-quarter advantage with a 14-2 run over the final 4:23 of the period. Muggeridge scored in transition with 3 seconds left to give the Blue Dragons a 33-22 lead at halftime.

Duffy scored in the paint to start the second half for a 35-22 lead, but Seward County used a 17-2 run over the next 7:32, pulling within 37-35 after a Carter layup with 2:48 remaining in the quarter. Shut out from the 3-point line through the first 27 minutes, Armstead broke that streak with back-to-back 3-pointers to give Hutchinson a 43-37 lead after three quarters.

Muggeridge and Smith scored on the first two possessions of the fourth quarter to push the Dragon advantage to 10 at 47-37. The closest Seward County got was eight points at 51-43 with 6:41 remaining in the game. The Dragons put the game out of reach with a 9-1 run and built a game-high 15-point lead after an Armstead layup gave the Dragons a 60-45 lead with 2:47 to play.

GAME NOTES – The Blue Dragons are now 52-50 all-time against Seward County, including 28-20 at the Sports Arena. … The 15-0 start is the eighth-best start by the Blue Dragons in program history. … Hutchinson's 10 points in the third quarter was the lowest single-quarter output this season. The 11 points scored in the first quarter tied for the second-fewest points in a quarter this season. … This was Journey Armstead's first game scoring in double figures in the last five games. … Akaysha Muggeridge scored in double figures for the first time in 11 games. … Monae Duffy now has 12 career double-doubles. … Kiki Smith has scored in double figures in all 15 games this season. … Seward County is the 14th opponent to shoot less than 40 percent this season. … This was the 11th time this season Hutchinson has outscored an opponent by 10 or more points in the second quarter this season.