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By Steve Carpenter
HCC Sports Information Director
Saturday, January 31, 2009
CONCORDIA – Freshman Heather
Robben posted her second double-double of the season and the Hutchinson
Community College women’s basketball team rallied from a 10-point first-half
deficit to defeat No. 10 Cloud County 61-56 on Saturday at the Thunderdome.
Robben had season highs of
25 points and 16 rebounds to power the Lady Dragons to their second comeback
from a double-figure deficit this season.
Hutchinson (19-3, 6-2
Jayhawk West) trailed 21-11 with 7:59 to play in the first half. HCC’s No.
10-nationally ranked defense then held Region VI’s No. 1 offense to no field
goals for the next 5 minutes, 26 seconds – and to just one basket over a
12:39 stretch over both halves – and went on a 15-2 run to take a 30-27 lead
at halftime.
The Lady Dragons built a
47-35 lead with 9:25 to play in the game and then had to persevere through
severe foul trouble with three players fouling out.
“It was awesome,” Robben
said. “We all did the little things and we all played together. It was one
of the best games this season.”
“This was a great win for
our kids,” HCC head coach John Ontjes said. “We battled all night long. To
come to Cloud County and play in a tough environment like this, I can’t say
enough how much I appreciate their effort and coming together. It was an
all-out effort.”
Robben was the only Lady
Dragon in double figures, going 7 of 18 from the field, 3 of 8 from 3-point
range and 8 of 8 from the free-throw line.
Hutchinson’s bench proved to
be a valuable assets with the foul trouble the Lady Dragons were in. While
the Lady Dragon bench scored in 14 points, freshmen Brittany Bell and Calli
Mathews combined to play a key 33 minutes, 24 seconds.
“Our bench was a big reason
why we won,” Ontjes said. “We got in tremendous foul trouble. We got the
pace of the game in our favor. We slowed it down and made it possession by
possession.”
“We have been working a lot
on togetherness and playing as a team,” Bell said. “It doesn’t matter who
you are or what spot on the bench you play from, we work together and play
as a team we will be successful.”
Freshman Sasha King came off
the bench to score nine points before fouling out. Sophomore Brittany Hines
and freshman Naudia Campbell, who also fouled out, had eight points each.
Freshman Ariella McGhee had six points and eight rebounds, but was strapped
with four fouls.
The Lady Dragons won despite
shooting a season-low 28.6 percent from the field (16 of 56) and was 4 of 15
from 3-point range. HCC was 25 of 38 from the free-throw line, including 14
of 20 in the second half.
HCC also decisively
outrebounded Region VI’s top rebounding team 56-40, getting 20 offensive
rebounds. HCC turned the ball over 20 times.
“We boxed out,” Robben said.
“We tried to just contain them and get every rebound we could. Then we had
to hold it to make sure we didn’t turn it over right back to them.”
Defensively, Hutchinson held
Cloud County (19-3, 7-1) to Thunderbird season lows in points scored and
field goal percentage (26.8 percent), holding Cloud to 15 of 56 shooting.
The Thunderbirds were 6 of 18 from long range and 20 of 37 from the
free-throw line. Cloud County turned the ball over 16 times.
Carolyn Blair-Mobley had 13
points to lead the Thunderbirds. Kara Champlin had 12 points and nine
rebounds.
There were four lead changes
in the first 7½ minutes. Cloud County took an 11-8 lead after a Blair-Mobley
3-pointer with 12:36 to play. That started a 13-3 T-Bird run that led to a
21-11 Cloud County lead with 7:59 to play after a Deandra Schirmer putback.
With McGhee and Campbell in
foul trouble, the bench helped pick up the defensive intensity and the Lady
Dragons started to chip away at the deficit. Down 23-14, HCC scored 12
unanswered points. King scored five straight points on a 3-pointer and two
free throws that gave Hutch a 26-23 lead with 2:23 to play. HCC led 30-27 at
halftime.
Cloud County didn’t score a
field goal for the first 7 minutes, 13 seconds of the second half. During
that stretch, the Lady Dragons jumped out to a 10 points lead and built a
47-35 lead with 11:41 to go after a Hines free throw.
Cloud County began to pound
the ball inside and fouls started to mount for the Lady Dragons. Campbell
fouled out with 6:34 to play, Mathews fouled out with 5:51 to go and King
picked up her fifth foul with 3:51 remaining.
Through it all, the Lady
Dragons never relinquished the lead. Champlin’s three-point play with 1:59
to go pulled Cloud within 54-51. Robben hit six-straight free throws in the
final 2 minutes to secure HCC’s second-straight win in Concordia and third
straight over Cloud County.
The Lady Dragons only have
48 hours to prepare for another nationally ranked team. The Lady Dragons go
to No. 14 Seward County for a 6 p.m. game on Monday night.
GAME NOTES
– This is Hutchinson’s second victory over a nationally ranked team this
season, knocking off No. 9 South Plains in November. … HCC is 26-22 all-time
vs. Cloud County and is 13-11 in Concordia. … The other comeback from 10 or
more points down came against Marshalltown, a 20-point comeback to win. …
HCC is now 4-2 vs. ranked team under John Ontjes. … McGhee now has 205
rebounds for the season. She jumps up to ninth on the freshman rebounding
list. … HCC is now 6-1 on the road and gave Cloud County its first home loss
this season. … The 57 rebounds are a conference season high.
BOXSCORE
OTHER QUOTES
Head Coach John Ontjes
On withstanding Cloud
County’s run in the second half …
“We didn’t get frustrated
when they made their run in the first half. We continued to fight and we got
down and got some defensive stops. I never once saw our kids get discouraged
or let their pressure bother us. Our kids made the plays we needed to.”
On battling through foul
trouble …
“They are a physical team
and they pounded the ball inside against us and got us in extreme foul
trouble. We never backed down. We took care of the basketball. We didn’t
have a lot of turnovers that led to easy baskets for them.”
On Heather Robben …
“Heather was solid. She made
some crucial free throws. We have some great kids who are starting to come
together. It’s enjoyable for me to watch our kids come out and play as hard
and as focused as we did today.”
Freshman Heather Robben
On the intensity of the
game …
“These are the games you
want to play in. It was so much fun playing together with everyone and
everyone getting into it and coach going crazy.”
On what the win means to
the team …
“This gets us back into the
conference race. It was a really good win for us in the conference and on
the road.”
Freshman Brittney Bell
On playing Cloud County
on the road …
“We knew they would be
tough. We knew they would be coming at us full force. We pulled it off. I
don’t know how many people thought we would, but we did.” |
