By STEVE CARPENTER - Hutchinson CC Sports Information
One of the best defenses in all of the Jayhawk Conference will take on one of the league's hottest offenses when the No. 24-ranked Hutchinson Community College women's basketball team travels to Arkansas City to play the Cowley Tigers at 5;30 p.m. Wednesday at White Auditorium.
Hutchinson brings the league's second-best scoring defense - also ranked No. 12 in the NJCAA - at 53.4 points per game allowed. The Blue Dragons are ranked third in both field-goal defense (32.0 percent) and 3-point defense (24.8 percent). The Dragons force an average of 24.5 turnovers per game.
Over its last three games, all wins, Cowley is averaging 94.6 points per game, shooting 52.9 percent overall and 38.9 percent from distance with 40 made 3-pointers over that stretch.
The Blue Dragons last time out defeated Allen 80-49 to move to 5-2 overall and 4-2 in the Jayhawk West. The Dragons are looking for their first road victory of 2021, dropping road contests at Butler and Independence in each of the past two Wednesdays. Cold shooting and turnovers have plagued the Blue Dragons away from the Sports Arena. Hutchinson is averaging 57.0 points per game on 32.0 percent shooting and 20.5 turnovers per game.
Cowley has countered a three-game losing streak wits hits current three-game winning streak and is now 5-3 overall and 3-3 in the Jayhawk East. The Tigers have blitzed Northwest Tech, Colby and Dodge City by an average of 31.7 points per game.
Seanna Boltz is the sixth-leading scorer in the KJCCC and is leading the Tigers at 16.0 points per game. Martyna Kowalski is 11th in the league in scoring at 14.8 points per game. She is sixth in rebounding at 8.4 boards per game.
Hutchinson and Cowley met twice last season. The Tigers upset the Blue Dragons 72-70 last season at White Auditorium on a Shontrice Austin 27-foot buzzer-beating 3-pointer. The Dragons then defeated Cowley in the Region VI Tournament quarterfinals, a 69-48 victory.