EL DORADO, Kan. — No. 20 Hutchinson (24-5, 18-5) struggled once again from three. The Dragons shot 11.4% from distance, including zero of 18 in the second and fourth quarters combined.
Despite being ice cold from distance, the Dragons shot 59.3% on field goal tries inside the arc.
The Dragons were led by Mel Kailahi, who started the game 7 for 7 shooting. She finished 8 of 8 inside the arc and a perfect 5 of 5 from the line for 21 points. Her only two misses came from the three-point line. Kailahi also grabbed nine rebounds.
Butler (15-11, 10-11) started the year 10-0. The first loss of the season came to Hutchinson in the Sports Arena. The Grizzlies have won only five times since that December loss.
Bench play kept Butler in the contest for the first half. Starters only managed to muster seven of the team's 27 halftime points.
Hutchinson held a narrow three-point advantage at the break.
The Dragons led by as many as 13 in the third quarter. Butler cut that lead on multiple occasions to seven, but could not manage to get any closer.
FINAL: Hutchinson 65 Butler 58
Butler shot just 1 of 10 from the three-point line.
The Grizzlies were led by Mallory Cowman's 13 points off the bench. Cowman entered the contest averaging 4.8 points per game.
Four Hutchinson starters scored in double digits: Kailahi (21), Mya Williams (14), Tor'e Alford (11) and Natalie Payne (11). Payne added eight rebounds.
Williams dished out six assists while Alford had four.
The Dragons only had two bench points.
Hutchinson produced only 20 points on 19 Butler turnovers.
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