LAKE CHARLES, La. — Hutchinson Community College’s season came to an end Saturday afternoon in the quarterfinal round of the NJCAA Division I Women’s Basketball Championship, as No. 5 seed Clarendon rallied in the fourth quarter to defeat the No. 13 Blue Dragons 57-54 at Townsley Law Arena.
Hutchinson finished its season 29-7 after winning its first two national tournament games, including a second-round upset of defending national champion Northwest Florida State.
Clarendon advanced to Monday’s national semifinals, where the Bulldogs will face No. 16 New Mexico Junior College.
The Blue Dragons appeared in control for much of the afternoon, leading 21-15 after the first quarter and taking a 25-22 lead into halftime after a defensive second period in which Hutchinson was held to only four points.
Hutchinson rebuilt command in the third quarter.
The Blue Dragons opened the second half on a 9-0 run, getting a 3-pointer from Noelle Anthon, a steal and layup from KaMyra Barber and a 3-pointer from Whitney Brown to stretch the lead to 33-24. Hutchinson later pushed its advantage to 15 points at 41-26 on Anthon’s second 3-pointer of the quarter and still led 45-37 entering the fourth.
Clarendon, however, closed the game with a 20-9 fourth-quarter surge.
Armanda Sindalawa led the Bulldogs’ comeback, scoring 12 of her game-high 25 points in the final period. Clarendon slowly chipped away before Julianna Dada hit a go-ahead 3-pointer with 1:40 remaining to give the Bulldogs a 54-52 lead, their first advantage since late in the first quarter.
Zainab Olalekan then added a putback layup with 54 seconds left to extend the Clarendon lead to 56-52.
Barber answered by making two free throws with 48 seconds remaining to pull Hutchinson within 56-54. The Blue Dragons forced a turnover and got the ball back with a chance to tie or take the lead, but could not convert in the closing seconds.
Olalekan split two free throws with one second remaining for the final margin.
Hutchinson had three chances after the missed second free throw, but a 3-point attempt by Kaia Smith and two point-blank follow-up shots in traffic would not fall as Clarendon escaped and advanced.
Barber led Hutchinson with 16 points, six rebounds and three assists. Brown and Katie Duncan added nine points apiece, while Anthon had eight points, 10 rebounds, two blocks and two 3-pointers. Smith finished with five points and seven rebounds.
Clarendon shot 35.0 percent from the field, but won the rebounding battle 35-32, forced 16 Hutchinson turnovers and held a significant edge at the foul line. The Bulldogs went 10 of 14 at the stripe, while Hutchinson attempted only four free throws and made all four. Sindalawa added six rebounds, five assists and four steals. Olalekan had 11 points and 11 rebounds, and Dada scored six points off the bench, including the decisive late 3.
Hutchinson shot 36.4 percent from the floor and made 10 of 23 from 3-point range, but the Blue Dragons managed only 13 points total in the second and fourth quarters combined.
The loss ended Hutchinson’s bid for a second national semifinal appearance in three seasons.