A season high long range shooting was too much for the Barton Community College women's basketball team to overcome Wednesday night as 21st ranked Butler Community College drained ten three pointers in escaping with a 59-58 win.
Despite the challenge, the Cougars had two golden opportunities in the final minute including a steal with ten seconds left but failed to convert in dropping the season series to the Grizzlies.
The Cougars' five-game win streak ends in slipping to 12-5 in league and 17-6 overall while Butler moves into the third spot of the conference standings at 12-4 and 18-4 on the season.
Barton's next contest comes Saturday in Goodland with a 6:30 p.m. (CT) tip at Northwest Kansas Technical College.
Back from a two-game absence due to sickness, Vera Ojenuwa came off the bench to lead the Cougars with 16 points and 12 rebounds for her 11th double-double of the season.
Tatum Boettjer finished with 15 points, knocking down 5-of-8 beyond the arc helping Barton to a 42.1% long distance shooting night with a club combined 8-of-19.
Quezia Bertoni rounded out the three Cougars in double-digit scoring with 15 points, 2-of-5 behind the arc, and dished out four assists as Grace John led the distribution with 7 assists.
Barton outshot Butler 42% to 35.8% but the Grizzlies' season high 10 three-pointers on 33% shooting while hauling down 16 offensive rebounds leading to another plus-14 point advantage in second chance points.
J'unti Franklin's 20 points off the bench led all scorers, dropping 6-of-8 behind the arc. Dayuna Colvin was the lone other Grizzly in double figures with 10 points and a team high 6 rebounds.
RECAP
Building a ten point advantage across the first and second quarters, Barton's lead evaporated in a span of four minutes as Butler found their stroke in canning four triples to pull ahead at 28-27. John's jumper halted a six straight in the span but the Grizzlies fired back with another four straight in the 6th lead change of the opening twenty minutes.
Boettjer was Barton's first half story with 12 points, going 4-of-6 behind the arc including a late three-ball sending the teams to the locker room gridlocked at 32 and the opening frame's fifth tie.
Butler put the first two points on the board to begin the third quarter but threes by Bertoni and Boettjer's 5th of the game coming on either side of Ojenuwa's 1-of-2 trip to the line surged the Cougars ahead by five.
Leading by four at the end of the third frame holding the Grizzlies to just eight points in the quarter, Butler drained their 7th three-pointer of the game opening up the final stanza with Bertoni's bucket answering putting the Cougars back up by three.
Five straight by Butler regained the lead and following Vivian Onugha's layup, the Grizzlies canned another trey breaking the final tie with the 8th and final lead change.
Butler led by as many as eight points following their season high 10th three-pointer with 3:40 remaining but the Cougars came fighting back, getting three defensive stops with offensive strikes coming from Bertoni and Ojenuwa slicing into the margin until John's baseline three-ball with fifteen seconds left drew Barton to within one.
The Cougars forced just eight Butler turnovers on the night but the last nearly proved costly for the Grizzlies as Onugha's big steal led to a frantic ten seconds.
Despite Head Coach Alan Clark's animated timeout plea, the signal was left unnoticed leaving Bertoni no other choice but to drive to the basket. Finding McKenna Vogl crashing in from the baseline, the Grizzly defense force a tie up with just .1 seconds on the clock.
Following Barton getting issued its timeout, the Cougars' inbound pass found Onugha open on the low block resulting in the potential game winner swishing through the net but the shot came after the horn leaving Butler victorious.
SERIES NOTES:
- Butler took both season's meetings
- Butler leads 6-5 in last 11 meetings
- Teams have split the last four meetings in Great Bend
- Barton leads 29-13 at the Barton Gym
- Barton leads the overall series 60-33