Cougars upset in Region VI quarterfinals; ends season with 25-7 record

Cougars upset in Region VI quarterfinals; ends season with 25-7 record
The Barton Community College women's basketball team was not able to defend its Region VI Championships after running into hot-shooting Independence in the quarterfinals. Independence ended the Cougars in the quarters with a 79-67 win over the Cougars Friday night at Koch Arena in Wichita. Barton seasons ends with a 25-7 record and the Jayhawk West championship – a title the Cougars defended this season. Indy lost to eventual Region VI Champion Hutchinson in the semifinals. Hutch will take a 30-4 record into the NJCAA National Tournament.

Highlights
Barton struggled to stop Indy from nearly the opening tip as the Pirates bolted to a 19-9 lead in the 1st 6 minutes of play. The Cougar whittled that lead to 5 but Indy quickly pushed it back to double figures and an 8-0 run to end the half to take an 46-28 lead to halftime. Indy had success breaking the Barton pressure in the opening half, which helped the Pirates hit 19-of-32 shots in the opening 20 minutes. Barton meanwhile hit only 12-of-30.

The lead got as high as 21 in the early stages of the 2nd half before Barton began to rally. The Cougars got it to single digits with 6 minutes left and as low as 7 with just less than 4 minutes to play. But the Cougars would get no closer and their season came to an end.

Sophomore Kristine Silaraja scored 25 in the loss and was later named to the All-Tournament team. She hit 9-of-12 shots from the floor including 3-of-6 on 3-pointers. Freshmen Tressie Todd and Jordi James both added 12. Indy was led by Kiara Marshall with 26 while Tori Halvorson had 16 points and 13 rebounds. Rhea Codio had 12 assists.

Stats
Stats can be found at www.bartonccc.edu/sports

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Season complete with 25-7 record.