NO. 1 BLUE DRAGON ROLL BY COYOTES

Hutchinson CC Sports Information

GREAT BEND – The No. 1-ranked Hutchinson Community College women's basketball team shot better than 50 percent for the second time this season and forced 26 turnovers to open the Barton Classic with a decisive victory over the Kansas Wesleyan JV on Friday.

The Blue Dragon bench produced 53 points led by a combined 32 points of Dylan Alexander and Brynne Katcher as Hutchinson defeated the Coyotes 85-54 at the Barton Gym.

The Blue Dragons (5-0) extend their program-record winning streak to 42 games. Hutchinson will play Redlands (3-1) at 1 p.m. Saturday to close out the Barton Classic and the non-conference schedule.

BLUE DRAGON WOMEN'S BASKETBALL
Barton Classic
No. 1 Hutchinson (5-0) vs. Redlands (3-1)
When: Saturday, November 16, 2024
Where: Barton Gym, Great Bend, KS
Tipoff: 1 p.m.
Radio: KWBW-AM/FM (1450/102.9), 12:45 p.m. – Daren Dunn (PBP), Dan Naccarato (Analysis)
Video: Cougar Sports Network, 12:45 p.m.
X: @bluedragonsport

Hutchinson shot 50.8 percent overall (33 of 65), hitting 7 of 24 from the 3-point line and 12 of 23 from the free-throw line.

Alexander led all scorers with 17 points on 5 of 9 shooting with a 3-pointer and 6 of 9 from the free-throw line.

Katcher hit a pair of 3 pointers, going 6 of 12 overall to score 15 points. Alexander and Katcher led the Blue Dragon bench, which outscored Kansas Wesleyan 53-17 on Friday.

Hailey Jackson had 11 points, five rebounds and three steals. Kahlen Norris had nine points on 4 of 6 shooting. Zhane Singer added eight points off the bench.

The Blue Dragons out-rebounds the Coyotes 35-32. Hutchinson turned the ball over a season-low six times. Led by Katie Duncan's season-high five steals, the Dragons amassed 17 steals.

Kansas Wesleyan JV hit an opponent-season-high 10 3-pointers on 25 attempts. The Coyotes shot 38.8 percent (19 of 49) and 6 of 6 from the free-throw line. KWU had 26 turnovers.

Kamryn Rietzke had 10 points to lead Kansas Wesleyan.

Trailing 5-4, Jackson had a personal six-point run to give the Dragons a 10-5 lead after a Jackson layup with 4:42 to play in the opening quarter. Leading 14-11, Katcher scored inside and then hit a 3-pointer to books the Dragon lead to 19-11 after one quarter.

Those buckets by Katcher sparked a 19-0 Blue Dragon run over a span of 5 minutes. Noelle Anthon's layup with 5:29 to play capped the run for a 33-11 lead. The Coyotes answered with a 12-5 run and pulled within 38-23 with 1:25 to play in the quarter after a Maile Hrable 3-pointer. The Dragons closed the half on a 7-0 run after a Norris 3-pointer and layups from Landon Forbes and Norris for a 45-23 lead at halftime.

Leading 58-36 midway through the third quarter, the Blue Dragons went on an 11-0 run and took a 69-36 lead – Hutchinson's largest led of the game at 33 points – after an Alexander layup with 51 seconds to play in the third quarter. The Dragons led 69-38 after three quarters.

Singer scored all eight of her season-high points in the fourth quarter.

GAME NOTES – Head coach John Ontjes earned all-time coaching win No. 488. … The Blue Dragons won all-time game No. 1,116. … This was the third time this season the Dragons had 15 or more steals. … This was the second time this season the Blue Dragons shot better than 50 percent. … Barton defeated Redlands 76-60 in the second women's game on Friday.