By Steve Carpenter
Blue Dragon Sports Information Director

When practice opened for the Hutchinson Community College women's basketball team, head coach John Ontjes saw a lot of new faces on the court.

Only two players saw playing time last year with the Blue Dragons. Three other transfers had minutes at previous schools and there are seven true freshmen who make up the roster.

Now heading into Friday's season opener against the Bethany College Junior Varsity, the learning curve for the 2021 Blue Dragons is steep.

"There are a lot of new faces in the program and it's been an adjustment for a lot of them," said Ontjes, who is 370-75 heading into his 14th season with the Blue Dragons. "Right now, we are going to do the best we can. Now we are getting ready for a game, so we will see how the kids adjust and try to improve throughout the year."

Last season the Blue Dragons went 28-4 and won the 2020 Jayhawk West title, the eighth league title of the Ontjes era. The Blue Dragons were upset by Barton in the semifinals of the Region VI Tournament, but earned an at-large bid and No. 12 overall seed for the NJCAA Tournament in Lubbock, which was eventually canceled because of the Coronavirus pandemic.

The Blue Dragons open the season as the preseason pick to win the 2021 Jayhawk West title and are ranked 13th in the NJCAA preseason rankings.

One huge key to the success of the 2020 Blue Dragons was defense. Hutchinson was No. 4 nationally last season in scoring defense at 51.5 points per game and No. 3 in the NJCAA in field-goal defense, allowing opponents to shoot a scant 31.1 percent.

Defense is main focus of what Ontjes wants to drive home with the 2021 Blue Dragons.

"Areas that we need to improve on are defending the basketball and we have to get better at keeping the basketball in front of us," Ontjes said. "Our transition defense and our communication have been problems. It got better throughout the Labette scrimmage. The concern for us is to defense and rebound."

Of Ontjes' returnees, one is sophomore point guard, Tor'e Alford. She averaged 11.6 points per game and 40.5 percent from the floor, 40.1 percent from 3-point range. Alford also averaged 3.5 assists last season. Also at the point will be freshman Cherrelle Newsom, who missed last season in high school because of injury.

"Tor'e is the only player returning with significant minutes," Ontjes said. "She is going to have to battle for us."

A pair true freshmen will be at the two-guard position, but Ontjes has high hopes for both players slated to see the bulk of playing time at that position, who are Yana Grassity and K.K. Adams.

"Both of those kids continue to improve and understand our concepts. I love Yana's toughness and what she gives to our team when she is on the floor. She has a great understanding of the game. K.K. is somebody who will need to score for us. She's athletic. She is getting more comfortable with our system."

True freshmen Kalyn Ervin and Ishante Suttington are slated for the three-guard position. Both are athletic and Ontjes said both are capable of producing instant offense.

A pair of transfers will be at the forward position. Trinity Valley transfer Lojong Gore and Highland transfer Kate Ogle are slated there. Gore averaged 3.1 points and 2.5 rebounds in 29 games at TVCC last season. Ogle, the sister of Blue Dragon 2020 All-American Abby Ogle, averaged 7.0 points and 5.7 rebounds in 15 games with the Scotties. She transferred to Hutchinson at the semester break last season.

"I feel like Lojong Gore is going to have to be good for us," Ontjes said. "She is long and athletic and has the tools, so she is going to have to be productive for us."

The post position will have 6-foot-5 returning sophomore Nafatoumata Haidara and 6-5 freshman Lani Morris. 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.

Ontjes sees the 2021 Blue Dragons as a balanced team, but the scoring may come in ways fans are accustomed to seeing.

"We might take more perimeter shots this year," Ontjes said of his team's offense. "Our kids are still learning who to score out of offense and we've settle for deep shots instead of being aggressive to the rim to get to the foul line."

But the bottom line for Ontjes is defense and rebounding.

"We have to get better defensively and be a better rebounding team," he said. "We have to learn how to defend with a purpose. We will worry about offense when we get better at defense."

The Blue Dragons will open conference play on Wednesday against Coffeyville.