The Barton Community College women's basketball team used a game-changing second quarter Wednesday night at Fleske Fieldhouse, turning an early deficit into a halftime edge before fending off second-half pushes on the way to an 80–71 victory over Fort Hays Tech Northwest in Jayhawk Conference action.
Northwest opened the night scorching from deep (6-of-10) and carried a 24–18 lead after one period, extending the margin to eight with the first basket of the second quarter. From there, the Cougars took control. Kodi Greer supplied instant offense off the bench, drilling the second of her four three-pointers to spark the surge. Following a Tiger bucket, the visitors went silent over the next five minutes as Barton pieced together an 18–0 run to flip the script. Greer buried two more treys during the stretch while Mary Akinde anchored the interior, scoring six points during the decisive run to help send the Cougars into the break with a 43–32 advantage.
Barton extended the lead to as many as 14 in the third quarter before Northwest began clawing back behind its outside shooting. The fourth quarter opened with a jolt as the Tigers drained back-to-back three-pointers in the first 30 seconds, trimming the deficit to eight. Barton answered immediately, rattling off the next six points, highlighted by Akinde's mid-range finish and Regina Donanu's trip to the free throw line, restoring a double-digit cushion at 72–58.
Northwest refused to fold, stringing together a 7–0 run midway through the quarter to pull within seven. Once again, Barton responded. Akinde finished through contact on the interior and Donanu converted in transition to stretch the margin back to 11 with just over two minutes remaining. The Tigers made one final push, scoring five straight to close within six at 76–70 with 1:04 left, but Barton did just enough at the stripe, converting 4-of-6 free throws in the final minute to secure the Cougars' 11th straight win in the series.
The Cougars improve to 9–10 in Jayhawk Conference play and 11–14 overall, while Northwest drops to 2–16 in league and 2-16 on the season. Barton heads back to the road for another two-game swing beginning Saturday with a 2:00 p.m. tip at Garden City Community College, followed by Wednesday's trip to Butler Community College.
Barton shot 29-of-52 (55.8%) from the floor and 6-of-10 (60.0%) from three-point range, while Northwest finished at a 45.0% clip, including 13-of-29 (44.8%) from beyond the arc to match their season high made three-pointers.
Akinde delivered a monster performance, pouring in a career-high 26 points on 12-of-19 shooting while grabbing 17 rebounds for her fourth straight and 10th double-double of the year, helping Barton to a plus-19 advantage on the glass and an 18-point edge in the paint.
Greer provided the spark off the bench with a career high 16 points on 5-of-6 shooting, knocking down 4-of-5 from long range to match her personal best while also contributing three assists, two steals, and a block. Donanu finished with 12 points and seven assists, while Alaina Eck added 12 points on 4-of-5 shooting and Christal Long chipped in nine points and four rebounds in just nine minutes. Mersadie Spray finished with three points while adding 6 rebounds and a career high 5 assists.
Zarria Thomas paced the Tigers with a career-high 29 points, connecting on 7-of-10 from beyond the arc. Taisiia Vypovska added 15 points and six rebounds, while Marta Rodriguez contributed 10 points and a team-high six assists.