FOURTH-QUARTER SURGE PUSHES NO. 1 DRAGONS PAST COUGARS

Hutchinson CC Sports Information

GREAT BEND – Trailing the Barton Cougars by one point after three quarters in its Jayhawk Conference opener Wednesday night, the Hutchinson Community College women's basketball team's struggling offense came to life to start the fourth quarter.

The No. 1-ranked Blue Dragons went on a 22-0 run over the first 6 minutes, 37 seconds of the final quarter to rally and defeat Barton 59-43 at the Barton Gym.

The Blue Dragons extended their program-record winning streak to 44 games and their KJCCC win streak to 29 games and improved to 7-0 to start the season, 1-0 in the KJCCC. Hutchinson travels to Fort Hays Tech Northwest on Saturday in a 2 p.m. CT matchup in Goodland. Barton fell to 4-3 overall and 0-1 in the KJCCC.

Hutchinson trailed 31-24 at halftime and trailed by a season-wide margin of nine points at 33-24 just 31 seconds into the third quarter.

The Blue Dragon defense keyed the comeback, holding Barton to just three points in the final 9 minutes of the third quarter and pulled to within 36-35 at the end of three quarters. Brynne Katcher's layup with 8:26 to play in the fourth quarter gave the Blue Dragons their first lead since the second quarter. Katcher then hit a 3-pointer that sparked a 22-0 run. Jada Pleasant's layup with 3:34 to play capped the run and gave the Blue Dragons a 57-36 lead.

The Blue Dragons shot 62.5 percent (10 of 16), including 4 of 5 from 3-point range in a 24-7 fourth quarter.

Hailey Jackson led the Blue Dragons with 13 points, seven rebounds and tied a career high with four steals. Jackson was 5 of 12 shooting.

Kahlen Norris scored all 12 of her points in the second half on 5 of 10 shooting with a 3pointer. Katcher had 10 of her 12 points in the final two quarters. Katcher was 5 of 9 shooting, going 2 of 4 from 3-point range. Landon Forbes scored seven of her nine points in the second half. Dylan Alexander finished with seven points.

For the game, the Blue Dragons shot 40.7 percent (24 of 59), going 5 of 18 from 3-point range and 6 of 8 from the free-throw line. The Dragons were out-rebounded for the first time this season, 38-27. Hutchinson had just 10 turnovers to Barton's 28.

Barton was led by Regina Donanu's 17 points. She was held to only two points in the second half. The Cougars shot 36.4 percent (16 of 44), going 4 of 12 from 3-point range and 7 of 12 from the free-throw line.

Leading 10-6 with 1:27 to play after a Katie Duncan jumper, the Blue Dragons went without a field goal for the next 4 minutes. The Cougars tied the game at 10-10 after the first quarter and led 14-12 after a Donanu jumper with 7:37 to go in the second quarter.

A Jackson three-point play gave the Dragons a 17-16 lead, but Barton countered with an 8-0 run to take a 24-17 lead with 4:25 to play. Still trailing by seven, Alexander hit a 3-pointer and a transition layup on back-to-back possessions to pull within 26-24 with 2:44 left, but Barton closed the half on a 5-0 run for a 31-24 halftime lead.

The Dragons outscored Barton 11-5 in the third quarter and tied the game at 35-35 on Forbes' layup with 1:37 left in the period. Charolette Delisle hit 1 of 2 free throws with 2 seconds left in the period for a 36-35 lead heading to the fourth quarter.

Katcher's layup and 3-pointer started the key 22-0 run. Katcher had eight points, Norris had seven points and Forbes had five points during that run.

GAME NOTES – This was the third-straight KJCCC opening win for the Blue Dragons. … The Dragons are 13-5 in conference openers under John Ontjes. … The Blue Dragons are 46-59 all-time against Barton, but 28-9 in their last 37 games. … Blue Dragon head coach John Ontjes won his 490th game on the Blue Dragon bench. … The Blue Dragons outscored Barton 35-12, holding Barton to 5 of 21 shooting with 15 turnovers in the second half. … Hutchinson and Barton opened a conference season against each other for the first time since the 1995-96 season.