If the conference road isn't rugged enough, giving a team too many second chances will compound the problems as the Barton Community College women found out Saturday night at the Sports Arena in a 72-53 loss at Hutchinson Community College. Despite holding the Blue Dragons to a season low 28% shooting from the field, Barton simply could not maintain the defensive glass in giving up twenty-eight offensive rebounds as Hutchinson also struck for its most three-pointers in a game to widen its margin each quarter for the nineteen point victory. The contest wrapped up the first portion of the season schedule as Barton goes to the holiday break seventh in the standings at 5-4 and 8-5 on the year while Hutchinson keeps pace with the leaders in a game back at 7-2 and 9-2 overall. Barton's next action will come Wednesday, January 3, in hosting Cloud County Community College (7-2. 10-2) in a 5:30 p.m. tip at the Barton Gym.
Juliana Chagas was the big story for the Lady Cougars, making all but five of Barton's nineteen field goals in a 10-of-15 shooting night. Surpassing her career high by ten points, the sophomore from Brazil finished with twenty-three points including nine from behind the arc in a 3-of-4 effort while also leading the team dishing out four assists. Barton's season leading scorer Jaylin Stapleton was held below her average in muscling her way to thirteen hard earned points to round out the double-digit Barton scoring.
A late trey from Jada Mickens concluded the freshman's twenty-eight point fourteen rebound night grabbing nine of Hutchinson's twenty-eight offensive rebounds to post her fifth double-double of the season. Like Barton, Hutchinson also had just two players in double-figures as Sara Cramer buried 6-of-13 from beyond the arc for eighteen points.
Hutch rattled off seven straight mid-way through the first quarter to open up a 10-2 lead as the Lady Cougars committed five turnovers in that span. Settling down and securing possessions, Chagas began her career scoring night with a triple from the left wing leading an eight point stretch to knot things up at ten. Hutchinson answered the run with an 8-0 run of their own before Chagas' second long range shot cut the first quarter final margin to five.
Tacking on two Fatou Seck Ndao free throws to open the second, a Chagas bucket was all the Lady Cougars could score muster in the next five minutes as the Blue Dragons scored fifteen points in that stretch to open up a sixteen point lead with 4:28 remaining. Taylor Regan's first bucket halted Hutch's 12-0 run in that stretch which helped spark Barton to a next level, cranking up the defensive pressure and scoring the final six in cutting the halftime deficit to 33-25.
Shooting 40% in the first twenty minutes, Barton went cold in the third period shooting just 24% from the field and 3-of-8 from the charity stripe. Hutchinson also struggled from the field with at shy of 24% but continued to pound Barton on the offensive glass for second chance opportunities while sinking 6-of-8 from the stripe to outscore the Lady Cougars by four in the period to increase the lead to twelve headed to the fourth.
Continuing to stay frigid from both the field and stripe, Barton couldn't score a bucket until the 5:25 mark of the final period on a Chagas jumper. A couple of defensive stops with a Chagas drive to the hole before knocking down her third trey of the night cut the deficit to 66-48 with 2:15 remaining. Stapleton buried her second trey of the game with Hutchinson' Mickens countering with a late trey closing out the Blue Dragons' season high long distance shooting night with twelve.
Other Game Notes:
- Hutchinson's win was the 18th straight against the Lady Cougars including the 9th straight at the Sports Arena
- Barton leads the overall series 52-35 and 22-19 at the Sports Arena
- Hutchinson had more offensive (28) than defensive (22) rebounds
- Barton's six offensive rebounds was a season low leading to its second lowest total rebounds of 34
- Barton's fifty-three points was the season's third lowest output
- Led by four Irene Chukwudi blocked shots to match the freshman's best rejection effort, Barton tied a season high in blocked shots (7)
- Barton enters the holiday break 8-1 at home but 0-4 on the road