Barton battles past Allen to open post season; plays Indy Friday in Quarterfinals of Region VI Tournament

Barton battles past Allen to open post season; plays Indy Friday in Quarterfinals of Region VI Tournament 
The Barton Community College women's basketball team began defense of its Region VI Championships last season with a tougher-than-expected opening round win over Allen County Tuesday night at the Barton Gym. The Cougars finally took control of the game in the final 12 minutes to secure a 79-56 win over the Red Devils and move into quarterfinal action Friday night at Koch Arena in Wichita. The Cougars will play Independence at 7 pm for the right to move into the semifinals. Barton is now 25-6 and winners of 15 straight games. Allen ends its season with a 5-26 mark.

Highlights
Allen County was in control much of the 1st half, leading by as many as 9 points. The Red Devils put together a 13-0 run during a 3-minute span to take a 22-13 lead on the Cougars with 10 minutes to play in the opening half. Allen hit 3 3-pointers in the run and was 5-of-7 behind the arc at the time. Barton responded with the game's next 10 points to retake the lead and the two clubs went on to battle to a 37-37 halftime score.

The East's 8th seed continued to keep pace with the West's top seed during the opening stages of the 2nd half and when Amber Hogue knocked down a trey the game was tied for the 10th time at 46-all with 13:30 to play. Another Hogue jumper with 12:15 to play cut Barton's lead to 50-48 but that is when the Red Devils finally ran out of gas. A pair of turnovers and 3 missed 3-pointers during the Red Devils next 4 possessions allowed Barton to push its lead to 56-48.

The miscues continued for Allen as the Barton press began to take its toll. The Red Devils went from the 9:37 mark until the 5:35 mark – 9 straight possessions – without a shot. Barton turned those 9 consecutive turnovers into 11 points and pushed the lead to 67-48 and out of reach. The Red Devils were not able to break off the 48-point mark until a free throw with 4:12 to go. While Allen was stuck on 48, Barton outscored them 21-0 over 7 1/2 minutes of play.

Jordi James led four Cougars in double figures with 14 points followed by Kristine Silaraja with 13. Tressie Todd and Shelby Hillman each added 11 for the Cougars. Todd grabbed 9 rebounds to lead Barton as the Cougars won the rebound battle 52-23. James added 8 assists and 7 steals in the win. Hogue scored 16 to lead the Red Devils.

Barton heads to Wichita where the Cougars are 5-1 since the Region VI tournament moved to Koch Arena in 2006. Independence will bring a 21-10 mark into the contest after knocking off Garden City in opening round play Tuesday, 80-64. Barton beat Independence earlier this year in the Jayhawk Shoot Out by a 66-54 margin. But the Pirates played contest without its leading scorer – Sadie Webb who is scoring 16.3 points per contest and was named the Freshman of the Year in the Jayhawk Conference. The winner of the contest will play the Cowley/Hutchinson winner Sunday afternoon at 3 pm.

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

Next
March 6 – v Indy 7 pm (Region VI Quarterfinals at Koch Arena in Wichita)