STEVE CARPENTER - Hutchinson CC Sports Information
The Hutchinson Community College women's basketball team earned one of the eight at-large bids on Monday for the 2020 NJCAA Division I Women's Basketball Championship.
The 24-team field was announced on Monday for the women's national tournament, which will be March 17-21 at Lubbock Christian University's Rip Griffin Center in Lubbock, Texas.
The Blue Dragons (28-4) earned the No. 12 tournament seed after winning the Jayhawk West championship and advancing to the Region VI Tournament semifinals. Hutchinson finished No. 9 in the final regular season NJCAA Rankings.
Hutchinson will play the Tyler Junior College Apaches (23-9) in the opening round at 12:30 p.m. on Tuesday, March 17. The Hutchinson/Tyler winner will play No. 5 Gulf Coast State (23-5) at 2:15 p.m. on Wednesday.
The Blue Dragons make their fourth-straight appearance in the NJCAA Tournament. Last season, as an at-large team, Hutchinson advanced all the way to the national semifinals. The Blue Dragons make a national tournament field for the ninth time under head coach John Ontjes and for the 10th time in program history.
Hutchinson has a 19-11 all-time NJCAA Tournament record with six trips to the national semifinals and three national championship game appearances.
The Blue Dragons and Tyler have met once in national tournament history. Hutchinson defeated Tyler 87-77 in the 2014 NJCAA Tournament quarterfinals at the Bicentennial Center in Salina. The only other time Hutchinson and Tyler played was in 2000, a 48-45 neutral-court victory by Hutchinson.
Hutchinson was the highest seed of three Jayhawk Conference teams to qualify for the NJCAA Tournament.
Jayhawk East and Region VI champion Butler is the No. 15 seed. The Grizzlies will meet the 18th-seeded Salt Lake. Jayhawk West runner-up Seward County is the No. 17 seed. The Saints will play 16th seed Moberly Area in the opening round.
All Blue Dragon Women's games will be broadcast live on KHMY-FM (93.1) throughout their stay in the 2020 tournament.
Information Box
BLUE DRAGON WOMEN'S BASKETBALL
No. 12 Hutchinson (28-4) vs. No. 21 Tyler Junior College (23-9)NJCAA Division I Women's Tournament Opening Round
When: Tuesday, March 27, 2020
Where: Rip Griffin Center, Lubbock, Texas
Game time: 12:30 p.m.
Video: NJCAATVLive
Radio: KHMY-FM (93.1)
Twitter: @bluedragonsport