It took all of a six minute stretch in the first half to determine a winner in the Jayhawk Conference opener.
It was that stretch of basketball that put the Barton women in total control of its conference opener against Colby Saturday night at the Barton Gym.
That stretch keyed the Cougars to a 102-65 win over Colby. Barton is now 1-0 in the Jayhawk and 4-1 overall. Colby is 0-1 and 2-3.
“We shot the ball really well,” Coach Alan Clark said. “We executed the offense and pushed the ball. It was a good win for.”
Midway through the first quarter, Barton had a 15-9 lead. One minute into the second quarter, it was 32-9.
It started with a jumper from sophomore Michaela Jellison. Jaylin Stapleton hit a lay-up then Natasha Dolinsky added a 3-pointer and a pair of free throws to make it 24-9 with just less than three minutes left in the opening quarter.
Juliana Chagas hit a free throw and a jumper. Stapleton added a jumper give Barton a 29-9 lead after one. Stapleton added a 3-pointer to start the second period and Barton led 32-9 just 12 seconds into the second period.
Colby would not get the lead under 20 the rest of the way. The lead hit 30 early in the third quarter and eventually 40, 77-37, late in the period. The biggest lead of then night was 49 at 96-47 with just less than six minutes left in the game.
Four Cougars scored in double figures led by Stapleton, the reigning conference player of the week. Stapleton, a freshman from Meade, tossed in 17 points – 15 of those coming in the decisive first half. She also had a game-high eight assists.
Jellison added 16 points on 7-of-11 shooting from the floor. Mallory Miller tossed in 12 on four 3-pointers and Dolinksy finished with 10.
Kaitlyn Guillory scored 19 to lead all scorers for Colby. Jordan Dixon added 16.
The Cougars dominated the boards as well, winning the battle, 53-37. Fatou Ndao grabbed 12 rebounds to lead Barton followed by Otis-Bison freshman Taylor Regan with 10.
Barton’s offense has been in high gear five games into the season, scoring at least 78 points in four of its five outings. The Cougars are averaging 85.6 points per game and have now topped 100 twice.
Next up is a trip to Garden City Wednesday to take on the Broncbusters at the Perryman Center. It will be the first road game of the year for the Cougars. Garden is 0-1 in the conference after losing its opener at Butler, 77-53. Tip for the contest is set for 6 pm.
“We are a really young team,” Coach Clark said. “So this was a step for us, winning a conference game. The next step is going to be winning one on the road.”
Barton 102, Colby 65
Colby 9 22 12 22 – 65
Barton 29 29 22 22 – 102
Colby (2-3, 1-0) 65
Leonard 2-8 1-4 6, Guilllory 3-14 12-14 19, Itula 1-6 0-0 2, Woodward 3-9 3-3 11, Johnson 1-1 0-0 2, Dixon 6-14 3-5 16, Br. Bixenman 1-1 0-0 3, Rush 0-1 0-2 0, Blue 1-1 0-0 2, Chacon 0-1 0-0 0, Whitfield 1-2 0-0 2, Keltz 1-1 0-0 2, Ba. Bixenman 0-1 0-0 0. Totals – 20-63 19-28 65.
Barton (4-1, 1-0) 102
Chagas 1-2 3-4 5, Stapleton 7-13 2-2 17, Regan 4-8 1-1 9, Jellison 7-11 2-2 16, Chukwudi 3-3 1-2 7, Dixon 3-6 0-0 8, White 1-5 5-5 7, Ndao 4-10 0-2 8, Dirks 1-4 0-0 2, Dolinksy 3-5 2-2 10. Cirvian 0-2 0-0 0, Miller 4-12 0-0 12. Totals – 38-81 16-20 102.
3-pointers – Colby 6-21 (Woodward 2-6, Br. Bixenman 1-1, Guillory 1-3, Leonard 1-4, Dixon 1-5, Chacon 0-1, Whitfield 0-1); Barton 10-26 (Miller 4-10, Dolinksy 2-3, Dixon 2-4, Dirks 1-2, Stapleton 1-4, Cirvian 0-1, White 0-1).
Rebounds – Colby 37 (Guillory 10); Barton 53 (Ndao 12, Regan 10). Assists – Colby 8 (Leonard 4); Barton 28 (Stapleton 8). Steals – Colby 8 (Woodward 3); Barton 13 (Chagas 3, Dolinksy 3). Blocks – Colby 2 (Itula, Johnson); Barton 5 (Dirks 2)
Turnovers – Colby 34, Barton 13. Fouled Out – Guillory, Colby. Technicals – None.
