Frigid Lady Cougars fall to red hot Conquistadors

Despite a porous shooting display Wednesday night in Dodge City, the Barton Community College women's basketball team hung around but timely knocked down shots gave the home standing Conquistadors of Dodge City Community College the victory 79-65.   The Lady Cougars' shooting from the field was compounded by a paltry 47% from the charity stripe and nine Conquistador three-pointers and clutch shots keeping Barton at bay.  However despite its woes, Barton was within six with three minutes to play but couldn't find the twine the rest of the way as the Conqs closed out the contest soring the last eight points.  Barton drops back to the .500 mark in conference play at 4-4 with the loss and 7-5 on the season while Dodge City improves to 2-5 and 3-7 on the year.   Barton winds up the pre-Christmas portion of the schedule this Saturday as the Lady Cougars host No. 10 ranked Hutchinson Community College in a 5:30 p.m. tip at the Barton Gym.

Katrina Roenfeldt scored sixteen of her team high nineteen points in second half play canning three long balls on the night while falling one rebound short of double-double performance with nine rebounds.  Baylee Robinson did accomplish the feat scoring fifteen points and hauling down ten rebounds including five on the offensive glass recording her fourth double-double of the year.  Jalisa Jones came off the bench to add eleven points in part to a 5-of-6 shooting from the charity stripe as the Lady Cougars would finish just 15-of-32 from the line.

The Conquistadors had two players exceeding the twenty-point mark getting sixty-two points from their three players in double digit scoring.  Alexus Johnson led all scorers with twenty-eight sinking 10-of-12 from the free throw line with Baily Shelor contributing twenty-two on 9-of-14 shooting from the field.  Brittany Leonard rounded out the double-figure scorers with twelve points.

Dodge City's seven point run early in the quarter gave the Conquistadors a six point edge through most of the quarter until a Robinson low post move followed by two Jones charity throws drew the Lady Cougars to within two at the end of the quarter.  The run continued into the second frame as Jones's slash to the hole followed by two more charity tosses and a Megan Jirak left block shot capped the ten point stretch putting Barton out by four.  

An 8-0 run by Dodge City put the Conquistadors out for good taking a 28-22 lead mid-way through the quarter.  Behind three points from Jones and a pair of Jirak tosses the Lady Cougars closed to within two before Dodge City outscored Barton by two the rest of the half for a 38-34 lead to the locker room.

Getting a Robinson jumper and a Roenfeldt back door cut from Jirak, Barton quickly knotted things up but a seven point Conq answer put the Lady Cougars right back in the hole.  The deficit remained around the seven point mark most of the quarter as Roenfeldt kept Barton in the game scoring ten points in the third including a one-man show steal leading to a transition step-back three-pointer.

Another Roenfeldt bucket drew Barton to within three early in the fourth but it was as close as Barton would come the rest of the way as the Conqs controlled the next three minutes with eight straight in building an eleven point lead.  Consecutive Robinson buckets closed the gap to five with 3:50 to play and despite Roenfeldt's sixteenth point of the second half, the Lady Cougars were outscored 8-0 down the stretch for the fourteen point margin and second straight loss in Dodge City.