[ By STEVE CARPENTER ]

[ BLUE DRAGON SPORTS INFORMATION ]

HUTCHINSON, Kan. — Riding an 11-game winning streak, the Hutchinson Community College women’s basketball team made a return to the NJCAA National Rankings on Tuesday.

The Blue Dragons are No. 18 in this week’s Division I Women’s Rankings. This is the first time in four regular-season rankings that the Dragons are in the Top 25. Hutchinson was No. 12 in the preseason poll, but consecutive road losses in mid-November cost the Dragons their spot in the rankings.

Since then, the Blue Dragons have put together an 11-game winning streak. Within that streak are wins over nationally ranked teams – then No. 21 Florida Southwestern State and No. 18 Cowley. Hutchinson goes into Wednesday’s road game at Independence with a 13-2 overall record.

When the Blue Dragons dropped out of the Top 25 earlier this season, that snapped a streak of 89 consecutive times in the national rankings. Hutchinson had appeared in 101 of 104 national rankings before dropping out in December.

The Dragons are one of three Jayhawk Conference teams to appear in this week’s rankings. Seward County (13-2) is No. 13, then Hutchinson at No. 18 and Cowley at No. 21. Cowley fell three spots after the loss last Wednesday to the Blue Dragons.

Florida Southwestern State, which Hutch defeated 60-56 on December 30 in Fort Myers, Florida, is No. 22.

Shelton State takes over as the new No. 1 team in the country. Gulf Coast State drops two spots to No. 3.

2018 NJCAA DIVISION I WOMEN’S BASKETBALL RANKINGS

                                                                Record          Points            Last poll

1. Shelton State                                  19-0                200                 2
2. New Mexico                                    17-0                190                 3
3. Gulf Coast State                             13-1                182                 1
4. Northwest Florida State              16-0                174                 5
5. Trinity Valley                                 14-1                166                 6
6. Tallahassee                                     15-1                158                 4
7. Salt Lake                                         15-3                150                 8
8. Jones County                                  8-2                142                 9
9. Moberly Area                                16-0                134                 11
10. Pensacola State                            16-1                 126                 10
11. Wabash Valley                              13-1                 118                 12
12. Frank Phillips                               12-1                 110                 13
13. Seward County                             13-2                102                 15
14. South Georgia Tech                     16-3                94                   7
15. Collin County                                15-1                86                   20
16. Cochise                                           13-2                78                  RV
17. Odessa                                            12-4                70                   17
18. Hutchinson                              13-2              62                  NR
19. Western Nebraska                       15-2                54                   24
20. Chipola                                           11-4                48                   16
21. Cowley                                            13-2                40                   18
22. Florida SouthWestern State      16-4                32                   21
23. Northern Oklahoma Enid           13-1                24                   RV
24. San Jacinto-North                        12-5                16                   NR
25. ASA Brooklyn                                 13-0                8                    NR

     Others Receiving Votes: Angelina (12-3); Casper (13-2); Eastern Florida State (13-3); Harford (13-1); Northeast (14-1); Snow (14-4).