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By Steve Carpenter
HCC Sports Information Director
Saturday, January 10, 2009
Freshman Heather Robben had
a game-high 18 points to lead four Lady Dragons in double figures and
freshman Naudia Campbell posted her fifth double-double of the season as the
Hutchinson Community College women’s basketball team defeated Garden City
62-49 in a Jayhawk West battle on Saturday night at the Sports Arena.
The Lady Dragons (15-2, 2-1
Jayhawk West) held Garden City to just 15 points on 18.5-percent shooting in
the first half. But the second half was a different story. Leading 50-29
with 10:38 left in the game, Hutchinson was outscored 20-12 the rest of the
way with the Broncbusters drawing as close as eight points (56-48) with 1:57
left.
HCC shot just 30 percent in
the second half and didn’t have a field goal in the final 6 minutes of the
game.
“It was a tale of two
halves,” HCC head coach John Ontjes said. “The first half, we really
defended, caused a lot of turnovers and did some good things. The second
half, we played uninspired basketball. We didn’t guard, didn’t execute and
didn’t rebound.”
Added Robben: “We had no
intensity. In the first half, our defense was good, but in the second half,
we didn't execute or play defense at all. It was like we lost our intensity
or wanted to play any more.”
Hutchinson shot a season-low
30.9 percent (21 of 68) and was just 3 of 15 from 3-point range. HCC was
also 17 of 26 from the free-throw line. HCC had just 14 turnovers and
battled to a 51-51 draw on the boards.
Robben finished with 18
points, eight rebounds and three steals. Campbell had 14 points and a season
high-tying 13 rebounds with three blocked shots. Sophomore Lauren Sparks and
freshman Brittney Chamberlin had 11 points each.
Garden City (7-9, 1-1) was
held to 28.1 percent shooting (16 of 57), but was 6 of 16 from long range.
The Busters were just 11 of 23 from the free-throw line and committed 27
turnovers. The Busters blocked nine shots.
Katie Novack, Garden City’s
leading scorer, hit four 3-pointers, but was held to 12 points, with six
rebounds and four steals. LeMesia Abbott had nine points, while Cheree
Freeman and Deidre Mays had eight points each. Mays had 13 rebounds, the
most allowed to an HCC opponent this season.
“Give Garden City credit,”
Ontjes said. “Their kids never gave up. They packed the basket, made plays.
They got to the basket and made some free throws; something we didn’t do in
the second half.”
Hutchinson led 29-15 at
halftime, holding Garden City to just 5 of 27 shooting (18.5 percent).
Tied at 5-all, the Lady
Dragons slowly built a 15-point lead by holding Garden City to just three
field goals over the final 13:44 of the half. Campbell scored six-straight
points to build a 23-13 lead with 1:48 to play and a Robben bucket with 52
seconds left gave the Lady Dragons a 15-point lead (29-14).
While the Dragons were never
really threatened in the second half, HCC shot just 30 percent in the second
half and allowed Garden City to get back to within single figures late in
the game.
Leading 43-29 with 13:26 to
play, HCC went on a 7-0 run and took a 50-29 lead with 10:38 to play when
Robben hit a 3-pointer. Garden City then went on an 18-6 run over the next 8
minutes and pulled within 58-48 with 1:57 left after an Abbott trey.
The Lady Dragons were able
to close out the victory with four free throws from Sparks and two more free
throws from Chamberlin.
Hutchinson travels to Butler
on Wednesday night in El Dorado.
GAME NOTES
– HCC is now 52-14 against Garden City, 30-3 at the Sports Arena. .. Garden
City is the seventh HCC opponent this season to shoot less than 30 percent.
… HCC is 11-1 at the Sports Arena. … Sparks tied a career high with seven
free throws on a career-high nine attempts. … HCC scored 25 points off of
Garden City’s 27 turnovers. ... HCC has 12 double-doubles this season.
BOX
SCORE
PHOTO GALLERY
OTHER QUOTES
Head Coach John Ontjes
On the less-than-stellar
second half …
“We have a tough game
against Butler on Wednesday. Our team has to play with more passion and play
together. The only way that we are going to overcome some of the problems
that we have faced, we are have to play harder that the other team. We are
taking too many things for granted.”
On Naudia Campbell …
“Naudia had to pick it up
tonight. She had a good performance. She still didn’t shoot very well from
the foul line.”
Freshman Heather Robben
On the less-than-stellar
second half …
“We just didn't guard. They
had a lot of transition points, but we didn't guard like we should have.”
On fixing getting the
season’s momentum back …
“We need to find our
intensity again. Play with heart. Play as a team. Play like we were at the
beginning of the season.” |
