Hutchinson CC Sports Information

GARDEN CITY – Mya Williams scored 17 of her season-high 28 points in the first quarter as the Hutchinson Community College women's basketball team jumped out to a big early lead and withstood a second-half Garden City run for its fifth-straight victory.

Holding leads as large as 20 points, that margin dwindled to seven points early in the fourth quarter before pulling away for a 71-53 Jayhawk Conference victory on Saturday afternoon at Conestoga Arena.

Hutchinson – which has won 10 straight over Garden City – improved to 14-4 overall and 8-4 at the halfway point in the KJCCC season. The Blue Dragons travel to Independence on Wednesday night. Garden City lost its fourth game in a row and fell to 7-11 and 3-9 in the league.

Williams was sizzling in the opening quarter, hitting 4 of 7 shots from 3-point range. Williams had her highest-scoring single quarter of her Blue Dragon career with 17 points in the period as Hutchinson raced out to a 25-14 lead after 10 minutes.

The Dragons built a 40-20 lead with 1:37 to play in the second quarter after a Kali Howard steal and Journey Armstead transition layup. The Dragons led 40-22 at halftime.

Garden City outscored Hutchinson 19-13 in the third quarter and trimmed the Dragon lead down to even at 54-47 after Ariyah Brooks' bucket with 7:18 to play. Morgan Browning knocked down a huge 3-point shot on Hutchinson's next possession, which sparked a decisive 14-6 down the stretch for the Dragons.

Williams finished with 28 points on 9 of 18 shooting, including 4 of 8 from 3-point range and 6 of 8 from the free-throw line.

Freshman Monae Duffy had her second-straight double-double and fourth of the season with a career-high 20 points and 11 rebounds. Duffy hit a pair of 3-pointers and was 9 of 15 shooting with a career-high four assists.

Armstead and Browning had 10 points each. Armstead also had seven assists.

The Blue Dragons shot 41.9 percent from the field (26 of 62), knocking down 9 of 19 3-pointers and 10 of 14 from the foul line. The Dragons had just 11 turnovers and rebounding was even at 31-31.

Dayshawna Carter had 17 points and Taya Davis had 15 points to pace the Broncbusters.

Garden City shot 35.2 percent (19 of 54). Garden was 2 of 13 from 3-point range, 12 of 20 from the foul line and the Busters had 14 turnovers.

Duffy started the first-quarter 3-point barrage for the Dragons for a 6-2 lead. Williams then caught fire with three-consecutive treys that gave the Blue Dragons a 17-4 lead with 5:14 remaining in the opening quarter. Williams' fourth 3-pointer of the period gave the Dragons a 20-7 lead with 3:02 to play. Browning then hit Hutchinson's sixth trey of the period with 53 seconds remaining for a 25-14 lead. The Dragons were 8 of 18 overall in the period but 6 of 10 from distance for an 11-point lead at the break.

Garden City pulled with 25-17 early in the second quarter, but Duffy's second 3-pointer of the game stopped that advance. A Williams' transition bucket after an Armstead steal bumped the Dragon lead to 32-19 with 3:52 to play. The Dragons opened up a 20-point with 1:37 to play after Armstead's fastbreak layup gave the Dragons a 40-20 lead. The Dragons led 40-22 at halftime.

Hutchinson was just 4 of 17 shooting overall – 0 of 4 from 3-point range – in the third quarter as Garden City slowly chipped away as the Dragon lead, cutting it to 53-41 after three quarters. Brooks' short jumper with 7:18 to play in the fourth quarter capped a 6-1 Buster run and pulled Garden City within 54-47.

Browning hit a 3-pointer on Hutchinson's next possession to regain a 10-point lead. Garden City got the game back to single figures only once after that as Hutchinson closed the game strong with a 17-6 in the final five minutes.

GAME NOTES – Hutchinson is now 77-19 all-time against Garden City, including 34-13 in Garden City … Mya Williams now has 956 career points, only three points shy of passing Kim Gwinner into eighth place on the career scoring list. … The Dragons are now 3-4 in true road games. … This was Journey Armstead's fourth game with seven or more assists.