It was not a second half to write home about. In fact it was a second half to pretty much forget about.
Either way, it was a second half that cost the Barton women’s basketball team a shot at its first Jayhawk Conference win.
Barton managed just 15 second half points as Butler used a big second half Saturday afternoon to pull away for a 63-43 win at the Power Plant in El Dorado.
The loss gave the Cougars a 0-2 mark in the early stages of the Jayhawk Conference season. Barton is 8-5 overall. Butler is now 1-1 in the Jayhawk and 11-2 overall.
Barton led by as many as seven points in the opening half and held a slim 28-26 lead at halftime.
It disappeared quickly in the second half. Barton put up just six points in the third period. The first basket kept the Cougars around – a 3-pointer by Keneisha Winfrey midway through the period, cutting the Butler lead to 35-31. A Megan Jirak free throw made it 35-32 and when Jirak scored on a jumper with 1:26 to play in the third, Barton trailed just 40-34.
But Butler closed out the period on a 5-0 run for a double digit lead heading into the final period.
Butler started the final period on a 7-0 and by the time Barton had its first points on the fourth quarter – another Winfrey trey – the game was all but over. By that time Butler had built a 52-34 lead on Barton with seven minutes left in the game.
Barton made just 5-of-25 shots in the second half, including a 3-for-17 effort on 3-pointers. Butler, meanwhile, shot better than 40 percent from the floor and outscored Barton 37-15 after intermission.
Winfrey paced the Cougars with 15 points while Jirak added 10.
The Cougars will have their hands full once again in the final game before the break. Cowley College will come the Barton Gym Saturday for an afternoon contest with the Cougars.
The Tigers are 3-0 in the Jayhawk – one of three unbeaten teams along with 2-0 Coffeyville and Garden City. Cowley already has a win over Seward County and Cloud County and are 12-2 overall this season.
Tip for the game will be 1:30 p.m.