DRAGONS ROLL BY ALLEN TO ADVANCE IN REGION VI

Jada Mickens and Abby Ogle defend against the shot of Allen's Jakira Wilson in the first half of Wednesday's Region VI opening-round 89-40 Blue Dragon win over the Red Devils at the Sports Arena. (Bre Rogers/Blue Dragon Sports Information).
Jada Mickens and Abby Ogle defend against the shot of Allen's Jakira Wilson in the first half of Wednesday's Region VI opening-round 89-40 Blue Dragon win over the Red Devils at the Sports Arena. (Bre Rogers/Blue Dragon Sports Information).

Hutchinson CC Sports Information

The No. 8-ranked Hutchinson Community College women's basketball team won its 13th consecutive Region VI Tournament opening-round game Wednesday at the Sports Arena.

The third-seeded Blue Dragons shot better than 50 percent and rolled to an 89-40 opening-round victory over the shorthanded Allen Red Devils.

Hutchinson improves to 29-2 overall and advances to Saturday's Region VI Tournament quarterfinals to take on the Independence Pirates at 5 p.m. at Hartman Arena in Park City. Allen, which dropped its 14th-straight game, closes its season at 3-28.

Sophomore Dejanae Roebuck led the Blue Dragons with her ninth double-double of the season and 23rd of her career with 18 points and 10 rebounds. Roebuck moved past Jackie Patterson into seventh place on the Blue Dragon career scoring list with 926 points. She nearly had a double-double in the first half with 10 points and nine rebounds in the first two quarters.

Five Blue Dragons scored in double figures. Tia Bradshaw finished with 14 points on 5 of 7 shooting. Jada Mickens had 12 points and eight rebounds. Milan Schimmel and Makayla Vannett had 10 points each.

Tijuana Kimbro had eight points and eight rebounds. Lauryn Mapusua had seven points, three rebounds and a career-high four blocked shots.

The Blue Dragons shot 50.7 percent for the game (36 of 71), hitting 8 of 21 from 3-point range and 9 of 13 from the free-throw line. The Dragons had a 52-37 rebounding advantage.

Allen, which played only five players through the entire game, got a team-high 14 points from Jakira Wilson. Paige Jensen had 11 points.

The Red Devils shot just 21.2 percent for the game (14 of 66), going 3 of 15 from 3-point range and 9 of 15 from the free-throw line.

The Blue Dragons had an 11-7 lead with 4:59 to go in the first quarter. Back-to-back 3-pointers from Bradshaw and Roebuck gave Hutch a 17-7 lead, but a Tunmi Amusa score with 1:37 left cut the Dragon lead to just 19-15. The Dragons finished out with a Kimbro layup and a Vannett jumper to lead 23-15 after one quarter.

Allen made 6 of 16 field goals in the opening quarter. The Red Devils had eight field goals over the final three quarters.

The Dragons had a 29-19 lead with 6:45 to play when they started to completely take control of the contest. The Dragons closed the first half on a 15-3 run to build a 44-22 lead after a Vannett 3-pointer with 18 seconds to play. The Dragons outscored Allen 21-7 in the second quarter to build a 22-point lead at halftime,

Hutchinson outscored Allen 45-18 in the second half.

GAME NOTES – The Blue Dragons tied the 2009-10 team for the seventh most wins in a season with 29. … The Dragons are 30-3 all-time against Allen, including 4-0 in Region VI Tournament meetings. … Hutchinson is now 60-34 all-time in the Region VI Tournament, including 28-9 in the opening round. … This was all-time win No. 972. … Hutch finished 15-1 at the Sports Arena this season. … Hutch shot 50 percent or better for the ninth time this season. … The Dragons held an opponent to less than 30 percent shooting 14 times and less than 50 points in a game 12 times.