|
By Steve Carpenter
HCC Sports Information Director
Friday, December 21, 2007
GLENDALE, Ariz. – Freshman Brittany Hines
provided a early spark and went on to score a season- and game-high 19
points to lead the Hutchinson Community College women’s basketball team to a
74-51 victory over Glendale Community College on Friday in the Phoenix
Holiday Classic.
Hines gave the Lady Dragons a needed lift in
the first half after a sluggish start with a personal 10-point run on five
consecutive layups, the first two coming off Hines steals. Hines finished 8
of 10 shooting, including one 3-point goal and 2 of 3 from the free-throw
line. She also had a season high-tying three steals.
“Brittany Hines stepped up tonight and really
gave us a great spark,” HCC head coach John Ontjes said. “Her minutes were
very efficient. She was very aggressive toward basket, and I was very
pleased with her production tonight.”
Hines was one of three HCC players in double
figures. Freshman Kylee Naccarato finished with 12 points and sophomore
Fairen Lepaio had a season-high 11 points.
The Lady Dragons (11-3) were 29 of 62
shooting (46.8 percent), including 5 of 13 from 3-point range and 11 of 15
from the free-throw line. HCC committed 18 turnovers and outrebounded
Glendale 40-27. Sophomore Amber Schroer had a season-high 10 rebounds and a
career-high five blocked shots.
Glendale finished shooting 20 of 52 from the
field (38.5 percent), the fourth-straight game and the 11th time this season
that HCC has held an opponent to less than 40 percent shooting. Glendale was
0 of 3 from 3-point range and 11 of 14 from the free-throw line. Krystal
Pratt had 16 points and six rebounds to lead the Gauchos (2-9). Kaitlyn
McKenna had 12 points.
The Gauchos committed 23 turnovers, which HCC
converted into 23 points.
HCC suffered through another slow start on
both ends of the floor. There were two lead changes and three ties in the
first seven minutes of the game.
With the scored tied at 6-all, Hines began
her personal 10-point run with back-to-back steals and layups. She then
scored point-blank shots from perfect assists by sophomore Julie Richardson
and two from freshman Morgan Leatherbury. Hines’ fifth consecutive layup
gave the Dragons a 16-8 lead with 10:23 to play in the first half.
Back-to-back 3-pointers by Naccarato and
Fessenden and a Fessenden free throw completed a 19-6 run that gave the Lady
Dragons a 25-12 lead with 6:57 to play in the first half.
Leading 30-22 late in the first half,
Fessenden had two free throws and a layup to give HCC a 34-22 lead with 27
seconds left in the half. After two McCanna free throws, Naccarato scored on
a backdoor cut from Lauren Sparks’ pinpoint pass to take a 36-24 halftime
lead.
Hutch hit its first two shots – by sophomore
Hailey Purcell and Schroer – to start the second half, but Glendale hit its
first three shots. Pratt’s three-point play with 14:37 left in the second
half pulled Glendale within nine at 42-33.
A Hines’ 3-pointer on HCC’s next possession
was part of another personal seven-point run by the freshman guard and
started 9-0 Lady Dragon run that pushed the Hutch lead to 49-33 on a Lepaio
layup. With 12:58 left in the game.
The Lady Dragons weren’t threatened again. A
Purcell hoop with 8:36 to play gave HCC a 59-41 lead. Glendale then got
four-straight free throws from McCanna and Baja Biggs to pull within 59-45,
but two Schroer free throws and Naccarato’s 3-pointer with 4:38 left gave
Hutch a 64-45 lead.
The Lady Dragons close the non-conference
season with the third-best record in the Jayhawk West. The Lady Dragons will
be off until Jan. 5 when they will open the 2008 Jayhawk West season with a
home game against Seward County.
GAME NOTES
– Hines is the sixth different HCC player to lead the team in scoring in a
single game. … HCC’s bench outscored Glendale’s 39-9. ... Kylee Naccarato
scored in double figures for the first time in five games … Julie Richardson
tied a career high with five rebounds. .. Sophomore Lanikia Lawrence played
for the first time in eight games after an off-court injury during the
Thanksgiving weekend. She scored two points. … This was the fifth-straight
game that the Lady Dragons committed less than 20 turnovers. … Amanda
Fessenden’s streak of 15 straight make free throws came to an end. … HCC has
outrebounded 13 of 14 opponents this season.
<HCC-GLENDALE
BOXSCORE>
OTHER QUOTES
Head Coach John Ontjes
On balanced scoring …
“We were very balanced scoring tonight. We
did a good job of distributing the basketball. When you can be balanced like
that, it's hard to pinpoint one person to really stop. I was very pleased
with how we shared the basketball. Offensively we did some good things.”
Freshman Brittany Hines
On her overall game vs. Glendale ...
"There were a lot
of layups. We were getting cutters open, and some steals, so that was good." |
