DRAGONS REACH 20-WIN PLATEAU AFTER ROLLING BY COLBY

Hutchinson CC Sports Information

COLBY – Hutchinson Community College women's basketball head coach John Ontjes' 600th game on the Blue Dragon bench was memorable for several reasons on Wednesday night.

First and foremost, the No. 6-ranked Blue Dragons maintained its share of first place in the Jayhawk Conference with an 84-57 victory over Colby at the Colby Event Center, Hutchinson's 21st-consecutive victory over the Trojans.

The Blue Dragons (20-1, 14-1 KJCCC) reached the 20-win plateau for the 16th time in Ontjes' 18 seasons on the Hutchinson bench and for the 33rd time in the 51-year history of the program. The Blue Dragons play host to Independence at 2 p.m. Saturday at the Sports Arena. Colby is now 12-9 overall and 7-8 in the KJCCC.

Sophomores Hailey Jackson and Jada Pleasant paced a Blue Dragon offense that shot 54.5 percent for the game and limited themselves to 12 turnovers.

Jackson posted her ninth double-double of the season with 22 points and 11 rebounds to go with a career-high six assists. Jackson was 9 of 15 shooting overall. She jumped up two spots to No. 18 in the Blue Dragon career scoring list, now with 860 points. Jackson also surpassed the career 400-rebound milestone, making her just the 13th Blue Dragon player in team history with 800 points and 400 rebounds on their career.

Pleasant posted a career scoring high for the second-straight game and a career single-game high for 3-pointers for the third-straight game. Pleasant was 5 of 5 from 3-point range to finish with a career-high 15 points. She had four first-half 3-pointers, including a long buzzer-beater just before the halftime horn that gave the Blue Dragons a 43-28 lead.

Freshman Katie Duncan tied career highs for points and three pointers, finishing with 15 points on 3 of 5 shooting from distance.

Sophomore Brynne Katcher came off the bench to score 11 points. Sophomore Landon Forbes hit two 3-pointers and finished with 10 points.

The Blue Dragons shot 30 of 55 overall, including 10 of 18 from 3-point range and 14 of 16 from the free-throw line. The Dragons out-rebounded Colby 28-23.

Dessirae Ulmer had an individual opponent single-game high of 23 points to lead the Trojans. Ishante Suttington had 17 points.

Colby was held to 36.2 percent (18 of 47), going just 1 of 5 from 3-point range and 22 of 30 from the foul line.

The Blue Dragons – with two 3-pointers from Forbes and another from Pleasant – jumped out to a 22-9 lead after one quarter. The Dragons' largest lead was 28 points.

GAME NOTES – This was Hailey Jackson's 11th career double-double and her eighth 20-point game this season. … The Blue Dragons are 61-14 all-time against Colby. … This was Hutchinson's third-straight game with 10 or more 3-pointers and it's the sixth this season. … The Dragons have shot 50 percent or better for the seventh time this season.