Lady Cougars rally for overtime win over Otero

One night after nearly pulling off an upset of a team just outside the nation's top twenty-five, the Barton Community College women's basketball team needed a late comeback Saturday to earn an 87-82 overtime victory over Otero Junior College.   Splitting the weekend games at the Barton Gym of the Best Western Booster Club Thanksgiving Classic, the Lady Cougars avenged an earlier season defeat to the Lady Rattlers at Otero's home classic improving to 8-3 wrapping up the non-conference portion of the schedule.  Barton will now turn attention to the rugged Jayhawk Conference grind opening with consecutive road games beginning Wednesday at Pratt Community College followed by a Saturday trip Butler Community College. 

Trailing by five with under three minutes to play the Lady Cougars got strong inside play from Megan Jirak, a critical trey from Regan Unruh, and an opportune steal for a transition game-tying layup to force overtime.  Unruh would drop another long ball to begin the extra frame then gave Barton the lead for good draining her fourth three-ball of the contest with 1:21 to play.  Jalisa Jones sealed the victory making 4-of-4 from the free throw line in the last twenty-five seconds.    

Jirak led four Lady Cougars in double-digit scoring with twenty-two and a career high seventeen rebounds for her fifth double-double of the season.   Unruh knocked down 4-of-8 from long distance adding a perfect six trips to the charity stripe for a career high twenty points.  Bryson also had a career night scoring nineteen to go along with a team high five assist while Jones scored thirteen, nine coming at the free throw line in ten trips.

Shelby Patterson led the short-handed Otero squad with twenty-four while Macy Myers and Delaney Gaddis each scored twenty-two.  Gaddis also joined Jirak in double-double performances grabbing a team high twelve rebounds for the Lady Rattlers.

In the earlier women's contest, Iowa Western Community College made it a 2-for-2 trip to Great Bend holding off Cloud County Community College for an 88-84 victory.