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By Steve Carpenter
HCC Sports Information Director
Sunday, December 28, 2008
DENISON, Texas – Freshman
Ariella McGhee posted her fifth double-double of the season and the
Hutchinson Community College women’s basketball team overcame 27 turnovers
and foul trouble to defeat Grayson County College 69-67 on the first day of
a two-day swing through the state of Texas.
The Lady Dragons (12-1) will
conclude the Texas two-step at 3 p.m. on Monday with a battle at 7-4 Collin
County in Plano, Texas.
“When we scheduled this, we
thought playing these two games would be good for us,” HCC coach John Ontjes
said. “We thought this would get us ready for conference play.”
Hutchinson led 30-28 at
halftime and led for most of the second half. After freshman Heather Robben
hit 1 of 2 free throws with 5 seconds remaining in the game, the Lady
Dragons had to make a defensive stop and did so without the Vikings (4-5)
getting off a shot.
This was the closest margin
of victory for HCC this season.
McGhee finished with 12
points and 10 rebounds for her fifth double-double of the season and the 10th
by HCC this season. McGhee scored 10 of her 12 points in the second half
before fouling out.
Robben led the Lady Dragons
in scoring with 17 points. Freshman Naudia Campbell was a perfect 5 of 5
shooting with six rebounds before fouling out. Sophomore Lauren Sparks had
11 points and tied a career high with eight assists.
Hutchinson shot a
season-high 53.1 percent (26 of 49) and was a sizzling 59.3 percent (16 of
27) in the second half. HCC was 5 of 11 from 3-point range; all five were in
the opening 20 minutes. The Lady Dragons were 12 of 19 from the free-throw
line. Hutch outrebounded a very athletic Grayson County team 36-28.
The Lady Dragons had to
overcome foul trouble in the post and 27 turnovers which led to 32 Grayson
County points. In the first half alone, HCC had 17 turnovers, which led to
21 Viking points.
“I thought we were
well-balanced,” Ontjes said. “We weren't sharp with the basketball, but we
were just polished enough and executed enough to win.”
Defensively, Hutchinson held
Grayson County to 37.5 percent shooting (21 of 56). The Vikings were just 9
of 31 in the first half (29 percent), but HCC turnovers kept the Vikings in
the game in the first half. Grayson County was 5 of 17 from 3-point range
and 20 of 25 from the free-throw line. Grayson County had 19 turnovers, but
had 13 steals.
Grayson County scored the
second-most points against Hutchinson this season.
HCC held Grayson’s leading
scorer, Taisja Jones to 15 points, seven points below her season scoring
average. Averaging nearly 30 points per game in her last four, Jones was
just 3 of 14 shooting against Hutchinson, but was 9 of 11 from the
free-throw line.
Alexandria O’Neal hit three
3-point goals and finished with 13 points. Ashley Featherston had 10.
There were seven lead
changes and four ties in the opening half. HCC got off to a slow offensive
start, trailing 10-5 with 13:46 to play, but a Sparks 3-pointer with 13:29
to go, but the deficit to two. Trailing 17-14, a Robben three-point play
tied the game at 17-all with 9:10 to go.
An O’Neal trey with 2:52 to
go gave Grayson a 24-22 lead capping a 6-0 run, but HCC answered right away
with a Robben 3-pointer. That started an 8-0 HCC run that gave the Lady
Dragons a 30-24 lead with 1:01 to play on a Brittney Chamberlin bucket.
Grayson County scored the
final four points of the half and HCC led 30-28 at intermission.
Hutchinson led virtually the
entire second half, but never led by more than six points (45-39 with 12:44
to play). A Kayla McGovern putback with 10:17 to play gave Grayson County a
46-45 lead, but an inside basket by Campbell on HCC’s next possession gave
the Lady Dragons the lead again at 48-46.
Leading 51-48, Robben
converted another three-point play with 2:23 to go to give HCC a six-point
lead again 64-58. Featherston hit a 3-pointer on Grayson’s next possession
to cut the lead in half with 1:08 to play.
The HCC lead was trimmed to
68-67 with 8 seconds to play after two Jones free throws. Robben hit 1 of 2
free throws with 5 seconds left and Grayson County never got a shot off on
the final possession of the game.
BOXSCORE
GAME NOTES – McGhee’s
10 rebounds were the 15th time this season that an HCC player has
reached 10 or more boards in a game. … This was the fifth time this season
that Robben has had two 3-point goals in a game. … This was the sixth time
that Sparks has had two 3-point goals in a game … Grayson County’s Jones had
the most free throws (9) and free-throw attempts (11) against Hutch this
season. … HCC had season lows in free throws (12) and attempts (19). … Hutch
also had a season-low 36 rebounds. … This was the fifth time this season
that Robben has led the Lady Dragons in scoring. … Freshman Ebony Bunton
made her season debut for HCC, scoring six points with eight rebounds and
two blocked shots. … Grayson County had season highs in free throws (20) and
free-throw attempts (25) vs. HCC this season. |
