Hutchinson women advance to title game
Hutchinson beat Walters State (Tenn.) 63-55 in the semifinals of the women’s NJCAA tournament Friday night in Salina.
Top-ranked Hutchinson (36-0) will play second-ranked Chipola (Fla.) in the championship game at 7 p.m. Saturday.
The Blue Dragons, who have played in the national semifinals four straight seasons, will play in the championship game for the third time. They lost in the finals in 2012 and 2014.
Kalani Purcell led Hutch with 21 points on Friday, and Cyntia Petke added 16.
Hutchinson led by nine points early in the second half, but Walters State tied the score 52-52 with 4:18 left in the game. A three-point play by Purcell put Hutchinson ahead 55-52 with 3 minutes left, but Walters State tied in on a three-pointer by Jephany Brown.
Purcell hit a layup to re-establish the lead, and a jumper by Petke made it a four-point lead with 1:29 left. Alyx Bloom hit four free throws in the final 36 seconds.
WALTERS STATE (32-3): Brown 9-14 0-0 22, Crenshaw 1-4 0-0 2, Saunders 7-13 4-4 18, Mays 0-1 0- 0, Tate 0-3 0- 0, PAtton 1-2 0-0 2, Fowler 2-11 1-2 5, Magruder 1-4 0-0 2, Treadwell 1-1 0-0 2, White 1-1 0-0 2. Totals 23-54 5-6 55.
HUTCHINSON (36-0): Purcell 8-16 5-7 21, LeFebvre 2-5 1-6 5, Harding 2-5 2-2 8, Petke 6-11 4-8 16, Bloom 2-2 6-6 11, Madden 0-3 0- 00, McNair 0-1 0-0 0, Jones 1-2 0-0 2. Totals 21-45 18-29 63.
Halftime — Hutch 30-24. 3-pointers — WS 4-10 (Brown 4-6, Sauders 0-2, Tate 0-2), Hutch 3-6 (Harding 2-3, Bllom 1-1, LeFebvre 0-1, Jones 0-1). Rebounds — WS 28 (Saunders 5), Hutch 37 (Petke 9). Assists — WS 6 (Saunders 3), Hutch 11 (LeFebvre 4). Fouls — WS 22, Hutch 10.
This story was originally published March 20, 2015 at 9:27 PM with the headline "Hutchinson women advance to title game."