Journey Armstead and Hailey Jackson Win NJCAA National Title with Hutchinson WBB

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The Blue Dragon women win the 2024 national championship with an 88-80 overtime victory over Northwest Florida State on Monday night in Casper, WY

Hutchinson CC Sports Information

CASPER, Wyoming – Hutchinson Community College women's basketball was indeed golden on Monday night and two former Sandites led the way.

Sophomore Journey Armstead and freshman Hailey Jackson became the first national champion hoopers from Sand Springs since Nick Tate won the NAIA crown with Mid-America Christian University in 2016.

Trailing by six points with 2:32 to play in the fourth quarter, the top-seeded Blue Dragons were able to force overtime and then dominate the extra session, outscoring defending national champion Northwest Florida State 19-11 in overtime, to win the program's first national championship with an 88-80 victory in the 2024 NJCAA Division I Women's Tournament championship game at the Ford Wyoming Center.

The Blue Dragons complete their 50th season with an undefeated 37-0 record – a school record for wins, longest winning streak (37) and best start to a season (37-0).

This was Hutchinson's fourth attempt to win a women's basketball national championship, coming up short in 2012, 2014 and 2015.

Both Jackson and Armstead were named to the all-tournament team on Monday. Jackson had a postseason-high and team-high 25 points to lead the Blue Dragons. She hit three critical free throws with 0.7 seconds left in regulation to force overtime. Jackson finished seventh on the freshman season scoring list with 478 points, including 65 points in the tournament.

Armstead had 11 points and three assists before fouling out with 5:09 to play in the fourth quarter.

The Blue Dragons led by as many as 13 points in the third quarter, but Northwest Florida State rallied to take a 57-55 lead after three quarters and led 68-62 with 2:27 to play in regulation.

The Dragons rallied back, closing with a 7-1 run, getting three free throws from Jackson with 0.7 seconds to play to tie the game at 69-all.

In overtime, Akaysha Muggeridge, Jackson and KiKi Smith scored on consecutive possessions for a 77-71 lead and upped the lead to eight at 81-73 on a Muggeridge hoop with 1:18 to go. The Blue Dragons were 6 of 6 shooting from the floor and 7 of 10 from the foul line in overtime. Northwest Florida State was 5 of 12.

The Blue Dragons had to overcome the 30-point performance of Northwest Florida State's Destiney McPhaul, who was 10 of 20 shooting and 10 of 12 from the free-throw line.

After shooting 52.2 percent in the first half, the Blue Dragons shot 49.2 percent for the game (30 of 61). The Blue Dragons were 3 of 16 from 3-point range and 25 of 33 from the free-throw line. The Dragons out-rebounded the Raiders 36-29, but committed an NJCAA-Tournament high 19 turnovers.

Both teams came out on fire – Northwest Florida State shot 63.6 percent and the Blue Dragons shot 53.8 percent – in an opening quarter that had three lead changes and four ties.

The Dragons took an 11-9 lead after an Armstead transition basket with 3:34 to go. Northwest rallied to tie the game at 15-all, but Jackson hit a 3-pointer from the top of the key for an 18-15 Hutchinson lead after one quarter.

The Dragons opened a six-point lead when Armstead had a strong drive to the hoop for a 23-17 lead with 8:22 to play in the second quarter. The Dragons then went on a 10-2 run to build its first double-digit lead of 33-22 on a Jackson 15-footer with 4:57 to play. The Dragons led 39-28 at halftime.

The Blue Dragons led 48-35 after a Jackson inside basket with 7:21 remaining in the third quarter. Turnovers started to become an issue. Seven Dragon miscued led to 14 Northwest points off turnovers as the Raiders outscored the Blue Dragons 22-10 over the final 7 minutes to take a 57-55 lead heading to the fourth quarter, closing the period on an 8-0 run.

Facing major foul trouble in the fourth quarter, the Blue Dragons trailed 68-62 with 2:37 to play in regulation. Jackson hit two free throws with 1:37 left and Smith had a steal and layup with 1:37 left to cut the deficit to 68-66.

