In a game that stayed within a possession deep into the fourth quarter, the Barton Community College women's basketball team saw Cowley College pull away late in a 56-51 loss on Hall of Fame Saturday evening inside the Fleske Fieldhouse.
The loss leaves the Cougars at 4-8 in conference play at the midway point and 6-12 overall, while the Tigers move to 6-6 in league action and 10-8 on the season. Barton will open the second half of Jayhawk play Wednesday night with a 5:30 p.m. road contest at No. 4 Dodge City Community College.
The Cougars endured a slow offensive start in the opening quarter, going scoreless over the opening 4:29 as Cowley jumped out to a 5-0 advantage. Trailing 10-4 with 3:25 remaining, Christal Long provided a spark down the stretch, scoring five straight points over the final 2:06 to draw Barton back within 10-9 at the first stanzas end.
Mersadie Spray's opening trey to start the second quarter kept momentum on the Cougars side, capping an 8-0 run and fiving Barton its first lead of the night at 18-16. The quarter stayed tight from there with three ties over the next five minutes before Regina Donanu sparked a personal 6-2 run with 1:07 remaining to match Barton's largest lead of the night at four. Cowley swung momentum back late, closing the half on a 5-0 spurt over the final 30 seconds to take a 23-22 edge into the break.
Out of the locker room, the teams traded baskets with four lead changes over the opening 2:14, with Keyona Hall's jumper at the 8:00 mark putting Barton in front for the final time at 26-25. Cowley seized control from there, capitalizing on 10 Barton turnovers in the third quarter to build a six-point cushion by the 3:01 mark. The Cougars stayed within striking distance, as Mary Akinde's three-point play and a Spray layup in the final minute trimmed the deficit to 43-41 heading into the fourth.
Cowley pushed the lead back to six early in the fourth before Barton answered with a 6-0 run, capped by a pair of perfect trips at the line from Long and an Alaina Eck layup to tie the game at 47 with 4:04 left. Momentum turned moments later, as a scoreless stretch and four Cougar turnovers fueled an 8-0 Tiger run that proved decisive down the stretch.
Finishing the night shooting 31.6 percent from the floor, Spray led a trio of Barton starters in double-figures with 12 points, adding three rebounds and two assists. Long followed with 11 points and seven rebounds, narrowly missing her second double-double of the season, while Donanu chipped in 10 points and six boards.
Despite having her two-game double-double streak snapped, Akinde controlled the glass with a career and game high 21 rebounds, seven coming on the offensive end, to go with four points.
Turnovers ultimately proved costly, as Barton's season-high 30 giveaways led to a 21-6 Cowley advantage in points off turnovers. The Tigers also held a six-point edge in points in the paint, offsetting Barton's plus-22 rebounding margin and plus-nine advantage in second-chance points.
Cowley was paced by Aniyah Burney, who delivered a game-high 21 points off the bench on 8-of-17 shooting. Mallory Jackson rounded out the double-figure scoring with 12 points and three rebounds, while joining three other Tigers with three-steals.