Graphic courtesy of Blue Dragon Sports Information
By John Mesh
Deja vu all over again.
Hailey Jackson sank three foul shots with 1.5 seconds left to give the No. 1-ranked Hutchinson Community College women’s basketball team a 45-44 victory over Garden City Wednesday night at the Hutchinson Sports Arena.
The Hutchinson Blue Dragon men’s basketball team snapped a two-game losing streak by beating Garden City 83-78.
Jackson, who was fouled taking a 3-point shots, led all scorers with 25 points. She made all 12 of her free throws and grabbed 8 rebounds.
Jackson sank two game-tying free throws in the NJCAA Division I championship game in April to force overtime.
The Blue Dragon women improved to 12-0 overall and 6-0 in the Kansas Jayhawk Community College play. The Garden City Broncbuster women’s team fell to 7-5 overall and 6-3 in league play.
Hutchinson now has won 49 straight games.
The Blue Dragon women’s team led 10-8 at the end of the first quarter, 19-18 at halftime and 32-25 at the end of the third quarter.
Katie Duncan and Brynne Katcher each scored 5 points for the Blue Dragons. Jaden Wilson scored 3, Kahlen Norris 2, Madi Denison 2, Jada Pleasant 2 and Dylan Alexander 1.
Denison also grabbed 8 rebounds. Landon Forbes had 3 assists. Denison and Forbes each had 2 steals.
Sierra Driessen led the Broncbusters with 21 points. Antonicia Moultrie scored 9 points and grabbed 8 rebounds. Bruna Costa Da Silva scored 7 points.
Priscilla Rosa Wemba scored 5 points and grabbed 10 rebounds. Ana Ramos Pires added 2 points. Jolie Maritz and Driessen each had 3 steals. Maritz had 3 assists.
Three Garden City players fouled out and Moultrie committed 4 fouls. Hutchinson made 18-of-28 free throws.
The Blue Dragon women lead the series against Garden City 81-19.
Hutchinson women’s basketball coach John Ontjes, who celebrated his birthday Wednesday, improved his career record to 495-96 (289-37 in KJCCC play).
Hutchinson men 83, Garden City 78
The Hutchinson Blue Dragon men’s basketball team snapped a two-game losing streak and improved to 7-5 overall (3-3 KJCCC).
HutchCC’s last seven games have been decided by 6 points or fewer. The Blue Dragons are 3-4 in those games.
The Garden City Broncbusters fell to 6-7 (2-5 KJCCC). Garden City has lost its last two games.
Hutchinson led at halftime 36-26. The Broncbusters outscored the Blue Dragons 52-47 in the second half.
“It was a good effort by us defensively,” said Hutchinson men’s basketball coach Kyle Fisher during his postgame radio interview. “We’ve been working on our second-half defense. They’re a really talented team.”
DJ Dudley and Jaquez Thornton led the Blue Dragons with 21 points apiece. Bo Aldridge scored 18 points and Isaiah Jackson 14.
Mikhail Abdul-Hamid added 5 points, Khalil Arnold 2 and Bobby Cannon 2. Kobe Smith did not score but grabbed 3 rebounds and had 1 assist.
Cannon grabbed 12 rebounds, 2 key blocked shots and 2 assists. Dudley had 7 rebounds. Thornton had 4 assists and Dudley 3. Dudley had 4 steals.
Hutchinson made 26-of-28 free throws.
Garden City’s Antonio Chol led all scorers with 27 points and grabbed 8 rebounds. Caleb Smith scored 19 points and grabbed 7 rebounds. Josiah Sabino had 15 points and 10 rebounds.
Boston Harker added 9 points and Emmanuel Manyuon 7.
The Blue Dragons and Broncbusters played for the 196th time in a series that began in 1929. Hutchinson has dominated the series, owning a 145-51 all-time record against Garden City.
The Dragons have won five straight games in the series.
HutchCC basketball schedule
The Blue Dragon teams will finish the first semester Saturday at Concordia against Cloud County. The women’s game starts at 2 p.m., followed by the men’s game at 4 p.m.