Second half costs Cougars -- again

            The Barton County women's basketball team again found itself in a battle with a 3-loss team, but again, the second half proved to the difference. The Cougars led Hutchinson by four at  halftime, but by the time the final buzzer sounded, Hutchinson had bagged a 71-58 Jayhawk West win. The loss drops Barton County to 3-11 in the West and 8-20 overall. Hutchinson is now 10-3 and 24-3. 

Highlights

            The Cougars held Hutch to just 24 percent in the first half on the way to a 33-29 win. But a dry spell in the second half allowed Hutchinson to build a 20-point lead. Barton rallied late, cutting the lead to single digits, but the Blue Dragons pulled away down the stretch for the 13-point win.

            The Cougars were led by Tatjana Kiseljova with 15 points and a career-high 10 rebounds as the freshman recorded her first double-double of her Barton career. She was the only Cougar to reach double figures. Brittany Diets scored 18 to lead the Blue Dragons, including a 3-of-8 effort from behind the arc. Pam Mayes added 15 and Katie Tedder scored 10 points and grabbed 10 rebounds.

Next Up

            The Cougars have a week off before traveling to Colby for another West contest. The game will be the final road game of West play and will tip at 6 p.m. in the Community Building on Wednesday.

Stats

            Game boxes and cumulative stats can be found at the following website.

Barton County Women's Basketball at http://www.barton.cc.ks.us/sports/WB_01-02/wbasketball_01-02.htm