HUTCHINSON, Kan. — Kali Howard scored 10 of her 16 total points in the fourth quarter as No. 12 Hutchinson erased a 12-point Barton lead in the second half Saturday night in the Sports Arena.
No. 15 Barton led by as many as 12 points in the third quarter.
Trailing by 10 at the break and by five to start the fourth quarter, Hutchinson (9-1, 3-1) tied the game at 38 with 8:10 to play.
Back-to-back Howard baskets put Hutchinson up by one as the teams went back-and-forth for the next five minutes.
With 2:27 left, Hutchinson's Mya Williams fouled out of the contest with just seven points. It is only the fourth time in her career that she has finished a game in single digits.
A Howard free throw and ensuing three-pointer put Hutchinson up four with 1:35 to play.
The Dragons extended that lead with 27 seconds left on a Morgan Browning basket.
Mikaela Hall scored an And-1 with 18 seconds to play and pulled Barton (8-1, 2-1) within three.
Browning was then fouled and hit both free throw opportunities.
FINAL: Hutchinson 56 Barton 51
Barton took a 10-point lead into halftime thanks to 10 points from Morgan Meyers.
Meyers finished with 16 points.
Howard finished with 16 points and nine rebounds, including a perfect 4 of 4 shooting in the fourth quarter.
Browning was the only other Dragon to score in double digits (11).
CLICK HERE to download the Hutch Post mobile app.
CLICK HERE to sign up for the daily Hutch Post email news update.