The Barton Community College women's basketball team snapped a three game losing streak breaking away in third quarter action for a 68-56 win Wednesday night at Allen County Community College. Leading by four at halftime, the Lady Cougars used an 11-2 late third quarter run in gaining separation outscoring the Red Devils by twelve in a five minute stretch to pick up the road victory.
Getting back to .500 in conference play at 3-3, Barton improves to 6-4 on the season dropping Allen County to the same 3-3 mark in the Jayhawk and 4-6 overall. The Lady Cougars have three games remaining on the pre-Christmas schedule with two at home coming on the following Saturdays. Barton will begin the three game stretch with a 3:30 p.m. hosting of Independence Community College this Saturday before a road trip next Wednesday to Dodge City with a wrap contest against Hutchinson on December 10.
Katrina Roenfeldt recorded a career high six steals while leading all scorers with nineteen points burying 5-of-10 behind the arc including two early third quarter long balls helping to hold off a Red Devil surge. Micaela Jellison and Jalisa Jones combined for twenty-five of the twenty-nine points leading a Barton fourteen point bench production advantage. Setting a new career high, Jellison scored nine of her fourteen points in second half action with the first two capping a 6-0 third quarter run giving Barton the lead for good. The run started with consecutive Jones' drives to the hole as the Memphis sophomore finished with eleven points. Megan Jirak grabbed a season high twelve boards including five on the offensive glass to lead a Barton 40-33 rebound edge while contributing six points. Knocking down two first half three-pointers, Regan Unruh finished with six points dishing out a team high three assists.
The Red Devils had two players reach double-figures led by the double-double performance of Damonica Franklin scoring fifteen points and hauling down ten rebounds. Sequerah Alleyne dropped in ten points while dishing out a team high four assists.
Barton shot over 41% for the second straight game finishing at 41.7% while limiting the Red Devils to 39.0% including just 2-of-12 (16.7%) from behind the arc. Plaguing the Lady Cougars the past two games, Barton tightened up the ball security in the second half with just six turnovers to finish the game at fifteen while forcing Allen County into twenty miscues.
The Lady Cougars scored the first five points only to see the host Red Devils take the next eleven points for a six point lead midway through the quarter. Unruh knocked down the first of her two long balls in the quarter with Roenfeldt's pair of free throws cutting the deficit to one. The duo would go back-to-back with shots from long distance to follow a Jellison jumper putting Barton back in front by five before a late Allen County bucket would cut the Lady Cougars' first quarter lead to 18-15.
The Red Devils regained the lead controlling the first five minutes of the second frame reversing the scoreboard to the home team's 23-21 advantage. Trading points in each team's ensuing possession, Barton grabbed the momentum getting consecutive Jones points before Roenfeldt dropped her tenth point of the half for a four point lead. The Red Devils managed a pair of free throws to stop the 6-0 run but Jellison's late bucket sent the teams to the locker room with Barton leading 31-27.
Roenfeldt pushed the lead to seven with a quick three pointer to begin the third but Allen County retaliated with a 9-0 run taking a two point lead as four minutes had ticked off the clock. Draining her fourth trey, Roenfeldt put Barton out front by one as the teams traded buckets on the next three possessions. Beginning with the first of consecutive Jones' drives in the paint capped by a Jellison eight foot jumper, Barton's six straight could only be answered by two Red Devil free throws before Great Bend freshman Lauren Welsch buried a trey before the buzzer for the 9-2 finish of the quarter and a 48-42 lead.
Scoring the first of her six points in the quarter, Jirak pushed the lead to eight before four straight cut the lead to four as it would be the closest the Red Devils would come the rest of the way. Jirak and Welsch would add four more Barton points to the board before Roenfeldt canned her fifth long ball of the night taking the lead to ten. Following a Red Devil two-pointer, Jirak keyed another spurt for the Lady Cougars also accumulating throws from Jones and Jellison. An Allen County free throw halted the five point run before Jellison's bucket extended the lead to a game high fourteen with under three to play. Four more points from the Protection freshman pushed over her career high mark with Jones sandwiching in a pair of charity tosses to seal the road victory.