Phillip played just 5 minutes in the first half but finished with 11 rebounds and 4 points.

Second-seeded Hutchinson, Kansas, pulled away in the final 10 minutes with a 27-13 surge at the Bicentennial Center in Kansas and the Blue Dragons will face top-seeded Trinity Valley, Texas, in the final.

Virgin Islander Tamara Phillip played only five minutes of the first half after picking up her second foul four minutes into the game. She led CAC with 11 rebounds and scored 4 points.

The Vaqueras will challenge the fourth-seeded Pensacola State, Florida, for third place.

Trailing by seven with 12:57 remaining, the Vaqueras rallied to take a 43-42 lead on two free throws by Shanice Butler with 10:30 left. But Hutchinson went ahead to stay at 45-43 on Chelsea Small’s three-pointer with 9:45 to play.

The Blue Dragons extended the lead to 54-46 on Kelsey Webber’s three-pointer with 4:51 left, and Laura Patrick’s three-pointer with 2:31 remaining put them up 61-50.

“Hutch is a good team and they made every play when they needed to, but it feels like we beat ourselves,” CAC coach Denise Cardenas said. “We just didn’t execute. It wasn’t our night to advance.”

CAC’s point total was its third-lowest of the season behind 50 in a November 18 loss to Trinity Valley and 54 in a season-opening win over Eastern Utah. Hutchinson’s point total was the fourth-most allowed by the Vaqueras this season, who gave up 84 against Trinity Valley, 72 in a November 5 win over Salt Lake and 70 in a February 8 victory at Arizona Western.

The Vaqueras scored 16 points off Hutchinson’s 16 turnovers. The Blue Dragons converted 13 CAC turnovers into 10 points.