The Raiders had a chance to put the game away with 2.6 seconds left, but Celia Riviere missed the second of two free throws and the Dragons corralled the rebound and called timeout to advance the ball. On the inbound, Jackson was fouled attempting a 3-pointer and she made all three free throws to give the Blue Dragons new life, tied at 69-all at the end of regulation.

Trading buckets on the first two possessions of overtime, Muggeridge, Jackson and Smith scored on consecutive possessions to build a 77-71 lead with 2:44 to go. After Northwest hit a 3-pointer to cut the Dragon lead to 82-78 with 42 seconds left, Kahlen Norris had a strong take to the hoop to score for an 84-78 lead with 33 seconds left.

This was Hutchinson's second win this season over a Top-5 ranked opponent, also defeating No. 3 Butler in January.

Armstead finished the season averaging 10.1 points, 4.3 rebounds, 5.1 assists, and 2.2 steals per game while Jackson averaged 12.9 points, 6.2 rebounds, 1 assist, and 1.2 steals.

As a sophomore, Armstead will be looking for a new home at a four-year university next season while Jackson has one season of junior college eligibility remaining.

Journey Armstead Leads Hutchinson CC to National Championship Finals

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Journey Armstead has been the leader for the 2024 Blue Dragons on their run to the national championship game on Monday in Casper. Wyoming. (Steve Carpenter/Blue Dragon Sports Information)

By Steve Carpenter, Blue Dragon Sports Information Director

CASPER, Wyoming – During her sophomore night ceremony in February at the Sports Arena, it was written into the script that Journey Armstead averaged 4 1/2 floor burns per game amongst her other statistics.

For fans who have watched the Hutchinson Community College sophomore point guard from Sand Springs, Oklahoma, over the past two seasons, that average probably isn't far from reality.

"If you aren't getting floor burns and getting bumps and bruises, they you aren't playing hard," Armstead said Sunday after the Blue Dragons' final practice before Monday's NJCAA Women's Tournament national championship game against Northwest Florida State. "Coach always tells us to give our all no matter what. That's just me playing hard."

After a freshman season that had more ups and downs than an amusement park roller coaster, this past summer Armstead dedicated herself to the notion that 2024 wouldn't end like 2023.

It wasn't that Armstead's freshman season was devoid of success – the Blue Dragon women finished 23-8 and earned a first-round bye for the Region VI Tournament with a fourth-place finish in the Jayhawk Conference. A lot of the consternation goes to a stunning quarterfinal loss and a premature end to a sometimes-challenging season.

When dissecting the 2023 season, it was determined a major element was missing – leadership. Armstead wasn't about to let that happed in her sophomore year.

"Last summer when were working out, I had a brand new team," Armstead recalled. "I came in with the mindset that I had to push them. So as a leader, if I do something right and work really hard, they would follow me. I've got to be better every day."

"Journey has really grown up and matured," said head coach John Ontjes, who was a point guard in his playing days at Nickerson High School, Hutchinson Community College and the University of Oklahoma. "She had accepted coaching. Her leadership for the ball club has been very consistent."

Armstead came to Hutchinson out of Charles Page High School as a "pass-first" point guard, meaning she is looking to set up teammates to score. This season, though, Armstead has become a scoring option as well. She said that aspect has been the most improved area of her overall game.

Armstead averaged 9.6 points per game as a freshman. While her season scoring average of 10.0 points as a sophomore isn't much higher, the quality of points and the variety of ways she is scoring has been greatly improved.

Her outside shooting is much better from both the mid-range and 3-point line. But she has become most known for her hard-driving takes to the hoop, many of which find her hitting the floor at the end of the drive.

"Last year I had a lot of scorers on the team and my mentality with that team was pass first and a defensive player," Armstead said. "This year I became better at scoring and passing. I've gotten better at seeing my teammates, but score when I can,"

When asked to compare Armstead with other past Blue Dragon point guards, Ontjes said 2013 point guard Christassia Walter comes to mind. Both Armstead and Walter have the same high-motor mentality and are able to deliver for their teams in very similar ways.

