Butler women suffers first loss of season at No. 8 Hutch

Butler and Hutchinson will face each other in the Region VI Semifinals on Monday at Hartman Arena. It will be a rematch of a game from Dec. 8 in which Hutchinson won 77-61.
Butler and Hutchinson will face each other in the Region VI Semifinals on Monday at Hartman Arena. It will be a rematch of a game from Dec. 8 in which Hutchinson won 77-61.

HUTCHINSON, Kan. — In a battle of NJCAA Top 10-ranked squads, No. 8 Hutchinson came out victorious with a 77-61 win over No. 6 Butler on Saturday at the Hutchinson Sports Arena.

Kyla Callins and Jalise Smallwood each scored 14 points for Butler (12-1 overall, 3-1 conference), who suffered its first loss on the season.

The Grizzlies managed to recover from a XX-point first quarter deficit to tie Hutchinson at 18-all, then took a brief 27-23 lead early in the second quarter behind consecutive baskets from Criste'On Waters and Smallwood.

Hutchinson answered with a 10-0 run, which helped the Blue Dragons take a 40-35 lead into the halftime break.

Butler will finish out the 2018 portion of the schedule with a Wednesday home contest against Northwest Kansas Tech at 5:30 p.m.