NO. 5 BLUE DRAGONS TOPPLE COUGARS TO STAY UNBEATEN

Hutchinson CC Sports Information

Kiki Smith snapped out of a brief offensive slump and Bree Horyna came off the bench to provide a spark, lifting the No. 5-ranked Hutchinson Community College women's basketball team to a key Jayhawk Conference victory over the Barton Cougars on Wednesday at the Sports Arena.

The Blue Dragons extended the sixth-best start in program history to 17-straight wins with a 74-64 victory over the Cougars.

Hutchinson improved to 17-0 and 11-0 in the Jayhawk Conference. The Blue Dragons close out the first half of conference play at 5:30 p.m. on Saturday against Garden City at the Sports Arena. Barton is now 12-5 overall and 7-4 in league play.

Smith entered the game on a nine-quarter streak without a 3-point field. With Hutchinson trailing 16-9, Smith snapped the skid with a 3-pointer at the 1:58 mark of the period. That started a 9-0 Blue Dragon run to close the quarter and grab an 18-16 lead.

Smith finished with a game-high-tying 17 points on 3 of 7 shooting from distance to pace the Blue Dragons.

Horyna came off the bench to score 13 points, one point off her career high and dish out three assists. Horyna scored seven points in a decisive fourth quarter that saw the Dragons extend a two-point lead after the third quarter with a 26-18 fourth-quarter finish. The Dragons shot 62.5 percent in the final 10 minutes.

Hutchinson hit a season-high 13 3-point field goals in 38 attempts. Overall, the Blue Dragons shot 40.9 percent (27 of 66), going 7 of 9 from the foul line. Hutchinson out-rebounded Barton 30-28.

The Blue Dragons committed only 10 turnovers to Barton's 22 and held a decisive 27-12 scoring advantage in points off turnovers.

Journey Armstead finished with 12 points, three assists and a career-high-tying four steals. Hailey Jackson had 12 points and a game-high-tying eight rebounds. Akaysha Muggeridge had 10 points and a career-high-tying six assists.

The Cougars shot an opponent season-high 53.7 percent (22 of 41), marking only the second time this season the Blue Dragons have allowed an opponent to shoot better than 50 percent. The Cougars hit 6 of 14 3-pointers and were 14 of 17 from the free-throw line.

Quezia Bertoni had 17 points to lead Barton. Vivian Onugha finished with 16 points and Vera Ojenuwa had 16 points.

Barton jumped out to leads of 6-0, 11-3 and 16-9 in the opening quarter. Smith's 3-pointer with 1:58 to play, along with 3-pointers from Armstead and Jackson erased that deficit and help the Dragons take an 18-16 lead after one quarter.

After Bertoni tied the game for the Cougars to start the second quarter, Madi Denison scored in the paint and Smith hit her second 3-pointer of the game to give the Dragons a 23-18 lead with 7:01 remaining in the quarter. Back-to-back 3-pointers from Horyna and Muggeridge upped the Dragon lead to 29-22 with 2:47 to play. A Jackson 3-pointer with 1:17 left gave Hutchinson a 32-24 advantage. Barton scored the final four points of the half and the Dragons led 32-28 at halftime.

A Monae Duffy layup with 8:12 remaining in the third quarter gave Hutchinson a 38-30 lead. Barton came back to tie the game with an 8-0 run over the next 2:35, tying the game at 38 on a 3-pointer from Darby Smith. Jackson knocked down a 3 to stop that Barton advance. The Dragons had two four-point leads in the third, but took a 48-46 advantage into the fourth quarter.

The Dragons converted back-to-back Barton turnovers to start the final quarter with layups from Duffy and Smith to boost the Dragon advantage to 52-46 with 8:26 remaining. Horyna nailed a 3-pointer with 6:43 to go for a 57-50 lead. The Cougars answered with a 7-2 run and pulled within 59-57 after a Tatum Boettjer 3-pointer with 4:59 to go. The Dragons answered back with a decisive 7-0 run started by an Armstead 3-pointer and closed by back-to-back transition layoffs off turnovers from Jackson and Armstead for a 66-57 lead with 2:13 to play. Horyna helped the Dragons finish off the win with four-straight free throws in the final 48 seconds.

GAME NOTES – Bree Horyna's 13 points as the first time in 13 games she has scored in double figures. … Barton is only the 14th opponent in the John Ontjes era to shoot better than 50 percent in a game against the Blue Dragons. … Hutchinson's 17-game win streak is now the seventh longest in program history. … With 22 team assists, the Dragons had their eighth 20-assist game of the season. … The Dragons forced 22 turnovers, their ninth of 20 or more turnovers forced this season. … The Dragons were out-shot for only the second time this season.