[ By STEVE CARPENTER ]
[ HCC SPORTS INFORMATION ]
LAS VEGAS – Another stellar defensive effort powered the No. 8 Hutchinson Community College women’s basketball team to a second wire-to-wire victory at the College of Southern Nevada Holiday Classic on Wednesday.
Hutchinson’s stingy defense fueled a 15-0 run to start the game and the Blue Dragons forced 29 Snow College turnovers as the Blue Dragons dominated the Badgers 87-54 at the Doolittle Recreation Center.
The victory was Hutchinson’s 11th straight as the Blue Dragons improved to 12-1 overall. The Blue Dragons will return to Jayhawk Conference play against No. 18 Cowley Tigers on Jan. 4 at the Sports Arena.
Hutchinson’s defense forced seven turnovers during its initial 15-0 run over the first 5 minutes, 33 seconds of the game. The Blue Dragons went on to force 29 Badger turnovers that led to a 39-9 advantage in points off turnovers.
Snow College (5-5) shot 41.9 percent, but cast only 39 shot attempts, 22 shots less than Hutchinson fired up on Wednesday.
Sophomore forward Kirea Rogers returned to the lineup after missing Tuesday’s game and scored a season-high 23 points on 9 of 10 shooting from the field and 5-5 from the free-throw line. Rogers just missed a double-double with nine rebounds and she also had three steals.
Sophomore Taylor Stahly was the only other Blue Dragon to score in double figures with 19 points. Stahly hit 5 of 10 shots from 3-point range to move past Heather Robben (2008-10) into fifth place on the career 3-point list with 139.
Sophomore Inja Butina became the sixth Blue Dragon to reach 300 career assists (302) with a 10-assist performance against the Badgers. That ties for the fourth-most assists in Blue Dragon single-game history. This is the eighth time in Butina’s Hutch career to reach 10 or more assists. Butina added nine points and four steals.
The Blue Dragons shot 28 of 61 overall (45.9 percent), going 9 of 21 from 3-point range and 22 of 23 from the free-throw line. The nine 3-pointers were the second-best total of the season. Hutchinson turned the ball over 14 times and owned a slim 30-27 rebounding advantage.
Harley Hansen had 12 points to lead the Badgers. Tayvia Ah’Quin had 11 points and Madison Mooring had 10. The Badgers were 4 of 12 from 3-point range and 18 of 22 from the free-throw line. The 29 turnovers were a season-worst for Snow College.
Early 3-pointers from Stahly and Lakin Preisner sparked the 15-0 run to start the game. A second Stahly 3-pointer with 4:27 to play in the period capped the 15-point run to start the game. Hutch then went scoreless for nearly 3 minutes as Snow climbed back within 15-6. Hutch withstood that mini-run and when Bride Kennedy-Hopoate scored with 1 minute to play, the Blue Dragons led 19-8. Hutch forced nine Snow turnovers in the first quarter.
Snow pulled within 19-12 with 8:37 to play. Stahly’s third trey of the game ignited a seven-point run as Hutch built a 27-12 lead on a Rogers jumper with 6:09 to go in the half. Three-point goals by Stahly and Butina pushed the Dragon lead to 33-14 with 2:40 left. Holding Snow to 2 of 10 shooting in the second quarter, the Blue Dragons led 35-16 at halftime.
Hutchinson’s defense and transition game pushed the team over 20 points for the first time early in the third quarter. Layups by Butina, Stahly and Rogers pushing the margin to 41-18 with 8:15 to play in the third quarter. Both teams had good offensive quarters as Hutch outscored Snow 26-20. The Blue Dragons shot 58.3 percent (7 of 12), while Snow shot 7 of 13 (53.8 percent). The Dragons led 61-36 after three periods.
The Dragons’ largest lead of the game came with 3:59 left for a 35-poing lead at 81-46 on a Brianna Bradshaw 3-pointer.
GAME NOTES – This was the first-ever meeting between Hutchinson and Snow College in women’s basketball. … Taylor Stahly reached five or more 3-pointers in a game for the 10th time in her career. … Inja Butina now owns 7 of the top 12 all-time single-game assist performances in program history. … This was the seventh time this season that Hutch has forced 25 or more turnovers. … The Blue Dragons are now 4-0 in Las Vegas with two wins over USU-Eastern Utah and single wins over Salt Lake and Snow College.