Hutchinson CC Sports Information

The Hutchinson Community College women's basketball team begins its quest for back-to-back and the program's eighth regional championship on Thursday.

The No. 19-ranked Blue Dragons play host to the Pratt Beavers in the opening-round of the Region VI Tournament at 5:30 p.m. at the Sports Arena. Hutchinson (25-5) is the No. 2 overall seed for the Region VI Tournament. Pratt (3-26) is seeded 15th in the 15-team tournament field.

The game will be broadcast live on Blue Dragon flagship station KHUT-FM (102.9) and on sister stations KWBW-AM/FM (1450/98.5) with Glen Grunwald (play-by-play) and Rusty Hilst (analysis) calling the action beginning at 5:20 p.m. The game will also be videostreamed on the Blue Dragon Sports Network beginning at 5:20 p.m.

Thursday night will be the fourth postseason meeting between Hutchinson and Pratt in women's basketball. Hutch owns a 3-0 record over the Beavers, defeating Pratt in the 1977, 1986 and 2015 regional tournaments.

The Blue Dragons secured the tournament's second seed by entering the postseason on a five-game winning streak. Hutch has a less than impressive 50-35 on Monday at Dodge City to close out the regular season. The Dragons have allowed 52 or less points in four-straight games

Pratt has struggled this season to a 3-26 overall record, 2-24 in the Jayhawk Conference. The Beavers are on a six-game losing streak after Monday's 74-55 loss at Allen. Pratt is 0-13 in road games this season.

Hutchinson swept the Beavers this season. The Dragons rallied from a first-quarter deficit in a 64-31 victory over Pratt on November 18 at the Dennis Lesh Sports Arena in Pratt. The Dragons got off to a much quicker start in the season's second meeting on January 24 at the Sports Arena. Freshman Dejanae Roebuck had 20 points to lead the Blue Dragons to a74-47 victory over Pratt.

Pratt has not defeated Hutchinson since 2008 (20-straight games) and haven't won at the Sports Arena since 2004.

The Blue Dragons enter the postseason averaging 68.5 points per game offensively and 52.0 points per game defensively. Hutch is shooting 42.5 percent overall and 31.8 percent from 3-point range. Defensively, the Dragons allow 32.8 percent overall shooting and 25.6 percent from 3-point range.

Freshman Jada Mickens is Hutch's two scorer and rebounder at 14.3 points and 9.1 rebounds, respectively. Roebuck is at 12.6 points and 8.9 rebounds per game. Sophomore Alicia Brown is averaging 10.1 points per game.

Pratt is at or near the bottom of most offensive categories in the Jayhawk this season. The Beavers are averaging 48.9 points per game shooting 28.4 percent. The Beaver s are allowing 67.0 points per game.

Dakota Smith and Channa Parvin are Pratt's top scorers at 6.5 points per game

The Hutchinson/Pratt winner plays the Garden City/Northwest Tech winner at 3 p.m. on Monday in the Region VI Quarterfinals at Hartman Arena in Park City.