Hutchinson CC Sports Information

The No. 6 Hutchinson Community College women's basketball team still controls its own fate where the Jayhawk West is concerned.

With three games remaining in the regular season, the Blue Dragons start that stretch run on Saturday with the much improved Colby Trojans in a 5:30 p.m. tipoff at the Hutchinson Sports Arena. Saturday night is also Blue Dragon Pink-Out Night.

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) beginning at 5:20 p.m. with Steve Carpenter (play by play) and Dan Naccarato (color) calling the action. The game will also be streamed on the Blue Dragon Sports Network beginning at 5:20 p.m.

The Blue Dragons come off a 69-55 upset loss on Wednesday at Dodge City which snapped Hutchinson's 10-game winning streak. Already without second-leading scorer Makayla Vannett, the Blue Dragons lost leading scorer Abby Ogle in the second minute of the game with an injury. The Blue Dragons struggled offensively for three quarters before scoring 27 points in the final quarter. Tor'e Alford had 22 points, while Brooklyn Bethem finished with a double-double of 12 points and 11 rebounds.

Hutchinson's loss combined with Seward County's buzzer-beating win over Colby means the Blue Dragons and Saints are once again tied for first place in the Jayhawk West at 16-2.

The Blue Dragons dominated the first meeting with Colby on January 26 in Colby, winning 75-36. The Blue Dragons shot 59.2 percent while holding Colby to 18.2 percent. Ogle had 25 points on 9 of 10 shooting with five steals. Lauryn Mapusua had 14 points. Aerihna Afoa had 13 points to lead Colby.

Colby is tied for fifth place in the Jayhawk West at 8-10. The Trojans still have an outside chance as hosting a Region VI Tournament game, trailing Barton and Dodge City by two games with three games to play.

The team features the No. 1 and No. 4 defensive teams in the Jayhawk West. The Blue Dragons are still No. 1 in the Jayhawk West and No. 4 in the NJCAA in scoring defense at 51.2 points per game allowed. Colby is fourth in the league at 59.7 points per game.

Brittanie Brickhouse had a team-high 10 points to lead Colby in its 52-50 loss to Seward County on Wednesday. Colby shot 36.5 percent overall and went 0 of 7 from distance.

Saturday's game will be the 65th matchup all time between Hutchinson and Colby in a series that began in the 1975 season. The teams have been conference foes in the 1995-96 season. Hutchinson owns a 50-14 all-time record over the Trojans.