A three minute stretch spoiled the Barton Community College women's basketball team's bid to knock off its second straight ranked opponent as the Cougars fell Wednesday night 59-51 at 25th ranked Independence Community College.
Leading 44-42 with 7:34 to play, the game unraveled for the Cougars committing three crucial turnovers helping Independence roll on a 10-2 run in the next three minutes to lead by eight. Barton hung around behind tough defense to claw back to within five but missed countless opportunities against an equally tough Independence defense.
The loss slides Barton to 1-3 in conference play and 4-6 overall while Independence stays perfect in league play improving to 5-0 and 9-1 on the season.
Barton has a pair of home games next on the schedule beginning Saturday in a 2:00 p.m. hosting of Coffeyville Community College followed by Wednesday's 5:30 p.m. game against Cloud County Community College.
RECAP
Lili Shubert opened the evening's scoring with a three-pointer as the teams struggled to find offense against tough defenses. Mikaela Hall's jumper put Barton back in front at 5-4 with 4:12 left with Independence surging back ahead on six straight. Morgan Meyers sparked a 5-0 Barton answer to tie it at ten, setting up Brennan Kirchhoff's layup then knocking down a triple.
The Pirates scored the next four, getting the final two of the first frame then the first bucket opening the second frame as the Cougars were 4-of-13 from the field with eight turnovers in the first ten minutes. Following Jenny Nkem Womsi's jumper, the Pirates took their first six point lead behind four straight. Meyers' countered with a drive through the lane and after an Independence hoop, Shubert buried her second trey cutting the deficit back in half.
Acorionna Lard's consecutive drainings from beyond the arc and Hall's low-block jumper surged Barton back in front on the 8-0 run but the Pirates put the lone four points of the final 2:12 to tie it at 25 to the locker room.
The teams scored a combined nineteen points in the first five minutes of the third quarter with just ten more going on the scoreboard over the remaining five with an Independence 1-of-2 trip to the line in the waning seconds giving the Pirates a 40-39 lead to the final quarter.
Lard, who drilled two more triples in the third frame, fed Kirchhoff to open the fourth with Hall's converting of an And-1 giving Barton its final lead at 44-42 with 7:34 remaining. The next three minutes were the pivotal moments as the Pirates slapped on a full-court press resulting four Barton turnovers and a 10-0 run breaking open a 52-44 lead with 4:14 to play.
Hall's putting away Meyers' dime halted the stretch and Cougars drought but couldn't convert the And-1 to slice further into the deficit. The missed opportunity was one of many for the Cougars down the stretch, going 2-of-4 from the free throw line in the final three minutes plus despite cranking up its defense, couldn't get any closer than five the rest of the way as the Pirates sank all four free throws in crunch time to avoid the upset.
STATS
In a defensive pressured packed game, the Cougars committed 21 turnovers but had just six in the final twenty minutes with three of those coming in the critical stretch of the fourth quarter.
Barton shot 33.9% for the game, connecting on 19-of-56 from the field with 9-of-28 (32%) coming from the behind the arc. Despite the physical nature of the game, Barton only got to the free throw line nine times, sinking four for a 44% stripe shooting.
Just three Cougars scored in second half action, led by the eleven points from Kirchhoff to finish with 13 points and grabbing a career high 13 rebounds to post the 5'4" guard's first collegiate double-double. Hall added nine of her 13 points in the second half while grabbing 9 rebounds to help the Cougars to a plus-1 edge on the boards. Lard's four three-pointers on 4-of-9 behind the arc added up to 12 points while leading the team with four assists and two steals.
Barton held Independence twenty-five points below their average as the Pirates shot just 32.8% from the field and just 2-of-22 from beyond the arc. The big difference came from Barton's 21 turnovers compared to the Pirates' eight and the nine point differential from the free throw line as Independence made 13-of-17 from the stripe.
Maisa Marcal led all players with 18 points with Miriam Bazylewicz coming off the bench to dump in 17 points. Delani Harris hauled down a game high 15 rebounds and added 14 points for the double-double effort.