Hutchinson CC Sports Information

For the 10th time in Hutchinson Community College women's basketball head coach John Ontjes' tenure on the bench, the Blue Dragons will play in the Independence Pirates in the Region VI Tournament.

The latest meeting between the Blue Dragons and Pirates will be at 5 p.m. on Saturday at Hartman Arena in Park City. The game will be the third of four quarterfinal games to be played on Saturday.

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) at 4:50 p.m. on Saturday. The game will also be streamed live on the Blue Dragon Sports Network at 4:50 p.m.

The Hutchinson/Independence winner will play the Butler/Pratt winner at 1 p.m. on Monday at Hartman Arena in the Region VI Semifinals. The Blue Dragons have won 10-straight Region VI quarterfinal games.

Ontjes and the Blue Dragons have a 7-2 postseason record against Independence since 2008. Last year's meeting might still be sticking with Ontjes and the Blue Dragon sophomores. Independence eliminated Hutchinson in the 2018 Region VI semifinals 70-50, but the Blue Dragons still earned at at-large bid to the NJCAA Tournament. That snapped a seven-game Region VI winning streak against Indy. That streak included a victory over the Pirates in the 2012 Region VI finals.

This will be the 16th all-time postseason meeting between Hutchinson and Independence, the most against any Region VI opponent. The Dragons are 9-6 against Indy in the Region VI Tournament.

Hutchinson advanced to the quarterfinal round for the 13th straight season after an 89-40 victory over Allen in the opening-round on Wednesday at the Sports Arena. Dejanae Roebuck posted her ninth double-double of the season with 18 points and 10 rebounds as Hutchinson shot 50.7 percent. Defensively, the Blue Dragons held an outmanned Allen team to 21.2 percent shooting and out-rebounded the Red Devils 52-37.

Independence advanced after defending Garden City 64-56 in the opening round on Wednesday at the ICC Fieldhouse. That win was Independence's 11th in a row since falling to 8-10 January 19. The Pirates got 14 points from Kierra Crockett and Mychaell Gray to lead the way offensively. Defensively, the Pirates held Garden City to 34.6 percent shooting and forced 18 turnovers.

Hutchinson won the only meeting of the year with Independence, 53-41 in a defensive slugfest on December 1 at the Sports Arena.

Hutchinson had an ice-cold shooting opening half in the first Indy game, missing 19 of 23 total shots and going just 6 of 15 from the free-throw line. The Pirates weren't much better 6 of 25 shooting with 11 turnovers in the first half, but led 20-16 at halftime, which is the first time that Hutchinson trailed at intermission this season.

The Dragons went scoreless for the first 2 1/2 minutes of the fourth quarter and Indy tied the game at 33-all on a Brittany Reeves bucket with 8:13 left in the period. Tia Bradshaw's transition layup with 7:21 left sparked a 7-1 run and led 41-34 with 5:50 to play after a Bradshaw layup. Indy scored four-straight points, but Hutch countered with a 9-0 run to build a 52-38 lead with 1:19 to go. The Dragons outscored Independence 20-10 in the fourth quarter.

Hutchinson looks to advance to the Region VI semifinals for the 15th time in team history.