Coming up empty through the opening nine minutes Wednesday night left the Barton Community College women's basketball team chasing the game from the outset in a 70–51 loss at No. 3 Dodge City Community College.
Dropping to 4–9 in conference play and 6–13 overall, Barton now turns its focus to snapping a three-game slide Saturday with a 5:30 p.m. tip hosting Cloud County Community College at Fleske Fieldhouse. Dodge City remains atop the Jayhawk standings, improving to 12–1 in league play and 17–1 overall.
It took Barton more than nine minutes to dent the scoreboard, as Dodge City opened with the game's first 13 points before consecutive Regina Donanu mid-range jumpers trimmed the deficit to 13–4 late in the opening quarter.
The Cougars cut the margin to eight early in the second frame, but that would be as close as they would get the rest of the evening.
Dodge City carried a 15-point lead into the halftime break and maintained a double-digit cushion throughout the third quarter before stretching the margin to 20 early in the fourth. Barton produced a handful of four-point spurts down the stretch but was unable to mount a sustained push, suffering its ninth straight loss in the series.
Barton shook off 30 percent shooting in the first half to connect at a 51.7 percent clip over the final 20 minutes, finishing at 40.7 percent overall, but came up empty from beyond the arc on 0-for-9 shooting and managed a season-low 3-of-13 effort at the free-throw line.
Dodge City finished at 41.7 percent from the floor while knocking down 11 three-pointers on 34 attempts, spread across seven players, outscoring Barton by 33 points from deep. The Conquistadors also went 9-of-11 at the charity stripe.
Barton's offense ran through Donanu, who poured in 24 points on 12-of-19 shooting while adding seven rebounds. Inside, Mary Akinde delivered 10 points and 11 boards for her sixth double-double of the season, helping the Cougars post a plus-7 advantage on the glass.
Dodge City placed five in double-figures, led by Savi Mi's 17 points off the bench. Manuela Piljevic added 14 points, with Jade Celerier and Saje Evans contributing 10 points each.