GREAT BEND, Kan. — Top-seeded Butler used a dominant middle stretch Saturday to deny Hutchinson a Region 6 Tournament title, defeating the No. 13-ranked Blue Dragons 57-47 in the championship game at Fleske Fieldhouse.
With the victory, the No. 2-ranked Grizzlies earned the automatic berth to the NJCAA Division I Women’s Basketball National Tournament and improved to 32-1. Butler also extended its winning streak to 23 games.
Hutchinson, the tournament’s No. 3 seed, fell to 27-6 and saw its 12-game winning streak come to an end. The Blue Dragons will now wait to learn whether they receive one of the tournament’s eight at-large berths when the national selection show is held at 4 p.m. Monday. The 24-team national field includes 16 automatic bids from region champions and eight at-large selections.
The Blue Dragons were even with Butler after one quarter, but a disastrous second period proved to be the difference.
Hutchinson managed only three points in the second quarter as Butler outscored the Blue Dragons 24-3 over the 10-minute stretch to take a 37-16 halftime lead. The Grizzlies then pushed their advantage to 49-26 by the end of the third quarter and led by as many as 25 points early in the fourth.
Hutchinson made a late push with a 21-point fourth quarter, trimming the final margin to 10, but the Blue Dragons could not fully recover from their prolonged offensive drought.
KaMyra Barber led Hutchinson with 14 points and four rebounds, while Kaia Smith added 13 points, eight rebounds and three 3-pointers. Delora Pricop scored six points off the bench, and Noelle Anthon finished with five rebounds.
Katie Duncan, Hutchinson’s top scorer this season, was held scoreless on 0-of-10 shooting, including 0 of 8 from beyond the arc. As a team, the Blue Dragons shot just 28.8% from the field and 11.5% from 3-point range, going 3 of 26 from long distance.
Butler shot 41.5% overall and hit 6 of 14 from beyond the arc. Keegan Yarick led all scorers with 20 points, seven rebounds and three 3-pointers. Kenzie Galliart added 11 points and nine rebounds, Ashley Singhateh had nine points and six assists, and Elina Syniakova scored nine off the bench.
The opening quarter was tightly contested. Butler scored the first points of the game on a 3-pointer from Yarick, but Hutchinson answered and eventually grabbed its largest lead at 9-5 after a layup by Pricop with 3:12 remaining in the first. The teams were tied 13-13 at the end of the quarter after Whitney Brown scored on a jumper in the closing second.
That was when Butler seized control.
Yarick sparked the second-quarter surge with a 3-pointer that put the Grizzlies ahead 16-13 with 7:51 left before halftime. Butler’s pressure defense and efficient offense took over from there. The Grizzlies forced repeated Hutchinson turnovers, converted in transition and closed the half on a 24-3 run, capped by a Syniakova layup in the final seconds for a 21-point lead.
Hutchinson never got closer than 20 points in the third quarter as Butler continued to keep the Blue Dragons out of rhythm offensively.
The Blue Dragons showed more life in the final period. Jamya McPherson and Barber helped spark an early fourth-quarter push, and Smith connected on a pair of late 3-pointers as Hutchinson chipped away. Smith also scored five points in the final 2:09, and Barber converted a layup in the closing seconds to account for the final score.
Butler finished with a 41-38 rebounding edge and 15 assists to Hutchinson’s seven. The Blue Dragons did force 18 turnovers, but committed 16 of their own and could not overcome their shooting struggles.
Hutchinson now turns its attention to Monday’s selection show, hoping its 27-win season and late surge into the region final will be enough to extend its postseason.