NO. 6 BLUE DRAGONS ROLL BY INDEPENDENCE

Hutchinson CC Sports Information

With three players scoring in double figures and a balanced offensive attack that had eight players scoring six or more points, the No. 6 Hutchinson Community College women's basketball team rolled to its fourth-consecutive victory on Saturday at the Sports Arena.

Shooting 48.0 percent and with 23 assists on 36 made field goals, the Blue Dragons cruised by Independence 90-49 to complete a season sweep of the Pirates.

The Blue Dragons (21-1, 15-1) hit the road Wednesday to face a key KJCCC matchup against No. 22 Coffeyville at 5:30 p.m. at Nellis Hall. Independence fell to 2-19 overall and 1-14 in league play.

The Blue Dragons captured their 28th-consecutive victory at the Sports Arena, which is the third-longest home-court win streak in program history.

Sophomore Brynne Katcher came off the bench to score a season-high 19 points to lead the Blue Dragons. Katcher tied a career-high with three 3-pointers and finished 7 of 9 shooting overall. She added three assists.

Sophomore Kahlen Norris posted a career-high 18 points, hitting 3 of 5 from 3-point range. Norris tied her career high with 15 first-half points, which helped Hutchinson build a 45-17 lead at halftime.

Sophomore Hailey Jackson hit 6 of 10 field goals and finished with 15 points, five rebounds and three steals. Jackson jumped three spots on the Blue Dragon career scoring list to 15th place with 875 points.

Jada Pleasant finished with eight points, Landon Forbes and Jaden Wilson had seven points each. Katie Duncan and Zhane Singler had six points each.

The Blue Dragons hot 48.0 percent for the game (36 of 75). They reached 10 or more 3-pointers for the fourth-straight game, going 10 of 24 from distance. The Dragons were 8 of 14 from the free-throw line. Hutchinson out-rebounded Independence 52-30 and had only 12 turnovers.

Lauryn Gentle had 14 points to lead the Pirates. Mikka Chambers added 11 points.

Independence shot 30.9 percent (17 of 55), going 6 of 13 from 3-point range and 9 of 13 from the free-throw line. The Pirates had 18 turnovers.

Hutchinson scored the first eight points of the game and led 12-2 after a Jackson putback with 6:24 to play. Another 7-0 run capped by a Norris transition 3-pointer gave Hutchinson a 19-4 lead with 4:56 remaining. Forbes gave the Dragons their largest lead of the game to that point with a 3-pointer with 3 seconds remaining to give Hutchinson a 26-10 lead at halftime.

The Dragons outscored Independence 19-7 in the second quarter, closing the period on a 7-0 run to lead 45-17 at halftime.

A Jackson field goal to start the third quarter upped the Dragon lead to 30 points for the first time at 47-17. The lead reached 39 points twice in the quarter at 62-23 on a Pleasant free throw with 3:25 left and 70-31 on a Katcher transition layup to close the quarter.

An 8-0 fourth-quarter run pushed the Dragon lead to 45 at 80-35. The Dragons' largest lead was 47 points after a Duncan 3-pointer made it 90-43 with 2:07 to play.

GAME NOTES – The Blue Dragon bench outscored Independence 38-0. … Kahlen Norris had career highs of seven field goals and nine rebounds. … Landon Forbes tied her career high for the third time with seven assists. … The Blue Dragons are now 43-15 all-time against Independence, including seven consecutive wins. … The 41-point margin of victory was the second largest for the Blue Dragons in series history with the Pirates. … Hailey Jackson moved past Amanda Fessenden, Natasha McAtee and Sherry Dishman into 15th place on the Blue Dragon career scoring list. … This was the fourth time this season the Dragons reached 90 or more points in a game, the seventh time to have at least 20 assists and the fifth time to net 50 or more rebounds in a game.