Head coach John Ontjes postgame
CASPER, Wyo. — The Hutchinson Community College women's basketball team picked up a 61-58 win over South Georgia Tech in the first round of the NJCAA Tournament on Wednesday at the Ford Wyoming Center.
The 11-seeded Blue Dragons will face 6-seed Three Rivers (Mo.) on Friday at 4:45 p.m. MDT (5:45 p.m. CDT) in the second round. Three Rivers received the first round bye.
The Blue Dragons trailed 29-24 at halftime and trailed by as many as eight points in the first half before making second half adjustments that would be pivotal.
Hutchinson (29-4) outscored South Georgia Tech (25-7) 37-29 in the second half, thanks to a huge half for Hailey Jackson. The Jayhawk Conference's Player of the Year was held scoreless in the first half and didn't get her first point until the 5:00 mark in the third quarter. She finished with a team-high 17 points, while also bringing down 12 rebounds for her 13th double-double of the season and 16th of her career. Jackson knocked down 6-of-8 from the foul stripe, the same free throw line that she knocked down three free throws with under a second to play in the national championship game win last April.
HutchCC held a 61-53 lead with 53 seconds remaining, before South Georgia Tech scored the final five points of the game to pull within a single possession.
The Blue Dragons, which struggled to shoot the basketball in their last two games, going a combined 9-of-55 in the Region VI Tournament, knocked down 6-of-15 attempts on Wednesday evening.
Jada Pleasant was the only other HutchCC player in double-figure scoring, finishing with 10 points and four rebounds. Kahlen Norris had nine, Landon Forbes and Katie Duncan each had eight, while Brynne Katcher had seven to round out a balanced scoring attack.
South Georgia Tech was led by Jamiah Gregory, the Georgia Collegiate Athletic Conference's Player of the Year, with 16 points. The Jets knocked down eight 3-pointers in the loss.
Hutchinson held South Georgia Tech, a team that was plus-10 on the glass in games this season to 22 total rebounds. The Blue Dragons finished plus-14, including 13 offensive boards, and holding a really good Jets offensive rebounding team to just four total.
The Blue Dragons are now 25-12 all-time in the national tournament and are 7-2 in opening round games. John Ontjes is now 22-10 in the national tournament as the HutchCC head coach, and the Blue Dragons have now won five straight games in the Cowboy State.
Friday's second round game can be heard on KHMY-FM (93.1), the official postseason radio home for the Blue Dragons in the national tournament.