BLUE DRAGON WOMEN'S BASKETBALL |
No. 21 Hutchinson (15-3, 14-3) at Pratt (7-10, 6-10) |
| When: Wednesday, March 24, 2021 Where: Dennis Lesh Sports Arena, Pratt, KS Time: 5:30 p.m. Radio: KHUT-FM (102.9); KWBW-AM/FM (1450/98.5), 5:15 p.m. - Steve Carpenter (PBP); Daren Dunn (Color) Video: Pratt Sports, 5:25 p.m. (Pay per view) Twitter: @bluedragonsport CLICK FOR GAME NOTES (PDF Format) |
Hutchinson CC Sports Information
Since the Hutchinson Community College women's basketball team defeated Seward County on March 8, the race for the 2021 Jayhawk West title has taken many different paths and has changed from game to game.
Entering the final two weeks of the regular season, the No. 21-ranked Blue Dragon women are the only team that doesn't need help in reaching its goal of a league title.
Hutchinson opens its final four-game stretch of the regular season with a road trip Wednesday to the much-improved Pratt Beavers with a 5:30 p.m. tipoff in the Dennis Lesh Sports Arena in Pratt.
Entering play on Wednesday, the Blue Dragons (14-3 overall) own a 1.5-game lead over Seward County and have the direct tie-breaker with the Saints after a thrilling 78-76 win over Seward on Saturday at the Sports Arena. The lead over third-place Barton is two games. Seward County aided the Blue Dragon cause with a win over Barton on Monday in Liberal.
The odds on the Blue Dragons having full control of their title chances with two weeks to go in the season didn't look good in the first quarter on Saturday. The Saints hit 10 of their first 14 shots and led by as many as 15 points just eight minutes into the game. The Blue Dragons clawed their way back into the game and tied a season high with 29 points in the fourth quarter to rally for the win. Kate Ogle had 18 points, Lojong Gore had 16 points and nine rebounds and Ishante Suttington had 12 in Hutchinson's victory.
Pratt enters play on Wednesday riding the wave of consecutive wins over Colby and Northwest Tech, defeating the Mavericks 79-53 on Saturday in Goodland.
The Beavers played the Blue Dragons tough on March 3, a 66-55 Hutchinson win in the Sports Arena. The Dragons led by only three points after three quarters, but outscored Pratt 20-12 in the final 10 minutes.
Nafatoumta Haidara had 17 points and Gore added 16 for the Blue Dragons. Jada Moss had 19 points and 11 rebounds to lead Pratt in the first meeting. Kaylyn Taylor hit three 3-pointers and had 16 points in the first game.