EL DORADO, Kan. (BlueDragonSports.com) – The No. 1-ranked Hutchinson Community College women’s basketball team got key performances from sophomores Hailey Jackson, Madi Denison and Landon Forbes to improve to 15-0 to start the season on Wednesday night.
Trailing the Butler Grizzlies by a single points with 3:47 to play in regulation, the Blue Dragons grinded out another defensive-minded victory, rallying to hand the Grizzlies their first home loss of the season in a 57-53 KJCCC win at the Power Plant.
The Blue Dragons improved to 15-0 to start the season and 9-0 in the KJCCC. The Dragons extended their overall win streak to 52 games and their Jayhawk Conference win streak to 37 games. Hutchinson travels to Pratt to complete a two-game road trip at 2 p.m. on Saturday at the Beaverdome. Butler fell to 11-3 overall and 6-3 in the league.
Jackson was Hutchinson’s leading scorer for the 12th time this season scoring 17 points on 4 of 9 shooting with a pair of 3-pointers and going 7 of 9 at the free-throw line. Jackson hit a game-tying free throw with 1:53 remaining in the fourth quarter to knot the score at 48-all.
Denison had her best game of the season with eight points and a season-high 11 rebounds. Denison also had two steals and a blocked shot. Denison grabbed an offensive rebound and scored the go-ahead basket with 58.9 seconds remaining to give the Dragons a 50-48 lead.
Forbes scored in double figures for the first time in four games finishing with 10 points on 3 of 4 shooting, including a pair of 3-pointers and 2 of 2 at the free-throw. Forbes had three rebounds, two assists and a key steal with 42 seconds remaining that led to two Jackson free throws and a four-point lead at 53-49 with 24 seconds to play.
Freshman Katie Duncan also scored eight points for the Blue Dragons in the latest defensive battle between the Blue Dragons and Grizzlies.
Hutchinson finished shooting 36.2 percent (17 of 47), knocking down 8 of 25 from 3-point range and 15 of 22 from the foul line. The Blue Dragons were outrebounded 33-31 and each team committed 15 turnovers.
Keegan Yarick had 14 of her game-high 20 points in the second half. Yarick was 6 of 14 from the field with two 3-point goals. Kenzie Galliart had 15 points.
Held to their season low offensive output, the Grizzlies shot 30.0 percent (18 of 16), going 4 of 21 from 3-point range and 13 of 17 from the free-throw line.
Jackson and the Blue Dragons came out hot from long range early in the game. Jackson had two of Hutchinson’s four 3-point goals in the first quarter. Forbes and Katie Duncan had the others as the Blue Dragons opened an 11-4 lead after Forbes’ trey with 5:36 remaining in the quarter. A Duncan 3-pointer with 3:43 left bumped the cushion to 16-8. A Kahlen Norris free throw gave the Dragons a 17-8 lead with 2:31 to go. Butler closed the quarter on a 6-0 run to cut the Hutchinson lead to 17-14 after one quarter.
Brynne Katcher dropped a 3-pointer with 8:16 remaining in the second quarter to push the Hutchinson lead to 20-15. The Dragons held scoreless for 4 minutes, 57 seconds, but the Dragons had only a 23-17 lead. Denison’s layup with 2:44 to go gave the Dragons a 25-17 lead. The Dragons held Butler to only three points in the second quarter and led 25-17 at halftime.
Butler started the third quarter on an 8-0 run and tied the game at 25-25 on two Ashley Singhateh free throws with 8:34 remaining. The Dragons grabbed the lead with a Duncan 3-pointer at the 7:13 mark. Then tied at 30, Butler took its first lead of the game with two Yarick free throws and a Galliart layup with 3:30 to go for a 34-30 advantage. Jackson hit a three-point play with 3:11 to go to pull the Dragons within one. Tied at 36, Forbes hit a transition 12-foot floater in the lane with 1:02 left for a 38-36 Dragon lead. Then trailing by one late in the quarter, Honey Cooney banked in a 3-point goal at the buzzer to give the Dragons a 41-39 lead after three quarters.
There were two lead changes and two ties in the fourth quarter. A Forbes’ 3-pointer with 7:43 to play broke a 43-all tie. Katcher scored with 5:41 left for a 48-45 lead. Butler then scored four unanswered points and took a 49-48 lead on a Galliart bucket with 3:47 left. Jackson hit 1 of 2 free throws with 1:53 left to tie the game at 49. Denison then grabbed her 11th rebound of the game and scored with 58.9 seconds left for a 51-49 lead. After Forbes’ steal, Jackson was fouled with 24.0 seconds left and her two free throws upped the Dragon lead to 53-49. Yarick scored off an offensive rebounds with 14 seconds left to pull within 53-51. Jackson hit two more free throws with 13 seconds left for a four-point lead. Butler scored again with 6 seconds left, but Jada Pleasant hit two free throws with 6 seconds remaining to seal the victory.
GAME NOTES – Head coach John Ontjes captured his 498th all-time victory. … The Dragons are 63-34 all-time vs. Butler, including 31-17 in the Power Plant. … The Dragons are 6-0 in true road games this season. … The Dragons are 3-0 in games decided by five points or less.
