Hutchinson CC Sports Information
GREAT BEND – Sophomore Noelle Anthon posted her fourth career double-double to lead the No. 3-seeded Hutchinson Community College to the program’s 12th Region 6 Tournament championship game.
KaMyra Barber hit a 3-pointer and Anthon added a layup in the first 1:40 of the game and the No. 13-ranked Blue Dragons never trailed in their 69-57 Region 6 semifinal victory over No. 2-seed and ninth ranked Dodge City on Friday at Fleske Fieldhouse in Great Bend. Hutchinson has now won 12 games in a row.
The Blue Dragons (27-5) will now play the top-seeded Butler Grizzlies (31-1) in Saturday’s Region 6 Tournament championship game at 3 p.m. at Barton’s Fleske Fieldhouse. This will be the third Region 6 championship matchup between Hutchinson and Butler. The Blue Dragons won both meetings in 2014 and 2024.
The Blue Dragons held Dodge City to 28.6 percent shooting in the first half to build leads of 16-8 after one quarter and 32-23 at halftime. The Conquistadors cut the Hutchinson lead to 51-45 after three quarters. Hutchinson’s defense did its job in the fourth quarter, limiting Dodge City to 3 of 11 overall shooting with five turnovers in the final 10 minutes to close out the victory.
Anthon led the Blue Dragons with 22 points on 8 of 15 shooting and had a career single-game best 6 of 6 from the free-line. She added 12 rebounds for her fourth career double-double. Anthon scored 12 points in the second half to help the Dragons keep the Conquistadors at arm’s length.
Sophomore Katie Duncan finished with 15 points and a career-high-tying seven rebounds. Duncan was 3 of 7 from 3-point range.
Barber had 10 points and six rebounds. Jamya McPherson came off the bench to score 10 points.
The Blue Dragons shot 39.7 percent (25 of 63) for the game, hitting 8 of 24 from 3-point range and 11 of 14 from the free-throw line. The Blue Dragons out-rebounded Dodge City 44-33, including 15-11 on the offensive boards that led to a 14-4 advantage in second-chance points.
The Blue Dragons had 17 assists, led by freshman Whitney Brown‘s eight assists to go with her five points, three rebounds and two steals.
Dodge City was led by Savi Mi, who had 29 points on 10 of 16 shooting, hitting 6 of 9 from 3-point range. Saje Evans had 12 points and Manuela Piljevic had 11 points for the Conquistadors.
The Dragons held Dodge City 16 points under its season scoring average. The Conqs shot 35.7 percent (20 of 56), going 7 of 29 from 3-point range and 10 of 16 from the free-throw line. The Conquistadors had 12 turnovers.
After the Dragons jumped out their early 5-0 lead, a McPherson layup upped the advantage to 12-4 with 4:20 remaining in the opening quarter. Duncan’s jumper with 3:27 to go gave the Dragons a 14-4 lead. Brown scored inside to boost the lead back to 10 and 16-6 with 1:18 to play. Evans scored for the Conqs with 1:07 left to cut the Dragon advantage to 16-8 after one quarter.
From that point, Dodge City chipped away, but never got the game under a two-possession contest.
Leading 16-11, Anthon Scored with 9:03 to play in the second quarter for a seven-point lead. Leading 20-11, a Brown steal led to an Anthony transition bucket and three-point play to give the Dragons a 23-14 with 8:15 remaining in the second quarter. The lead grew to a game-high 11 at 25-14 on a Delora Precop inside field goal with 6:49 remaining in the half. The Blue Dragons led 32-23 at halftime.
A Mi 3-pointer with 6:45 to play in the third cut the Dragon lead to 37-31, but the Dragons answered that challenge with an Anthony layup with 6:06 to play to push the lead back to 39-31. Mi scored five-straight points, scored on a field goal and later on three free throws to pull Dodge within 39-36 with 5:13 to go in the third quarter. Once again, Anthon and the Dragons answered with back-to-back field goals by the Blue Dragon forward to up the lead to 43-36 with 3:55 to go. The Dragons pushed the lead back to 10 with 52 seconds to go in the third on a McPherson free throw. Dodge closed the period on a 5-1 run to trail Hutchinson 51-45 after three quarters.
Dodge City pulled within 51-47 with 9:21 to play in the fourth quarter. This time the Dragons answered after a Jaden Wilson offensive rebounds, McPherson nailed a huge 3-pointer for a 54-47 lead with 9:14 to go. Leading 54-49, Barger scored and then Brown hit a 3-pointer with 6:51 to play for a 59-49 Hutchinson lead. Dodge City pulled within 59-55 with 4:21 to go. Duncan’s layup with 3:56 to go upped the lead to six and Barber’s 3-pointer with 2:05 left gave the Dragons a 64-55 lead.
GAME NOTES – The Blue Dragons are now 72-39 all-time in the Regin 6 Tournament, 12-11 in the semifinals and 6-2 all-time vs. Dodge City. … Blue Dragon head coach John Ontjes is 44-10 all-time in the Region 6 Tournament and 57-30 all-time against nationally ranked opponents. … This was Whitney Brown‘s third eight-plus assist game of the season. … This was Katie Duncan‘s 12th game of three or more 3-pointers. … This was McPherson’s sixth game scoring in double figures. … This was Anthon’s third game or 20 or more points this season. … The Dragons are now 76-32 all-time against Dodge City.
