Hutchinson CC Sports Information
PRATT – Two key baskets by Kalyn Ervin – one on each side of the third quarter break – ignited the No. 21-ranked Hutchinson Community College women's basketball team at the perfect time Wednesday night at Pratt.
Ervin's back-to-back buckets were just 18 seconds apart fueled a dominant second half that saw the Blue Dragons shoot better than 71 percent as Hutchinson pulled away for a 78-56 Jayhawk West victory over the Beavers at the Dennis Lesh Sports Arena.
The Blue Dragons won their fourth game in a row to improve to 16-3 overall. Hutchinson maintained a 1.5 game lead over Seward County and a two-game lead over Barton in the Jayhawk West standings. The Saints and Cougars both won on Wednesday. Hutchinson plays host to Garden City on Saturday at the Sports Arena. Pratt had a two-game win streak snapped and dropped to 7-11 and 6-11.
The Blue Dragons and Beavers were tied at 31-all at halftime and it was still a one possession game with less than 2 minutes to play in the third quarter. Nafatoumata Haidara scored with 1:36 to play in the third quarter to give the Dragons a 50-45 lead.
With 5 seconds remaining in the third quarter, the Blue Dragons were inbounding 94 feet away from their basket when Ervin broke out of the inbound formation undefended. Tor'e Alford hit her in stride and Ervin scored with 1 second remaining to give Hutch a 52-45 lead after three quarters.
With Pratt's defense still reeling from the end of the third, Ervin may have delivered the dagger to the Beavers to start the fourth quarter. Just 17 seconds into the final quarter, Alford found Ervin at the top of the key for a wide-open 3-pointer. Ervin nailed the triple and the Blue Dragons led 55-45 with 9:43 to play in the game.
That sequence was part of a decisive 12-0 run for the Blue Dragons. Hutchinson held Pratt scoreless for 3 minutes, 53 seconds during that run, which was a major component in the Blue Dragons outscoring Pratt 47-25 in the second half. Hutchinson nailed 20 of 28 total shots (71.4 percent) while holding Pratt to 9 of 35 shooting from the field over the final two quarters.
Lojong Gore led four Blue Dragons in double figures with 14 points and nine rebounds. Ishante Suttington scored in double figures for the fourth-consecutive game with 13 points. Suttington added six rebounds. Ervin came off the bench to score 11 points with four rebounds. Alford scored all 10 of her points in the second half. She also had nine assists in the game.
Kate Ogle had nine points and tied a season-high with 11 rebounds to lead the Dragons to a 43-34 rebounding advantage.
The Blue Dragons shot better than 50 percent for the first time in 11 games and for the third time this season shooting 51.5 percent (34 of 68). The Dragons were 6 of 14 from 3-point range and only 4 of 11 from the foul line. The Blue Dragons had to recover from 20 turnovers.
Jordan Mathis scored 13 of her game-high 19 points in the first half to lead the Beavers. She hit two of Pratt's five second-quarter 3-pointers that fueled a Pratt 23-16 surge in the second stanza to tie the game at 31-all at halftime
Jada Moss had her second double-double of the season against Hutchinson. She had 13 points and 12 rebounds. Christy Wiebe was next for Pratt with six points.
The Beavers finished shooting only 28.4 percent (19 of 67), hitting 5 of 21 from 3-point range – the Beavers were 0 of 10 from distance in the second half – and 13 of 18 from the free-throw line.
Pratt led 42-38 with 5:17 to play in the third quarter after a Mathis layup. The Blue Dragons outscored the Beavers 40-14 from that point.
GAME NOTES – The Blue Dragons registered their 82nd all-time victory over Pratt, the most against any Blue Dragon opponent in team history. Hutch leads the all-time series 82-11 with a 13th-straight win over the Beavers. … This was the sixth time this season Hutch held an opponent to less than 30-percent shooting. … Over her last five games, Kalyn Ervin is averaging 10.6 points per game. … Tor'e Alford now had three career games of eight or more assists.