Cougars snap skid; run streak against Pratt to 41

            The Barton County women's basketball team finally snapped that pesky Jayhawk West losing streak, earning an 86-75 win at Pratt Saturday night. The win was the first in West play for Barton, now 1-6 and 6-15 overall. Pratt fell to 4-3 in the West and 15-6 overall.  

Highlights

            The win ran Barton's winning streak over Pratt to 41 straight games with an all-time mark of 47-1 against the Beavers. Barton's pressing defense forced several Pratt turnovers early in the game and allowed the Cougars to bolt to an early double-digit lead. Barton kept that lead for the rest of the game. Pratt did challenge the Cougars several times late in the contest, but could not catch them.

            Briana Book and Sarah Kendrick were the leaders of the offensive charge the Cougars put forth. Book ended the night hitting an impressive 8-of-11 shots from the floor and 7-of-11 from the free throw line to end with a season-high 24 points. Book also chipped in six assists and four steals. Kendrick added 19 points on 7-of-11 shooting, including a perfect 4-for-4 effort behind the 3-point arc. Jenny Brown grabbed nine rebounds to lead the Cougars.

            Pratt was paced by Yolanda Ward with 19 points. Tolli Hamilton added 8 for the Beavers.

Next Up

            Barton has very little time to celebrate as defending national champions Cloud County comes to the Barton County gym tonight to take on the Cougars. Cloud County is 17-4 this season and 5-2 in the Jayhawk West. Tip is set for 6 p.m.

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