Undefeated No. 11 Hutchinson Knocks Off No. 3 Butler
/EL DORADO – The No. 11 Hutchinson Community College women's basketball team took over sole possession of first place in the Jayhawk Conference Wednesday night after returning from the holiday break with a dominant victory over No. 3 Butler at the Power Plant.
Former Lady Sandites Hailey Jackson and Journey Armstead were top contributors in the victory.
Hutchinson defeated a Top 5 nationally ranked team for the first time since March 8, 2017 when the Blue Dragons defeated then-No. 4 Seward County 65-44 in the 2017 Region VI Tournament.
The Blue Dragons are now 13-0 overall and are the last remaining undefeated team in the Jayhawk Conference at 7-0. The Blue Dragons play host to Northwest Tech at 2 p.m. Saturday at the Sports Arena. Butler is now 12-1 and 6-1 in the KJCCC.
Hutchinson trailed 7-2 with 5:36 to play in the first quarter before finally getting its offense going. Armstead's layup with 13 seconds left in the period gave Hutchinson an 11-10 lead after the first quarter.
The Blue Dragons exploded in the second quarter, outscoring Butler 28-4 over the first 9 1/2 minutes of the second quarter. Hutchinson shot 71.4 percent (10 of 14) and was 5 of 5 from 3-point distance in the second stanza. Butler was just 3 of 13 in the second quarters and committed seven turnovers.
Leading 23-14 with 5:22 to play in the period, the Blue Dragons went on a 16-0 run over a span of 5 minutes, 7 seconds to build a game-high 25-point lead at 39-14 with 18 seconds to play. Butler's Freddie Wallace hit a 3-pointer at the buzzer to cut the Dragon lead to 39-17 at halftime.
The Blue Dragon lead dwindled to 12 points at 51-39 with 9:43 to play in the fourth quarter, but Hutchinson answered with a 7-0 run with 6:03 to play for a 58-39 lead.
Jackson had 12 points. nine rebounds, three assists, two steals, and one block. Armstead had eight points, two rebounds, two assists, and two steals.
