by The No. 13-ranked Hutchinson Community College women’s basketball team opened the 2018-19 season by scoring the fifth-most points and tied for the fifth-biggest margin of victory on Thursday at the Sports Arena.
The Blue Dragons defeated the Bethany College Junior Varsity 107-32 to win their 17th of the last 18 season openers. The 107 points scored was fifth most in team history and the 75-point margin of victory tied for the fifth largest and the biggest in series history as Hutch moved to 32-0 all-time against Bethany.
The Dragons scored the first 20 points of the game and led 35-10 after one quarter and 55-16 at halftime.
Four players scored in double figures and every player on the roster had at least three points.
The Blue Dragons shot 53.8 percent overall (42 of 78), hitting 6 of 21 from 3-point range and 17 of 30 from the free-throw line. The Blue Dragons outrebounded the Swedes 49-20 with 26 offensive rebounds. Hutch had a 26-4 advantage in second chance points.
The Blue Dragons grabbed 26 steals, which is the fourth most in team history. Bethany overall had 35 turnovers and the Dragons had a 55-0 advantage in points off turnovers.
Defensively, hutch held Bethany to 27.8 percent from the field (10 of 36). The Swedes were 3 of 14 from 3-point range and 9 of 13 from the foul line.
Freshman Milan Schimmel had a game-high 19 points on 9 of 10 shooting to lead the Blue Dragons. She had four rebounds, two assists and two steals.
Sophomore Jada Mickens was next with 17 points on 6 of 8 shooting. Sophomore Dejanae Roebuck had 14 points and four steals. Freshman Abby Ogle had 12 points with seven rebounds, five assists and five steals.
Sophomore Tia Bradshaw finished with nine points, four steals and three assists. Tijuana Kimbro, who made her long-awaited Blue Dragon debut, finished with eight points and seven rebounds.
Freshman Keeley Tini and sophomore Makayla Johnson tied for team-high rebounding honors with eight boards each. Freshman Makayla Vannett (Ojibwe) had eight points with five steals. Sophomore Sara Cramer tied a career high with six assists.
Chalie Dahl had six points to lead the Swedes.
The Blue Dragons are now 37-8 all-time in season homers and 40-5 all-time in home openers. This was Hutch’s 30th all-time game with 100 or more points.
