by Steve Carpenter-HCC Sports Information
DODGE CITY – Freshman Kyla Williams came off the bench to score a career-high 18 points and pace the seventh-ranked Hutchinson Community College women’s basketball team to a 69-53 Jayhawk Conference victory over the Dodge City Conquistadors on Wednesday at the Dodge City Civic Center.
The victory over Dodge City was Hutchinson’s 13th-straight win, the 11th-longest win streak in team history. The Blue Dragons improve to 23-1 overall and maintain a one-game lead over Garden City in the Jayhawk West standings at 13-1. Dodge City falls to 16-8 and 6-7.
The Blue Dragons shot 50 percent for the 10th time this season and committed only eight turnovers against the Conquistadors. That helped a season-worst 10-rebound deficit as Dodge City had a 34-24 advantage on the boards.
Defensively, Hutchinson held the KJCCC’s No. 2 scoring offense to 36.5 percent shooting and forced 18 turnovers. HCC had a decisive 23-5 scoring advantage in points off turnovers.
Williams paced the Blue Dragons with an extra inside presence on both ends of the floor. Offensively, the freshman forward knocked down 7 of 12 shots and was 4 of 4 from the foul line in establishing a new career high. Defensively, she helped hold Dodge City Center Rachel Slattery to 10 points on 4 of 9 shooting and eight rebounds. Slattery leads the conference in field-goal percentage and rebounding.
Four Blue Dragons reached double figures against Dodge City.
Freshman Kirea Rogers finished with 14 points, five rebounds and a career-high-tying four blocked shots.
Inja Butina and Mandy Madden scored 10 points each. Butina, the conference leader in assists, dished out five and had five steals against the Conquistadors. Madden chipped in five rebounds.
The Blue Dragons were 25 of 50 shooting overall, hitting 3 of 8 from 3-point range and 16 of 19 from the free-throw line. The Dragons had 19 assists on 25 makes. Lakin Preisner had a season-high six assists.
Antania Newton scored 14 points to pace Dodge City. Talisha Presley hit three 3-pointers and had 12 points.
The Blue Dragons led wire to wire and answered all Dodge City challenged after opening an early 15-8 lead with 2:03 to play in the opening quarter.
Dodge City closed that gap to 15-12 with 1:31 to play, but HCC scored eight unanswered over the next 4 minutes, 49 seconds and led 23-12 with 7:02 to play in the half after two-straight Madden hoops. The Blue Dragons shot 52 percent in the opening half and led 36-24 at halftime.
Rogers scored the first points of the second half to push the lead to 14 points. Dodge City had an 11-5 run to pull within 43-35 after a Fastasia Johnson basket with 4:02 to play in the quarter. HCC’s defense pitched a shutout for the remainder of the quarter and scored 10 unanswered points to take a 53-35 lead after two Butina free throws with 20.8 seconds left in the quarter.
Two Williams’ free throws at the 4:30 mark of the final quarter pushed the HCC lead to a game-high 20 points with 4:13 to play. The Conquistadors managed to trim that to 11 points with 2;30 to play, but Williams rebuffed that Conq advantage with an inside bucket and Daisha Terry scored to up the lead to 15 at 65-50 with 1:24 to play in the game.
The Blue Dragons play host to Colby on Saturday for HCC’s fifth-annual Pink-Out Night.
GAME NOTES – HCC is now 62-27 vs. Dodge City, 30-13 in Dodge City. … Kirea Rogers became the sixth Blue Dragon freshman in history to reach 100 made free throws. She is also tied for sixth on the freshman blocked shots list with 30. … Inja Butina moves up to No. 2 on the freshman steals list and No. 10 on the season list with 81 steals. … The Blue Dragons are 7-1 in road games, 10-0 when shooting 50 percent or better and 4-1 when getting outrebounded this season. … This was HCC’s 18th game to hold an opponent to less than 40 percent shooting. … Dodge City’s Talisha Presley is the 12th opponent to have three 3-pointers in a game vs. HCC this season. … The 24 rebounds and four offensive rebounds are both season lows for the Dragons. … HCC has 111 team blocked shots this season, which is seventh most in team history.
(HCC Sports Information)