HUTCHINSON, Kan. — The No. 1 Hutchinson Community College women's basketball team claimed its ninth Region VI title in program history with a 54-52 win over Butler on Saturday at the Hutchinson Sports Arena.
The Blue Dragons earn the automatic bid to the NJCAA DI women's basketball national tournament held in Casper, Wyoming March 26-April 1.
Hutchinson will head to the national tournament with a 33-0 overall record.
Kiki Smith scored the go-ahead layup with 5.6 seconds to go, giving the Blue Dragons the 54-52 lead.
Butler, after a missed Smith free throw called a timeout and advanced the ball into the Grizzly front court. Maycee James' shot attempt fell short and was rebounded by the Blue Dragons to seal the victory.
Hutchinson built a 27-23 lead at halftime, but saw the Grizzlies come back in the second half and hold a four point lead in the first minute of the fourth quarter.
The final period featured both teams trading leads back and forth, in total there were six ties and six lead changes. Hutchinson led by as many as seven in the first half, while the four-point lead was the largest Butler had.
Hailey Jackson finished with a game-high 15 points, 12 of which came in the fourth quarter. Smith had 13, while Monae Duffy finished with 12 points and eight rebounds.
Butler was led by Randi Harding with 14 points, while Freddie Wallace had 11 points and nine rebounds.
The Blue Dragons will now await their NJCAA Tournament seed, which will be announced in the NJCAA Tournament Selection Show on Sunday at 7 p.m.
Sean Boston will be making the trip to Casper to broadcast each and every HutchCC game in the national tournament on KHMY-FM (93.1).