The Barton Community College women's basketball team closed out its Florida trip in winning fashion early Saturday afternoon, using a fast start and steady finish to defeat Hillsborough College 68-64 in St. Petersburg, Florida.
Capping a perfect 2-0 trip in the Sunshine State following Friday's 52-51 victory over host St. Petersburg, the Cougars move to 2-2 on the year while the Hawks suffer their first blemish of the season, falling to 2-1 overall.
Barton will now set its sights on Friday's home opener inside the newly renovated Fleske Fieldhouse at 5:30 p.m. in the opening day of the Cougar Booster Club Classic against Grayson College, before concluding the weekend Saturday with Redlands Community College.
The Cougars came out firing, scoring the game's opening five points to eventually build a 24-13 lead at the end of the first quarter.
Hillsborough countered late in the second frame, using a 9-0 run to grab its only lead of the afternoon at 34-32. The momentum was short-lived, as Regina Donanu answered with a personal 5-0 stretch to swing the lead back Barton's way for good, sending the Cougars into the locker room up 37-34.
Sustaining that momentum out of the break, Barton opened the third quarter on an 8-0 run to restore a double-digit margin and lead by as many as 12 midway through the period. The Hawks continued to chip away, drawing within three late in the third, but the Cougars against had the response early in the fourth, scoring the first four points to push the lead back to nine.
Barton sustained the control, never letting Hillsborough back within four over the final minutes to close out the 68-64 victory and cap a perfect 2-0 weekend trip in Florida.
Friday's Recap vs St. PetersburgThe Barton Community College women's basketball team opened its Florida road swing in comeback fashion Friday evening, erasing a halftime deficit to edge St. Petersburg College 52-51 inside the Titan Arena in St. Petersburg, Florida.
The victory snaps the Cougars' 0-2 start to the season, improving Barton to 1-2 overall, while the Titans drop to 0-2 on the year.
Trailing 29-23 at the halftime break, the Cougars utilized a strong third-quarter surge, outscoring St. Petersburg 17-10 to secure a narrow 40-39 lead that held over the final 10 minutes to complete the second-half comeback and secure their first win of the campaign.