by PRATT – Freshman Kiki Smith scored a career-high 33 points to lead the Hutchinson Community College women’s basketball team win its 22nd-consecutive victory to start the season on Wednesday.
The No. 2-ranked Blue Dragons scored a season-high 60 first-half points and cruised to a 92-62 Jayhawk Conference victory over the Pratt Beavers at the Dennis Lesh Sports Arena.
Hutchinson improved to 22-0 overall and 16-0 in the Jayhawk Conference. The Blue Dragons play host to Cloud County at 2 p.m. on Saturday for HutchCC’s annual Pink-Out Game.
The 2023-24 Blue Dragons tied the 2018-19 Blue Dragons for the fifth-best start and the sixth-longest winning streak in the program’s 50-year history. The Dragons also defeated Pratt for the 19th-stragiht time.
Smith scored 17 points in the first half and the Blue Dragons shot 54.5 percent in the first two quarters as Hutchinson scored the game’s first nine points and continued to build that margin, eventually leading 60-34 at halftime.
Smith was 12 of 17 shooting overall with a career-high six 3-pointers on 11 attempts and 3 of 3 from the foul line. The freshman guard also had six rebounds, three assists and two steals.
Smith is the first Blue Dragon to score 30 points since Mya Williams had 37 points against Colby on February 13, 2022. Smith is the first player to sink six or more 3-pointers in one game since Williams had seven vs. Colby in the same game she scored 37 points.
Hailey Jackson hit 7 of 10 shots to finish with 17 points and three rebounds. Journey Armstead scored in double figures for the seventh time in the last eight games with 10 points, four assists, three steals and three rebounds. Monae Duffy and Akaysha Muggeridge had eight points each.
The Blue Dragons shot 42.4 percent (36 of 85) for the game, hitting 7 of 29 from 3-point range and 13 of 16 from the free-throw line. The Blue Dragons out-rebounded Pratt 57-42 with Bree Horyna grabbing a team-high nine rebounds. The Dragons had 24 assists on 36 made baskets. Muggeridge had six assists and Horyna had a career-high five assists to lead Hutchinson.
Princess Anderson, the nation’s leading scorer, scored 30 points on 9 of 24 overall shooting with three 3-pointers. Anderson was 9 of 13 from the free-throw line. Isis Sanders and Janessa Pauda had seven points each.
Pratt shot 31.3 percent (21 of 67) overall, shooting 8 of 30 from 3-point range and 12 of 18 from the foul line.
The Blue Dragons had a season-low five turnovers and forced 15 Pratt miscues. That’s the fewest turnovers the Blue Dragons have had in a single game since having only three turnovers against the Washburn University JV on November 9, 2022.
Smith started her huge game with a 3-pointer that capped Hutchinson’s initial 9-0 run. A Jackson basket with 2:03 to play gave the Dragons their largest lead of the opening 10 minutes of 12 at 21-9. Smith closed an eight-point first quarter with a 3-pointer at the 43-second mark for a 26-15 lead. Jackson scored 12 points in the opening 10 minutes.
The Blue Dragons scored 34 points in another productive second quarter. Armstead’s two free throws capped a 7-0 Dragon run to give Hutchinson a 37-20 lead with 6:34 to play in the second quarter. Later leading by 13 points, the Dragons went on an 8-0 run to pushed their lead to 20 points for the first time at 49-28 after two Smith free throws with 3:28 to play. The Dragons scored the final six points of the period to lead 60-34 at intermission.
