[ By STEVE CARPENTER ]
[ HCC SPORTS INFORMATION ]
Photo courtesy of Joel Powers, HCC Sports Information
HUTCHINSON, Kan. — Sophomore Bride Kennedy-Hopoate and redshirt freshman Brenna McClure combined for 34 points and the Hutchinson Community College women’s basketball team held Independence to a season-low offensive output to secure the No. 6 Blue Dragons’ 13th-consecutive victory on Wednesday at the Sports Arena.
After creating distance in the opening quarter, the Blue Dragons broke the game open with a dominant second period as Hutchinson rolled to an 83-44 victory, which was the 12th-straight win over the Pirates in series history.
The Blue Dragons improve to 15-1 overall and 11-1 in the Jayhawk Conference. The Pirates fall to 7-9 and 4-8.
Hutchinson led 24-12 after one quarter and led 33-18with 6:23 to play in the second quarter. The Blue Dragons took command of the game by holding the Pirates scoreless for 5 minutes, 50 seconds and scored 14 unanswered points. When Kennedy-Hopoate scored to complete the run, Hutch boosted its lead to 47-18 with 2:20 to play in the half.
The Blue Dragons’ Jayhawk Conference-leading defense stifled the Pirates to 20 points less than their season average, to 32.1 percent overall shooting and 2 of 10 from 3-point range and forced 26 Indy turnovers.
Kennedy-Hopoate was a perfect 8 of 8 shooting from the field to finish with 17 points. She also had seven rebounds and three assists. Kennedy-Hopoate scored nine points in the opening quarter.
McClure scored in double figures for a second-straight game, tying for game-high honors with 17 points. McClure dished out a game-high six assists with three rebounds and two steals.
Sophomore Inja Butina was the only other Blue Dragon to score in double figures with 10 points, hitting 2 of 4 from 3-point range.
Butina moved into second place on the career assist list with four assists against the Pirates. Now with 323 career assists, Butina is 10 assists shy of passing K.C. Hilgenkamp for the career assist record. Butina also tied for seventh on the career steals list with 143 after four steals against the Pirates.
Sophomore Taylor Stahly hit three 3-pointers and finished with nine points.
Hutchinson hit 31 of 70 total shots (44.3 percent), going 10 of 26 from 3-point range and 11 of 14 from the free-throw line. Hutch out-rebounded Independence 40-36.
Jordan Schoenberger had 17 points on 7 of 10 shooting to lead the Pirates, who hit 18 of 56 shots from the floor and 2 of 10 from the 3-point line. Erica Moore had 10 points.
After two early ties, the Blue Dragons scored 10 unanswered points in the middle stages of the opening quarter. Kennedy-Hopoate scored five points in the run and when freshman Alicia Brown drilled a 3-pointer with 2:48 to go, Hutch led 17-7. Five-straight points and Butina added a drive to the basket for a score to open a 24-11 lead with 24 seconds to play in the quarter. Hutch led 24-12 after one period, hitting 9 of 20 shots from the field.
Leading 26-14, the Blue Dragons dominated the rest of the second period with a 21-4 run. Kyla Williams scored in transition and Lakin Preisner hit a 2- and 3-point goal to push the lead to 33-14 with 7:33 to play. After back-to-back Pirate baskets, the Blue Dragons reeled off 14-unanswered points to lead 47-18 with 2:20 to play in the half. Hutch was 10 of 18 shooting in the period to 4 of 13 from Independence and the Dragons led 47-20 at intermission.
A 6-0 run late in the third quarter helped Hutch increase its lead to more than 30 for the first time. A Brianna Bradshaw layup gave Hutch a 63-30 lead with 1:24 to go in the quarter. A 16-0 run over a 4-minute, 40-second stretch of the final quarter helped Hutch build a game-high 48-point lead at 81-33 with 5:03 to play after another Bradshaw layup. Indy closed the game on an 11-2 run.