"The point guard had to be the hardest-working kid," Ontjes said. "They have to be very vocal. They have to understand and know time and score. They have to understand when it's time to push the ball and get easy baskets and when it's time to run offense.

"The strength of this team is being able to score in transition and Journey's a big reason why because of her vision."

A second-team All-Jayhawk Conference performer this season, Armstead enters Monday's championship game No. 2 in Blue Dragon career assists with 338. Her 189 assists this season rank No. 4 on the single-season list. Her 5.2 assists per game were second in the KJCCC this season.

Her career-high 11 assists this season against Seward County on February 24 in Liberal tied for the fourth most in Hutchinson single-game history. Armstead has four games or 10 or more assists and 11 career games of eight more assists, including eight this season.

Armstead said there had been thousands of hours of work on and off the court to put those numbers together.

"I go back and watch film a lot," she said. "I look at when I make a mistake, I work to correct myself. I look at how I get a teammate the ball and I have to throw it a certain way to certain players. Coach has helped me a lot with that."

Now the Blue Dragon point guard is looking to finish things off the right way Monday night.

"Coach told us that last year was the first year the team didn't get to put up any kind of banner," she said. "This year we decided to make sure people remember our sophomores. Me, Mo (Monae Duffy), Bree (Horyna) and Brynn (McCormick) took that personally and we went out to prove everybody wrong this year."

With 36 wins, no losses and a spot in the national championship game, the statement has already been made for the 2024 Blue Dragons.

Armstead and Jackson Earn All-Conference and No. 1 Seed for NJCAA Playoffs

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Courtesy of Hutchinson CC Sports Information

Running the table through the regular season and winning the Region 6 Tournament, the Hutchinson Community College women's basketball team earned the No. 1 overall seed for the 2024 NJCAA Division I Women's Basketball Tournament on Sunday evening.

The 33-0 Blue Dragons will receive an opening-round bye and will play the winner of the Cochise/Chattanooga State winner at 3:30 p.m. CT on Wednesday, March 27 at the Ford Wyoming Center in Casper, Wyoming.

The Blue Dragons enter a national tournament undefeated for the fourth time in program history, joining the 1977, 2012 and 2014 teams to accomplish that feat.

Two Charles Page High School alumni are leading the charge. Sophomore guard Journey Armstead was named a Jayhawk Conference first-team selection on Thursday and freshman forward Hailey Jackson was named to the all-conference second team.

Armstead is averaging 10 points, 4.4 rebounds, 5.3 assists, and 2.3 steals per game while Jackson is averaging 12.3 points, 6.3 rebounds, 1.1 assists, and 1.4 steals per game.

In its last game, No. 1 Hutchinson won 49-39 over Barton to win the Region 6 Tournament. Armstead scored 10 points with 5 rebounds, 5 assists, and 5 steals in that game and is now fourth all-time on the Blue Dragon career assist list. Jackson scored 9 points with 8 rebounds.

Journey Armstead and Hailey Jackson Keep Winning With No. 1 Hutchinson

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Journey Armstead posts a double-double with 14 points and 10 assists to lead the No. 1-ranked Blue Dragons 81-62 victory over Cowley on Wednesday in Arkansas City. (Billy Watson/Blue Dragon Sports Information).

ARKANSAS CITY – The Hutchinson Community College women's basketball team passed its first test as the No. 1-ranked team in the NJCAA after completing a big road test on Wednesday night.

Paced by five players scoring in double figures – which included Journey Armstead's third career double-double – the top-ranked Blue Dragons pulled away in the middle two quarters for an 81-62 KJCCC victory over the Cowley Tigers at Scott Auditorium.

The Blue Dragons extended the fourth-best start and fifth-longest winning streak in team history to 24-0 overall and 18-0 in the Jayhawk Conference. The Blue Dragons play host to No. 21 Butler at 2 p.m. on Saturday at the Sports Arena.

Armstead, a 2023 Charles Page High School alum, had her third career double-double with 14 points and a career-high-tying 10 assists. She also had a single-game career-high six steals and posted the 21st all-time 10-assist game in Blue Dragon history. She also had 10 assists vs. the Washburn JV and Pratt in 2022-23.

