Hutchinson CC Sports Information
The Hutchinson Community College women's basketball team suffered through one of its toughest shooting nights of the season and had its 10-game winning streak come to an end.
The No. 20-ranked Blue Dragons shot just 31.1 percent for the game as Seward County out-dueled the Blue Dragons for a 66-61 victory on Wednesday on at the Sports Arena.
The Blue Dragons fall to 23-5 overall and 17-5 in the Jayhawk Conference, slipping one-half game behind Independence for first place in the league. The Pirates did not play on Wednesday. Seward County is now 21-8 17-6 in league play. Hutchinson will make up its weather-postponed game with Butler on Thursday in El Dorado, weather permitting.
The second matchup of the season between Hutchinson and Seward County featured 16 lead changes and 12 ties. Neither team had a lead larger than five points.
Over their 10-game winning streak, the Blue Dragons shot 46.7 percent overall and 43.1 percent from 3-point range. The Dragons never got on that kind of roll Wednesday, shooting 19 of 61 overall, including 6 of 31 from 3-point range, including misses on their first 12 attempts of the game from long range.
Still the Blue Dragons were within striking distance entering the final 90 seconds of the fourth quarter. Mya Williams hit two free throws with 1:11 left to tie the game at 61. Seward County wound up scoring the game's final five points from the free-throw line in the final 49 seconds. The Blue Dragons missed their final three-point attempts.
Sophomore Kalyn Ervin scored a game-high 21 points to lead the Blue Dragons. She hit a pair of 3-pointers and added six rebounds and three steals.
Mya Williams, who was named the NJCAA National Player of the Week earlier on Wednesday, hit three 3-pointers and finished with 16 points and seven rebounds.
Mele Kailahi had seven points and a game-high 14 rebounds to give Hutchinson a 47-41 rebounding advantage.
Zhane Thompson hit four 3-pointers and finished with 17 points for the Saints. D'Arrah Allen had two 3-pointers and 14 points. Sydney Wetlaufer hit three 3-pointers and finished with 14 points. The Saints were 9 of 31 from 3-point range.
Trailing 6-2 early, the Blue Dragons answered that Saints' start with an 11-2 run that was capped by a Kalaihi inside bucket for a 13-8 lead with 3:41 to play in the first quarter. The Saints took the lead back with consecutive 3-pointers from Thompson and Wetlaufer, but the Blue Dragons closed the quarter on a 6-0 run. Two Ervin free throws gave the Dragons a 19-14 lead after one quarter.
Seward County tied the game at 21, but the Dragons rebuilt a 25-21 lead after Williams' free throw with 5:47 to play in the second quarter. The teams then traded baskets. Williams nailed back-to-back 3-pointers to give the Dragons a 31-26 lead with 3:15 to play. Those were Hutchinson's final points and Wetlaufer hit a 3-pointer with 25 seconds to play, cutting the Hutchinson lead to 31-29 at halftime.
There were six lead changes and three ties in the third quarter. Ervin hit both of her 3-pointers in the third quarter to give the Dragons a 44-42 lead. The Saints tied the game at 44 after two Allen free throws. Tor'e Alford hit a pair from the line with 16 second left to give the Dragons a 46-44 lead after three quarters.
Hutchinson hit only 4 of 14 total shots in the fourth quarter, going just 1 of 6 from 3-point range in the period. Seward County was 6 of 11 from the field, hitting a pair of 3-pointers. Williams hit a 3-pointer with 3:04 to play for a 57-55 lead. Craig then scored inside with 2:24 to go for a 59-57 Dragon lead. The Saints took a 61-59 lead, but Williams tied the game with two Williams free throws. Seward County went 5 of 8 from the foul line in the final 49 seconds to seal the win.
GAME NOTES – The Blue Dragons are now 48-50 all-time against Seward County … The Dragons had their 20-game home-court winning streak snapped with the loss. That is the sixth-longest homecourt win streak in team history. … The Blue Dragons are now 22-1 when leading after three quarters and 15-1 in games at the Sports Arena this season. … Kalyn Ervin had her 15th games scoring in double figures and third 20-plus point game of the season.