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By Bret Mitchell
HCC Sports Information
Saturday, February 16, 2008
PRATT – The No.
23-ranked Hutchinson Community College women’s basketball team stumbled at
crucial moments in the second half on Saturday night, falling to Pratt 52-48
at the Dennis Lesh Sports Arena, damaging its chances at a Jayhawk
Conference Western Division title.
Hutchinson (20-6, 9-3
Jayhawk West) came in to play on Saturday just one-half game behind leader
Barton County, but was stung by Pratt (7-18), which had a 3-8 conference
record coming in.
“If you can’t go on the
road and win, all your hard work in trying to win a conference title is
gone,” Amanda Fessenden said. “We’re just not getting it done.”
The Lady Dragons
struggled again in the first half, slipping to a 13-point halftime deficit
for the second time in three games. HCC scored a season-worst 15 points in
the first half. Although the Lady Dragons did rally to take two one-point
leads, the Beavers weren’t to be denied their upset.
Sasha Crosby and Lindsee
Bachicha led the charge for the Beavers, scoring 11 points each. As a team
Pratt shot 19 of 51 from the field (37.3 percent), but hit 5 of 16 from long
range to hurt HCC. Pratt was 9 of 18 from the free-throw line. The Beavers
outrebounded HCC 39-33 and turned the ball over 21 times.
Hutchinson had one of
its worst offensive performances of the season, shooting 19 of 53 (35.8
percent) and just 3 of 16 from 3-point range. The Lady Dragons were 7 of 10
from the free-throw line and committed 20 turnovers.
Fessenden led HCC with a
game-high 19 points, eight rebounds and four steals, all team highs. No
other HCC player scored in double figures. Sophomore Lanikia Lawrence and
freshman Kylee Naccarato had eight points each. Sophomore Hailey Purcell
added six.
Neither team got off to
a strong offensive start. Pratt led just 13-8 10 minutes into the contest.
The Lady Dragons kept it close, pulling within 17-15 on a Fessenden bucket
with 5:39 to play in the half.
The Beavers then went on
an 11-0 run to close the half. Getting a Kelsey Slater 3-pointer with 1:15
to play to take a 28-15 halftime lead.
Amber Schroer started
the second half scoring, but the Beavers answered and gained their largest
lead of the contest at 34-19 after another Slater 3-point goal.
The Dragons they
employed a full-court press which helped hold Pratt without a field goal and
just two points for the next 6 minutes, 44 seconds. The Lady Dragons went on
a 17-2 run over the juncture and tied the game at 36-all with 9:26 remaining
after a Hailey Purcell bucket.
Hutchinson’s first lead
came at the 6:04 mark after a Fessenden free throw. HCC also led 42-41 with
4:05 to play after a Naccarato jumper, but Pratt responded with back-to-back
3-pointers by Bachicha and Wyneisa Webb to lead 47-42 with 3:04 to play.
Fessenden pulled the
Lady Dragons to within two at 50-48 with 35 seconds to play and the Dragons
got the needed defensive stops to attempt a final shot to tie or win, but
HCC turned the ball over on its last two possessions.
HCC will play host to
Colby, a team that it defeated on the road earlier in the season, 65-44 on
Wednesday night at the Sports Arena.
“We’re going have to
come out and be more intense in practice,” Lady Dragons coach John Ontjes
said. “We go through the motions, and we just don’t understand right now
what it takes to win a conference title.”
GAME NOTES
– The 52 points scored by Pratt were the fewest an opponent has scored in a
victory over the Lady Dragons. … Freshman Kylee Naccarato dished out four
assists in the contest, a season high. … Fessenden has now moved into the
top-five on the career free-throw attempts, with 281, converting 235. …
Pratt came into the game allowing an average of 70.2 points per game. … The
previous scoring low for a single half was 16, which came against
Coffeyville and Labette in the Jayhawk Shootout in December.
<HCC
WOMEN-PRATT BOXSCORE>
OTHER QUOTES
Head Coach John
Ontjes
On another slow start
…
“It was disappointing to
me how we started the game. We got behind, and then we had to expend a lot
of energy to get back into the game, and then we made crucial turnovers to
try and get back into the game.”
On the shooting
effort …
“We had good looks, but
we didn’t attack the basket enough in the first half. We didn’t shoot the
ball with much confidence.”
Sophomore Amanda
Fessenden
On starting slow …
“We’re lackadaisical, no
energy at the beginning of the game. You can’t come out weak and not ready
to go.”
On the recent
practices …
“Some practices have
been really lackadaisical, just throwing the ball around. It’s starting to
show up in games.” |
