HUTCHINSON, Kan. — The No. 8 Hutchinson Community College women's basketball team scored just five points in the fourth quarter, but did just enough defensively to defeat Butler, 54-49 on Saturday afternoon in the Sports Arena.
The Blue Dragons are now 24-3 overall, 18-3 in the Jayhawk Conference. HutchCC maintains second place in the conference standings with three games remaining.
Butler (20-6, 15-6) pulled within 41-40 with 2:59 to play in the third quarter, the closest the game had been since it was 8-6 in the first period.
Hutchinson responded with 11-0 run to go in front 52-40 with 9:10 to play in the fourth quarter. Butler scored the next nine points to pull within three with just under four minutes to go.
The Blue Dragons held the Grizzlies scoreless the final 3:47 of the game, while the lone Hutchinson basket came by Katie Duncan with 1:32 left. The Duncan bucket ended a 7:38 scoreless drought for Hutchinson.
Hailey Jackson led the way for Hutchinson with 13 points, 12 of which came in the first half. Jackson also finished with 12 rebounds for her 10th double-double of the season and 12th of her career. Kahlen Norris scored 12, while Duncan finished with 10 points.
Keegan Yarick scored a game-high 14 points for the Grizzlies, which never held a lead in the game.
Hutchinson will host Pratt on Wednesday at 5:30 p.m. in the Sports Arena, while Butler will host Garden City at 5:30 p.m. in the Power Plant.