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By Steve Carpenter
HCC Sports Information Director
Friday, November 28, 2008
The Hutchinson Community
College women’s basketball team shot 62.5 percent in the second half,
getting huge 3-point field goals from Sasha King, Lauren Sparks and Heather
Robben during a decisive stretch late in the game to earn a 75-66 victory
over Jayhawk East power Labette on Friday night in the HCC Women’s
Thanksgiving Classic at the Sports Arena.
Hutchinson, which starts a
season 7-0 for the 11th time in program history, will now play No. 9 South
Plains College at 7:30 p.m. on Saturday. South Plains held off Jayhawk West
opponent Butler 79-68 earlier on Friday.
“Labette is a quality
ballclub,” HCC head coach John Ontjes said. “They are very physical, great
3-point shooters, great inside presence. I knew it would be a tough battle.
We had to be just as physical. I knew we would have to rebound. I knew our
kids would have to battle for 40 minutes and they did.”
Freshman Naudia Campbell
posted her team-best third double-double of the season with 14 points and a
season-high tying 13 rebounds. She had a key eight-point stretch during a
12-0 run late in the first half that helped Hutch erase a six-point deficit
and lead 29-26 at halftime.
Sparks also provided a huge
lift down the stretch with a season-high 14 points, including 7 of 8 from
the free-throw line.
“I wanted to be aggressive,”
Sparks said. “I wanted to step up and hit some shots, but I want create some
foul trouble. When you get to the line, you have to hit free throws. It’s
important that I hit those tonight.”
The Lady Dragons led 48-36
with 13:33 to play in the second half when Labette (4-3) reeled off 10
unanswered points to pull within two. Campbell stopped that run with a big
inside bucket and then King drained a 3-pointer for a 53-246 lead with 9:26
to play.
With 3:33 to go, Labette got
within 59-58 when Robben hit a 3-pointer from the right baseline, which
started a 14-2 run. Sparks hit a trey, and then hit five straight free
throws to open a 73-60 lead with 30 seconds to play.
“They were pretty big
shots,” Campbell said of the second-half 3-pointers. “We had to step up.
Those shots did give us a kick in the second half.”
For the game, the Lady
Dragons shot a season-high 50.9 percent (28 of 55), the second-straight game
that Hutch has shot 50 percent or better. HCC was 5 of 13 from 3-point range
(38.5 percent) and was a stellar 14 of 17 from the free-throw line.
HCC outrebounded Labette
39-37, but turned the ball over 21 times.
Robben had 12 points, six
rebounds and five assists, while King tied a season-high with three 3-point
goals and had 11 points and four assists.
Labette shot 38.1 percent
overall (24 of 63) and was 7 of 18 from 3-point range (38.9 percent). The
Cardinals were 11 of 21 from the free-throw line (52.4 percent). Labette had
18 turnovers.
Samanta Ludwig and Lauren
Andrews had 12 points each to lead Labette. Tercya Ferriera had 10 points.
There were seven lead
changes and five ties in the opening half. Labette scored the first four
points of the game, but that early advantage was erased by a Brittney Bell
three-point play with 15:02 to play for a 9-8 HCC lead.
The Cardinals then went on a
7-0 run and after Kayla Rice’s 3-point goal with 6:02 to play, the Cardinals
had their largest lead of the game of six at 23-17. But Campbell had a
dominant eight points in HCC’s 12-0 run late in the half, and when Sparks
hit a jumper with 12 seconds to play, Hutch led 29-23. Labette trimmed that
lead in half at the first-half buzzer when Shetiearra Pledger hit a long
trey and Hutchinson led 29-26 at halftime.
The Lady Dragons hit 8 of
their first 9 shots to start the second half and King’s 3-pointer with 14:21
to play in the half capped a 16-7 HCC run to lead 45-33.
Trailing 48-36, Labette went
on a 10- run over a three-minute span t lead the HCC advantage to just two
at 48-46 after a Monique Johnson bucket with 10:34 to play. HCC held off
that Labette rally with an inside hoop by Campbell and a King trey to lead
53-46 with 9:26 to play.
Labette mounted another
threat with a 9-2 run to pull within one point at 59-58 with 3:33 to play
after two Rice field goals. But the Lady Dragons executed well against the
Cardinals’ zone defense in the second half and stopped that Labette rally
when Robben buried a 3-pointer with 3:15 to play. Two Lauren Andrews field
goals cut the Hutch lead to 62-60, but Sparks popped a 3-point goal and then
hit five-straight free throws to break the game open.
Hutchinson hit 15 of 24
shots in the second half (62.5 percent), hit all five of its 3-point goals
and was 11 of 14 from the free-throw line in the final 20 minutes.
GAME NOTES
– HCC is now 10-4 all-time against Labette, 7-1 at the Sports Arena. …
Campbell’s double-double was the sixth double-double of the season for HCC,
surpassing last season’s five. … HCC is 6-0 this season when leading at
halftime. … This was King’s third-straight game scoring in double figures.
HCC-LABETTE BOX
SOUTH PLAINS-BUTLER BOX
HCC-LABETTE PHOTO
GALLERY
OTHER QUOTES
Head Coach John Ontjes
On the offensive
execution in the second half …
“Our kids never got rattled
when they went to the zone. We did turn it over there for a stretch and
didn’t’ make some good decisions, but Sasha King stepped up and hit some big
threes, Lauren hit a big three and Heather also hit a big three. When we
needed it, our kids stepped up to the challenge and made some big baskets
for us.”
On Lauren Sparks …
“She’s been through
conference and been through big games and she understands when to attack,
when to bring the basketball out, when we need a big shot, she has the
confidence to step up and take that shot.”
Freshman Naudia Campbell
On the win over Labette …
“Our defense is getting
better every day. We really executed well. We communicated well. Our shots
were falling. It was great because everybody contributed offensively and
defensively.”
On the post defense …
“I was aggressive
defensively. I also had help from our other post players. I just stayed in
front of my man, got my hand in their face and I think it threw their shot
off a little.”
Sophomore Lauren Sparks
On the win over Labette …
“We knew it would be a tough
game. We really tried to limit our turnovers, which has been a big emphasis
for us in practice. It’s great to get the win, but we have a big challenge
on Saturday.”
On committing no
turnovers in the game …
“It’s something I’ve been
working on and am trying to eliminate throughout the year.” |
