Steve Carpenter-HCC Sports Information
Wednesday, March 8, 2017
PARK CITY – In a battle of co-Jayhawk Conference champions, the No. 2-ranked Hutchinson Community College women’s basketball team dominated the fourth quarter to defeat No. 4 Seward County 65-44 to win the 2017 Region VI Tournament Championship on Wednesday at Hartman Arena.
The Blue Dragons won their seventh Region VI championship in program history and the sixth under head coach John Ontjes. Hutchinson won its 31st game in a row and will advance to the NJCAA Tournament in Lubbock, Texas, with a 33-1 record.
Hutchinson will receive Region VI’s automatic bid for the NJCAA Tournament, which will run March 20-25 at Lubbock Christian University. Seward County, which has a record of 32-2, is all but guaranteed a spot in the 24-team field with one of the eight at-large bids.
Blue Dragon sophomore guard Taylor Stahly was named the Region VI Tournament Most Valuable Player. Kirea Rogers, Bride Kennedy-Hopoate and Inja Butina were named to the all-tournament team.
Leading 46-38 after three quarters, the Blue Dragons owned the fourth period, scoring 16 of the first 18 points of the period and holding the Saints scoreless for the first 5 minutes, 15 seconds of the period. Brenna McClure‘s 3-pointer with 5:10 to play gave the Blue Dragons a commanding 62-38 lead.
The Blue Dragons held the Saints to 2 of 8 shooting and four turnovers as Hutchinson outscored Seward County 19-6 in the final stanza.
McClure was Hutchinson’s leading scorer, coming off the bench to score a game-high 14 points. McClure had a career-best four 3-pointers on six attempts. She added three assists and three steals.
Rogers and Kennedy-Hopoate scored 10 points each. Stahly, who on Tuesday because Hutchinson’s and the Jayhawk Conference career 3-point leader, had eight points on a pair of treys. Kyla Williams also had eight points and four rebounds.
Preisner and Butina had six points each. Butina reached the 10-assist mark in a game for the 12th time in her career with 11 assists.
The Blue Dragons shot 25 of 58 overall (43.1 percent), including 8 of 19 from 3-point range and 7 of 11 from the foul line. Hutchinson out-rebounded Seward County 38-29.
Hutchinson’s did a masterful job of holding Seward County’s top scoring threats – Mollie Mounsey and Joanna Grymek, in check in the championship game. Mounsey scored 11 points, but was only 1 of 11 from 3-point range and 4 of 19 overall. Grymek was 2 of 8 from the floor for five points.
The Saints were held to 33.3 percent shooting (15 of 45) and 5 of 20 from the 3-point line. The Saints turned the ball over 17 times.
GAME NOTES – Hutchinson has also won Region VI crowns in 1977, 2009, 2012, 2013, 2014 and 2015. … The Blue Dragons are 2-0 against Seward County in Region VI Tournament championship games, also winning in 2009. … The Blue Dragons are now 58-33 all-time in the Region VI Tournament.