Cougars drop pair of close contests

            The road hasn't been an easy one for the Barton County Community College women's basketball team to start the season. The Cougars dropped two more games over the weekend at the Pizza Hut Classic at Barton County to fall to 3-4 for the season. All four losses have been to teams ranked in the Top 25.

            Friday night Barton lost to No. 23 Moberly (Mo.) College, 81-76. The Cougars lost to No. 24 Eastern Oklahoma for the second time this season, falling to the Mountaineers 67-65 Saturday night. The other loss was to No. 1 ranked Northeastern Oklahoma State.

Highlights

            The Cougars played the tournament without leading scorer and rebounder Jenny Brown. The 6-2 sophomore is recovering from a stress fracture in leg. Her return has yet to be determined.

            Friday night Barton County led Moberly for much of the contest before Moberly's Dewella Holliday, the Classic MVP, led a Greyhound rally in the second for the win. Holliday scored 34 points in the win. Sarah Kendrick led Barton County with 15 points. Melissa Cox and Stacy Lee each added 11.

            The Cougars nearly pulled off a remarkable comeback Saturday, rallying from double digits down in the final minutes. Barton County cut the lead to 66-65 when Briana Book hit a 3-pointer with four seconds left. The Cougars had a chance to take the lead as Eastern Oklahoma was whistled for a foul away from the shot, giving Barton a 1-and-1 opportunity. But the Cougars failed on the free throw and Eastern Oklahoma added a late free throw for the win. Book, and All-Tournament selection, ended the game with 20 points, followed by Kendrick with 15.

Next Up

            Barton County will be at home again this weekend at the Walnut Bowl/Cougar Booster Club Classic. Barton County will play Midland (Texas) College Friday at 6 p.m. and Odessa (Texas) College Saturday at 6 p.m. at the Barton County Gym.

Stats

            Game boxes and cumulative stats can be found at the following website.

Barton County Women's Basketball at http://www.barton.cc.ks.us/sports/WB_01-02/wbasketball_01-02.htm