Hailey Jackson, a 2024 CPHS alum, finished with 12 points and eight rebounds.

Despite shooting only 35.0 percent in the opening quarter, the Blue Dragons had three early 3-pointers to spark the offense. Armstead hit a 3-pointer for an early 7-2 lead.

The Blue Dragons started the second quarter on a 13-2 run, holding Cowley without a field goal for the first 3 minutes, 33 seconds of the quarter. The Dragons then went scoreless for 4 minutes, 11 seconds and Cowley cut the Dragon lead to 32-27 with 3:31 to play after a Destiny Yates' 3-pointer. Hutchinson turned the tables on Cowley, holding the Tigers scoreless for the remainder of the quarter.

The Dragons outscored Cowley 25-16 in the third quarter. Leading 45-34, Jackson scored off a Cowley turnover, which started a 10-2 Hutchinson run.

Hutchinson led 61-43 after three quarters and maintained its comfortable lead through the final quarter. Cowley drew as close as 17 points twice in the final 10 minutes.

Armstead is averaging 11 points, 4.3 rebounds, 5 assists, and 2.5 steals per game. Jackson is averaging 12.4 points, 6.5 rebounds, 1.1 assists, and 1.5 steals per game. Both were All-State selections at Sand Springs.

Sandite College Report: Kersgieter Sets Kansas Record, Hutchinson Stays Undefeated

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Charles Page High School 2019 alum Holly Kersgieter recently set the school record for made three-pointers at the University of Kansas.

The fifth-year senior set the record on Saturday, January 6th, in a 73-64 defeat at Texas Tech, scoring a team-high 21 points on 8-of-14 shooting from the field.

Kersgieter was 3-of-6 on treys for 239 threes in her career, eclipsing the previous record of 237 held by Angie Halbleib since 1997.

“I’m really proud of Holly. It’s been an absolute joy to be a part of her career, to coach her, see her development and improvement,” said head coach Brandon Schneider after the game. “I think the most impressive thing right now with her and the three-point shot is the percentage that she’s shooting.”

The former Sandite now stands at 38-of-87 for a three-point percentage of 43.7%, which ranks 22nd in the NCAA Division I.

She has started all 19 games for the Jayhawks, who are 10-9 overall and 3-5 in Big 12 play following a 60-58 win against Iowa State on Wednesday. Kersgieter is averaging 11.4 points, 1.6 assists, 1.2 steals, and 4.8 rebounds per game.

She recorded her first double-double of the season and 10th of her career with 12 points and 10 rebounds at Kansas State on Jan. 20. She ranks No. 7 on KU’s all-time scoring list with 1,776 career points, surpassing Lynn Pride (1,774) at KSU.

The Jayhawks will travel to Oklahoma (12-6, 6-1) Saturday at 6:00 p.m.

Regalado Coaching Savage Storm

Kersgieter’s fellow 2019 Sandite alum, Isabella Regalado, is coaching as a graduate assistant at Southeastern Oklahoma State this season. The Savage Storm is 6-12 on the year, competing in the NCAA Division II Great American Conference.

Blue Dragons Stay Rolling

Hutchinson Community College remains undefeated at 19-0 and is ranked No. 4 in the NJCAA. The Dragons have two former Sandites starting in 2023 alum Hailey Jackson and 2022 alum Journey Armstead (2022).

Most recently the Dragons survived an 82-77 encounter with No. 12 Dodge City in Jayhawk Conference play. Armstead had 14 points, 5 assists, 5 steals, and 4 rebounds in the latest win while Jackson had 12 points.

Jackson is averaging 12.7 points, 6.8 rebounds, 1.3 assists, and 1.4 steals per game while Armstead has 10.7 points, 4.2 boards, 4.8 assists, and 2.2 steals.

Hutchinson will return to action Wednesday at Colby Community College (6-13, 2-12).

Undefeated No. 11 Hutchinson Knocks Off No. 3 Butler

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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.