Barton wins two in Jayhawk Shoot Out; runs winning streak to 3
The Barton Community College women's basketball team looks like it is beginning to hit its stride a pair of wins against Jayhawk East teams this past weekend against that will likely finish among the top half of the East this season. With the wins Barton went 2-0 at the annual Jayhawk Shoot Out at Coffeyville. The Cougars handed Independence just its 2nd loss of the season in its opener Friday with a 66-54 win over the Pirates. Barton then beat Labette in a tight battle Sunday, holding off the Cardinals for a 76-72 win. The Cougars are now 9-3 on the year with a game at Penn Valley (Mo) this weekend.

Highlights Barton closed strong in the opening half against Indy and after trailing much of the opening 10 minutes led 33-22 at the intermission. The Cougars had troubles scoring in the opening stages of the half, never leading until a quick 6-0 burst on 3-pointers by Jordi James and Brooke Conley gave Barton a 15-13 lead. The Pirates would tie at 15-all but a 4-0 run gave the Cougars a 19-15 lead they would not relinquish the rest of the way. Barton closed out the half with a 24-9 run after trailing by that 13-9 margin. Barton led by double digits nearly the entire 2nd half with its biggest lead reaching 18.

James led Barton with 14 followed by Courtney Sturdivant with 12. The Cougars dominated the boards, posting a 49-34 advantage led by Tressie Todd and Michelle White with 8 each. Shelby Hillman added 7. White led Barton with 4 assists while White and Sturdivant each had 3 steals. The Cougars bench was key in the game as James led that crew to a 33-16 advantage over the Indy bench.

Sunday was a battle for the Cougars with Labette and Barton trading the lead 8 times. The Cougars looked good early in building a 23-12 on the Cardinals but that didn't last as Labette came storming back and with one minute to play in the half led 36-29 following a 24-6 run. Conley knocked down a huge 3 in the final seconds of the opening half to cut the lead to 36-32. The 2nd half featured 7 of those 8 lead changes with Barton reaching a pair of brief 6 point leads – the latest at 64-58 before Labette went on a 10-1 run to take a 68-65 lead with 3 minutes to play.

The Cougars responded with the next 6 points in the game as Conley, Todd and Kristine Silaraja all scored during the next minute for a 71-68 lead. That would be the 8th and final lead change but the game was far from over. Labette cut it to 1 on a par of occasions and had a chance to take the lead down 73-72 with the ball in the final 15 seconds. But a turnover followed by a technical foul on the Labette coach put the Cardinals in a bind. Hillman made both free throws on the technical to make it 75-72 but the Cougars turned the ball over the inbounds pass giving the Cardinals one last 3-point attempt at a time. That, however, missed and White hit 1-of-2 free throws after being fouled for the 76-72 final.

Silaraja scored 17 points on 7-of-10 shooting from the floor to pace Barton. Sturdivant added 13 while White and Conley each scored 11. Hillman added 10 as 5 Cougars reached double figures. Conley added 8 rebounds to pace Barton while Sturdivant dished out 7 assists and White added 4. Barton again dominated the boards with a 38-22 advantage as Labette collected just 3 rebounds the final 10 minutes of the game.

Stats
Stats can be found at www.bartonccc.edu/sports

Next
Dec 13 – at Penn Valley (Mo) 2 pm (at Kansas City)