It looked like the Barton women’s basketball team was in the process of finding its stride.
After dropping four straight contests, including the first two of Jayhawk Conference play, Barton had knocked off No. 21 Hutchinson at home then battled No. 25 Independence to the wire on the road.
The Cougars appeared to be in the process of picking up another home win, leading Coffeyville by double digits in the third period.
Then the tide turned on the Cougars. A big run by Coffeyville changed the momentum of the contest and sent Barton to its fourth conference loss in five games.
Coffeyville used a big run through the end of the third and into the fourth to capture the Jayhawk Conference battle, 78-72.
“Giving up 78 points is just too much,” Coach Alan Clark said. “We put them at the free throw line 26 times. We can’t do that.”
The 78 points the Cougars gave up was the most all season.
Barton is now 1-4 in the and 4-7 overall. The Red Ravens are 4-2 and 10-2, sitting fifth in the Jayhawk.
A big second quarter put Barton on top in the battle. The Cougars trailed 21-19 into the second period and were down those same two points, 26-24, with 7:18 left.
What followed was a 13-0 run by Barton, highlighted by a trio of 3-pointers.
Lili Shubert started things with a layup with 6:24 left. A Jenni Nkem Womsi block keyed a break that resulted in a 3-pointer from Acorianna Lard for a 29-26 lead.
A couple possessions later it was Alissa Heskamp’s turn to knock one down from deep. The Spearville freshman buried a trey from in front of the Coffeyville bench to make it a 33-26 game with 4:35 left in the half.
Shubert hit a 3-pointer a minute later to give Barton a 10-point lead and Nkem Womsi put a lid on the 12-0 run with a free throw and a 37-26 lead.
The lead reached 12 after back-to-back treys from Morgan Meyers midway through the third period, 48-36.
Then the tide turned.
A 12-3 by the Red Ravens to end the period cut the Barton lead to a pair, 56-54.
Three times Coffeyville would tie it early in the fourth period. The first two Barton fought them off. The third time the Red Ravens put together another run.
Coffeyville took its first lead of the second half with 5:48 left in the game, 62-60. It reached 64-60 24 seconds later. That capped 28-12 run over 10 minutes proved to be the difference.
“We have to be able to play for 40 minutes,” Coach Clark said. “We played for 35 at Independence and for about 30 or whatever it was tonight.”
Barton wouldn’t catch them the rest of the way.
Five straight Faith Simpson free throws gave Coffeyville a 71-65 lead with 2:32 left.
But the Cougars had one more run in them. Brennan Kirchhoff ended the stretch with a runner in the lane 15 seconds later. Shubert cut it to 71-70 after hitting a driving layup and ensuing free throw with 1:45 left.
The momentum stayed with Barton after a charging foul sent Simpson to the bench with five fouls. But Barton couldn’t convert.
The Cougars had one last chance to tie the contest but Kirchhoff deep 3 just missed with 23 seconds to play.
The 72 points matched the highest output for Barton since the season opener.
Shubert led Barton with 17 points off the bench while Lard added 13, Meyers 12, and Kirchhoff 10. Nkem Wmosi had a big game with 10 points and 17 rebounds.
Dariauna Carter led all scorers with 18 for Coffeyville. Simpson had 11 points and 11 rebounds.
The Cougars will see if they can find their stride again hosting Cloud County Wednesday. The Thunderbirds 2-3 in the Jayhawk after a win against Pratt Saturday.
Tip is set for 5:30 pm.
Coffeyville 78, Barton 72
Coffeyville 21 9 24 24 - 78
Barton 19 18 19 16 - 72
Coffeyville 10-2, 4-2 (78)
Josey 3-7 0-0 7, Carter 5-15 6-6 18, Simpson 3-8 5-8 11, Cullom 4-14 5-6 13, Woods 2-2 1-1 5, Graham 1-2 1-2 3, Davis 1-5 0-0 2, Scott 0-2 0-0 0, Aeschliman 0-0 0-0 0, Conner 2-3 0-0 4, Wright 1-1 2-2 4, Banks 5-6 1-1 11. Totals 27-66 21-26 78.
Barton 4-7, 1-4 (72)
Lard 6-13 0-0 13, Kirchhoff 3-10 2-2 10, Meyers 5-9 0-0 12, Nkem Womsi 3-8 4-8 10, Hall 1-4 2-2 4, Shubert 6-13 1-1 17, Foxfall 0-1 1-2 1, Rumford 0-2 0-0 0, Schroer 0-0 0-0 0, Heskamp 1-4 2-2 5, Anderson 0-0 0-0 0. Totals 25-64 12-17 72.
3-pointers -- Coffeyville 3-13 (Carter 2-6, Josey 1-2, Simpson 0-1, Graham 0-1, Scott 0-1, Davis 0-2). Barton 10-26 (Shubert 4-8, Meyers 2-4, Kirchhoff 2-7, Heskamp 1-2, Lard 1-3, Foxhall 0-1, Rumford 0-1).
Rebounds - Coffeyville 40 (Simpson 11), Barton 42 (Nkem Womsi 17); Assists - Coffeyville 14 (Cullom 4), Barton 12 (Meyers 6). Steals - Coffeyville 9 (Carter 4), Barton 7 (Kirchhoff 5). Blocks - Coffeyville 4 (4 with 1), Barton 5 (Lard 2, Rumford 2).
Turnovers - Coffeyville 12, Barton 15; Fouled out - Simpson, Coffeyville. Technicals - None.
