A loss was bound to happen at some point for the undefeated Barton Community College women's basketball team and Friday in Chanute, Kansas, was that day. Battling from behind the whole contest, the Lady Cougars came up short in dropping a 79-69 loss to Allen Community College in the opening game of the Neosho Hoops Classic. In losing its first game of the season, Barton drops to 6-1 while the Red Devils improve to 4-2. The Lady Cougars will play their second and final game of the Classic on Saturday at 5:30 p.m. against host Neosho County Community College. The game will be available to view live via the Barton Sports Network at www.BartonSports.com.
Barton trailed 7-0 before a pair of Sharyce Warren free throws gave the Lady Cougars its first points as two and half minutes had eclipsed. Allen then outscored Barton 20-6 in the next eight minutes to build a nineteen point lead. Back-to-back treys from Cheyenne Hedrington and Mariana Lambert keyed a 20-10 stretch getting the Lady Cougars back to within nine with 2:03 remaining. The Red Devils closed out the half scoring five of the next seven to take a 43-30 lead to the break.
A 10-0 Barton run to begin second half action cut the deficit to one before four minutes had clicked off the clock. O'ceonna Weston ended the run by Barton and bookended a 16-0 Red Devil run in a little over a three minute stretch to push the lead back out to seventeen points. Six points by Hedrington and a three pointer from Brandy Winbush keyed a 17-6 stretch drawing the Lady Cougars to within nine with just over a minute to play. But the Cougars managed only one field goal the rest of the way while Allen connected on 5-of-8 free throws down the stretch to win by ten.
Cheyenne Hedrington led the Lady Cougars with a double-double and career high twenty-five points and seventeen rebounds, twelve coming on the offensive glass. Hedrington also dished out four assists on the night and led the team with three steals. Ashton Bruner recorded her second straight double-double scoring fifteen points and ten rebounds while Kailai Brantner dished out a team high five assists.
Briana Barrett led four Red Devils in double digits scoring nineteen points with Dodge City Community College transfer Jameeshia Armstrong scoring eighteen. O'ceonna Weston scored sixteen with a team high eight rebounds while point guard Nicole Salazar scored fifteen and just missed a double-double with nine assists.
Barton led the rebound edge 42-32 including nineteen on the offensive end but was outscored at the free throw line by fifteen as Allen connected on 21-of-27 while the Lady Cougars were 6-of-11.