GREAT BEND, Kan. — The No. 1 Hutchinson Community College women's basketball team moved one more step closer to an unbeaten regular season record with a 57-39 win at Barton on Saturday.
The Blue Dragons are now 29-0 overall, 23-0 in Jayhawk Conference play with one game remaining in the regular season, a trip to Garden City on Wednesday.
Hutchinson struggled to get going in the first quarter, shooting 1-of-10 from the floor, while Barton built a 12-5 lead after one. During the quarter, HutchCC went on a 5:27 drought without points.
The Blue Dragons scored the final two points of the first period and the first 11 points of the second quarter. Barton went over nine minutes without a point from the first quarter to the 2:41 mark in the second quarter. Hutchinson led 20-16 at halftime.
The lead continued to grow in the third quarter thanks to an 11-0 run, pushing the lead to 34-18 with 3:13 left in the period. Barton scored the final four points of the quarter, but still trailed 37-24.
Hutchinson led by a game-high 21 points late in the fourth quarter, earning its first win in Great Bend since Feb. 19, 2020, snapping a three-game losing streak in the Kirkman Center.
Kiki Smith led the Blue Dragons with 14 points, while Monae Duffy finished with 11 points and seven rebounds. Akaysha Muggeridge added seven points. Hailey Jackson scored six points and seven boards, while Journey Armstead had five points, seven rebounds and a team-high six assists.
Barton was led by Vivan Onugha with 11 points and 13 rebounds for her 11th double-double of the season.
Hutchinson held Barton (20-9, 15-8) to it's second-lowest shooting performance of the season. The Cougars finished 17-of-57 (29.8%) from the floor and 2-of-20 from the 3-point line.
The Blue Dragons close out the regular season at Garden City on Wednesday at 5:30 p.m. inside of Conestoga Arena. Barton will travel to Colby to play the Trojans on Tuesday at 5:30 p.m. in the Colby Event Center.