Hutchinson CC Sports Information
The defending Jayhawk West champion Hutchinson Community College women's basketball team was picked to finish first in 2021.
The league announced its annual coaches poll on Tuesday for the 2021 season, which for the Blue Dragons begins on Friday, January 22 against the Bethany College Junior Varsity at the Sports Arena.
Hutchinson, Seward County, Barton and Dodge City round out the Top 4 selections. Colby, Garden City, Pratt and Northwest Tech are picks 5 through 8.
The Blue Dragons won the 2020 Jayhawk West crown and advanced all the way to the Region VI semifinals where Barton stunned the Blue Dragons with a last-second shot. Hutchinson posted a 28-4 and earned an at-large bid and No. 12-overall seed for the NJCAA Tournament, which was canceled because of the Coronavius pandemic.
This is the ninth time in the 14-year tenure of head coach John Ontjes that the Blue Dragons were selected No. 1 in the preseason poll. This is the sixth time in the last eight seasons that Hutchinson has been voted No. 1 in the preseason rankings.
Only once since 2010 have the Blue Dragons not been picked either first or second in the KJCCC preseason rankings. That was a third-place pick in 2013. The Blue Dragons have never been picked lower than fourth in a preseason poll under Ontjes.
The Blue Dragons return two players from last season's Jayhawk West championship team.
Sophomore guard Tor'e Alford is Hutchinson's leading returning scorer at 11.6 points per game. She missed seven games last season because of injury. Alford shot 40.5 percent overall and 40.1 percent from 3-point range. Alford also averaged 3.5 assists last season.
Also returning is center Nafatoumata Haidara, who missed the final nine games of the season with an injury. Haidara averaged 7.5 points and 5.7 rebounds per game while shooting 51.9 percent.
Forward Kate Ogle, sister of 2020 Jayhawk West Women's Division I Player of the Year Abby Ogle, transferred into the program at semester last season and will be available. The rest of the roster is made up of two transfers and six freshmen.
2021 JAYHAWK WEST WOMEN'S BASKETBALL PRESEASON COACHES POLL
1. Hutchinson
2. Seward County
3. Barton
4. Dodge City
5. Colby
6. Garden City
7. Pratt
8. Northwest Tech