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By Bret Mitchell
HCC Sports Information
Friday, November 9, 2007
After jumping out to an early 21 point lead,
the Hutchinson Community College women’s basketball team had to fight to
hold on in a 50-42 victory over Jayhawk East rival Independence on Friday
evening at the Grand Prairie Hotel Classic at the Sports Arena.
Hutchinson (3-0) held a 30-9 lead late in the
first half, and had the same advantage at 32-11 early in the early second
half. Independence had a 26-5 run over a 10-minute stretch of the second
half and tied the game at 37-all at the five-minute mark.
HCC went scoreless for 6 minutes, 2 seconds
of the second half and without a field goal for 10:02.
Hutchinson was led sophomore Amanda Fessenden,
who scored a season-high 21 points, 15 in the first half.
“That’s a sophomore stepping up and making
plays,” HCC head coach John Ontjes said. “She made big shots for us.”
Independence’s comeback was led by Jolene
Tamboue, who was a force on the boards, registering 13 total rebounds, 10
offensive rebounds to go along with nine points.
“Jolene killed us on the boards,” Fessenden
said.
“We couldn’t get a defensive rebound,” Ontjes
said. “Our guards need to get down there and get some rebounds,” in
reference to Amber Schroer being the only true post player for the Lady
Dragons in the contest.
Hutchinson shot 48.6 percent (18 of 37) for
the game, but was 11 of 17 in the first half (64.7 percent) to open a 30-11
lead at halftime. The Lady Dragons hit 4 of 11 3-pointers and were 10 of 13
from the free-throw line.
The Lady Dragons had turnovers problems with
14 of their 24 turnovers coming in the second half.
No other HCC player scored in double figures.
Freshman Kylee Naccarato had eight points and sophomore Amber Schroer had
six.
HCC was outrebounded for the first time this
season 39-34, including 22-4 on the offensive glass.
Ashley Gladden had a team-high 12 points to
lead Cowley, which shot 23.7 percent (14 of 59). The Pirates shot a frigid
15.6 percent (4 of 26) in the second half. Indy was also 9 of 19 from the
free-throw line. The Tigers had 20 turnovers and HCC converted those into 14
points.
Hutchinson jumped out of the gates to a 9-2 lead, holding Independence scoreless
for the first 7:02 of the game. The Lady Dragons went on a 13-3 run over a
stretch of 6:40 to get what seemed to be a comfortable lead, capped by a
3-pointer from Fessenden with 1:40 to play in the half.
Hutchinson went into the break with a 30-11
lead. The defense was once again solid, as it had been a week before in
holding Kansas Wesleyan JV to just 10 points in a half.
“The first half was the best half we had
played all season against the best competition we have played yet,”
Fessenden said.
Hutchinson scored first in the second half to
regain the game-high 21-point advantage. From that point, the Pirates
scraped and fought their way back into the game. A 26-5 run by the Pirates –
HCC had a stretch of turnovers on five straight possessions and on 6 of 7
possessions.
“We had too many turnovers,” Naccarato said.
“Their traps kind of killed us.”
After Indy tied the game at 37-all,
Hutchinson responded to push its lead back to four in just a minute’s time
with back-to-back buckets by Schroer and Naccarato scoring on a sweet feed
from Lauren Sparks.
HCC closed the game on a 13-5 run, getting
key baskets from Naccarato and Fessenden down the stretch.
Hutchinson will wrap up the Grand Prairie Hotel Classic on Saturday when the Lady
Dragons play host to 1-2 Cowley College at 5:30 p.m..
GAME NOTES
- Morgan Leatherbury led the Lady Dragons with six rebounds and had two key
assists in HCC’s 13-5 run to close the game. … Fessenden’s nine free throws
mean she is now only eight away from moving into the career Top 20 in Lady
Dragon history. … HCC is now 18-10 all-time against Independence. The Lady
Dragons have won five straight against the Pirates. … Indy had 11
second-chance points to HCC’s two. … Lauren sparks had a season-high five
assists.
OTHER QUOTES
Head Coach John Ontjes
On what he told his team after the game …
“I told them that we did a great job in the
first half, and when the game got tough we didn’t back down.”
On the Pirates’ zone defense …
“We made some silly turnovers. We didn’t
execute against the zone very well.”
Sophomore Amanda Fessenden
On the team in general …
“This group has dogfight in them. We never
give up, we all believe in each other.”
On the tight victory …
“A win is a win. When it got tied, we had to
calm some of the girls down.”
Freshman Kylee Naccarato
On the solid start …
“We have a really strong team, we’re really
determined and motivated.”
On if the team ever lost confidence during
Indy’s run…
“We never once doubted each other.” |
