A pair of extra sessions were needed Saturday afternoon inside Conestoga Arena before the Barton Community College women's basketball team earned a measure of redemption with an 80-76 double-overtime victory over Garden City Community College.
In a tightly contested battle that featured just two double-digit leads early, neither side created separation the rest of the afternoon. Mersadie Spray's clutch free throws with 13 seconds left forced overtime, and her go-ahead left-wing three with 3:22 remaining in the second extra session put Barton in front for good. The Cougars finished it off at the line, converting 7-of-8 over the final two minutes before coming up with the decisive defensive stop in the closing seconds.
Matching its longest three-game winning streak of the season, the Cougars improve to 10-10 in conference play and 12-14 overall, avenging an earlier buzzer-beating loss to Garden City in the first meeting inside the Fleske Fieldhouse. The Broncbusters meanwhile drop to 10-9 in league action and 15-9 on the season. Barton will close its two-game road trip Wednesday night against conference-leading No. 2 Butler Community College in a 5:30 p.m. tip-off at the Power Plant.
Sluggish out of the gates, Barton watched Garden City sprint to its largest lead of the afternoon at 13-2 with 2:35 remaining in the opening stanza. Regina Donanu's jumper at the 5:23 mark accounted for the Cougars lone field goal during the early stretch before a 7-3 close trimmed the deficit to 16-9 at the first quarters end.
The Broncbusters pushed the margin back to double figures early in the second quarter, but that would be the final double-digit advantage. Barton's offense found its rhythm midway through the period, stringing together a 15-5 run, keyed in part by Christal Long's five straight points, as the Cougars pulled even at 28-28 heading into the locker room.
Barton wasted little time grabbing its first lead immediately out of the locker room, as Spray opened the half with a bucket to make it 30-28. After Garden City answered, Spray and Donanu sparked a 6-0 run to give the Cougars their largest lead of the night at six midway through the third before the Broncbusters closed on a 9-4 stretch, trimming Barton's edge to 40-39 entering the fourth.
Donanu's three-point play and a pair of Kaosara Yunus free throws quickly stretched the margin back to six, but Garden City answered with a 7-0 run to take a 50-47 lead with 5:10 remaining. Alaina Eck's response from beyond the arc tied it at 50, igniting a stretch of six lead changes over the final four minutes. Spray's clutch free throw with 13 seconds left forced overtime, as Donanu's off balance look at the horn rimmed out.
In the first overtime, Barton struck fast with a 7-2 burst behind four-straight from Mary Akinde and Donanu's second old-fashion three-point play of the afternoon to grab the edge. Garden City countered with a 4-0 run to even it at 66-66, with Spray's potential game-winner attempt at the horn rolled off to send it to a second extra session.
Tied at 70 with 3:40 remaining in double overtime, Spray buried a left-wing three to push Barton in front for good. Eck's following pair at the stripe stretched the cushion to five. The Broncbusters answered twice, trimming it to one following a four-point play and splitting perfect trips at the line just before the final minute. Spray went 1-of-2 at the line with 13-seconds left to make it a two-point game, before the Cougar defense forced Garden City's 23rd turnover in the closing seconds, sending Kodi Greer to the line to seal the 80-76 victory and cap Barton's 7-of-8 stretch at the stripe over the final 2:34.
Barton overcame 28 turnovers by controlling the glass with a plus-12 rebounding advantage which led to 13-second chance points off 12 offensive rebounds. The Cougars converted 31-of-36 attempts at the free throw line (86.1%) and finished 3-of-10 from beyond the arc. Garden City shot 41.8% from the floor and held a 38-22 edge in points in the paint.
Donanu led a trio of Cougars in double figures with a team-high 28 points on 11-of-23 shooting, going a perfect 6-of-6 at the free throw line. Spray added 16 of her 18 points in second half action, while knocking down 9-of-10 at the stripe, highlighted by the late pair that forced overtime. Eck chipped in 11 points and three steals.
Long anchored the interior with 12 rebounds, while Akinde battled through early foul trouble to contribute eight points and five boards.
Sokhna Ndiaye poured in a game-high 36 points with five rebounds to lead a trio of Broncbusters in double figures. Marshea Fisher added 15 points and five assists, while London Turner finished with 10 points and six rebounds.