Hutchinson CC women’s basketball ranked No. 1 in the nation

HUTCHINSON, Kan. (KSNW) — “Let’s go! Rebound it! Pitch it!” John Ontjes said as his Blue Dragons ran the floor during a late February practice at the Hutchinson Sports Arena.

The Hutch Community College women’s basketball team played in Goodland the night before, where they canned a season-high 14 three-pointers in a 91-52 victory over Northwest Tech. It was the Blue Dragons’ 26th straight since the start of the season.

“I think our kids have been locked in from day one all the way to this point,” said Ontjes. “Really, you know, we’ve had very few distractions. Our kids are playing with a lot of confidence. When you’re winning, it’s very enjoyable, and they’ve got a lot to play for night in and night out.”

Hutch (26-0 / 20-0 in the Jayhawk Community College Conference) was picked in the preseason to finish second in the Jayhawk Conference Coaches Poll. The Blue Dragons, who finished last season 23-8, were unranked to tip off this season. Now, here they are, ranked No. 1 in the country and positioned to lock up the conference regular season title unscathed.

“Honestly, we didn’t think it was going to be like this,” said sophomore forward Monae Duffy. “We just keep striving every game to keep pushing forward and just keep winning and just staying the course and staying the route. Coach keeps asking us, ‘What are we going to be as a team?’ And I keep telling everyone, we want to be great.”

The first thing you notice about the Blue Dragons, besides their perfect 26-0 record, is they’re undersized. They start four guards, and they play fast, averaging 81.3 points per game.

Kiki Smith, a freshman shooting guard from Topeka High School, leads the team in scoring at 18.1 PPG.

“I feel like I bring a lot to the team by being able to shoot and then also being able to handle the ball as well. That goes a long way. Being able to handle it and be able to shoot it. It makes it harder to stop on the offensive end,” said Smith, who stands at 5-feet-7-inches tall.

“Kiki’s really had an exceptional freshman season. I think she’s adjusted well to the college game. The athleticism, the physicality, and she plays with a great point guard,” said Ontjes. “That makes a big difference when you have a great point guard who can deliver the basketball and find her, and she’s just taken advantage of her opportunities.”

Hutch’s starting point guard, sophomore Journey Armstead, scores 11,1 points per game. Freshman forward Hailey Jackson chips in 12.2 PPG.

“Our kids, they’ve got great chemistry, and that’s been the biggest difference. There’s a lot of intangibles that this group has, and we’ve got a lot of toughness and grit,” said Ontjes. “We’re very unselfish. We’ve played extremely fast, and really, that’s helped us that we don’t have to play in the half-court because we don’t have a lot of size. A lot of times, we have four guards on the floor, so we have to play extremely fast, and that really plays into the group.”

Now in his 15th season as head coach, Ontjes has won the Jayhawk Conference nine times. His teams have advanced to the NJCAA Tournament 10 times. He has seven 30-win seasons, and his Blue Dragons have finished national runner-up three times.

26-0 is the third-fastest start to a season in Hutch women’s program history. Ontjes led the 2012 team to a 36-0 start, only to lose in the national championship game. In 2013-14, the Blue Dragons were 35-0, and in 2014-15 they ran out to a 36-0 start. Both of those seasons ended with losses in the final game of the season.

This group could be just as special as those previous teams.

“We have a really tough and tight group of girls. We’re all really close, and being able to have a team that’s really close like that, you know, it’s helped us come as far as we have,” said Smith.

“What a lot of people don’t understand is when you’re JUCO, it comes with a lot of grit, and we put in a lot of work,” said Duffy. “We put in a lot of effort and a lot of time and a lot of energy. It shows with the season we’re having.”

“We still have four conference games to go. Conference season has been a grind, but we really haven’t had any setbacks,” added Ontjes.

Once the regular season ends, the Blue Dragons will host the women’s and men’s Region VI tournaments in March at the Hutch Sports Arena.