It was a struggle all night for the Barton women’s basketball team. From the opening tip, Barton could not find a flow on the offensive end. Something the Cougars usually do quite well at the friendly confines of the Barton Gym.
But thanks in large part to turnovers, the Cougars scored their second lowest total at home this season in a 67-61 loss to upstart Pratt in Jayhawk West play. It was just the third time Pratt won at the Barton Gym in 40 tries.
It was Barton’s first loss at home this season.
Barton is now 11-5 overall and 4-3 in the West. Pratt, winners of just three games all of last year, is 13-3 overall and 6-2 in the West, sitting in third place.
“It took us a quarter to get going,” Coach Alan Clark said. “That was enough to get us in a situation where we were playing from behind nearly the entire way.”
It was a first quarter to forget for Barton as things started sluggish right away.
The Cougars committed five turnovers before they made their first shot three minutes in. It was just the second shot Barton got off in falling behind 6-0.
Barton turned the ball over three more times as the Beavers built an 11-2 with 5:23 left in the first quarter. At that point Barton had eight turnovers and was on pace for a 64 turnover night.
After cutting it to 11-5 on a Richelle Turney 3-pointer, Pratt scored the next six to take a double digit lead, 17-5.
Pratt beat the buzzer to end the quarter and led 19-8 after one. Barton hit just 2-of-9 shots and turned the ball over 11 times in the opening 10 minutes.
The start to the second quarter was better for the Cougars. Barton scored five points in the first minute as Turney hit another trey. When Taylor Regan hit a pair of free throws with 7:55 to play, the Cougars were on a 9-0 run and had cut the lead to 19-17.
Fatou Ndao tied the game and was fouled with 3:29 left. Her free throw gave Barton its first lead of the game, 26-25. But those would be the final points for Barton in the half as Pratt took a 30-26 lead to intermission.
It was a half that saw the Cougars turn the ball over 16 times resulting in 16 points for the Beavers. Those turnovers also allowed Pratt to get off 15 more shots than Barton.
Barton scored just four points in the opening four minutes of the third period as the Beavers extended their lead to 38-30.
A lengthy scoring drougth by the Beavers allowed Barton to put together a 7-0 run over four minutes to make it a 38-37 game. Pratt led 44-38 after three.
Barton took its second lead of the game when Miller knocked down a transition trey from Turney for a 48-47 lead with 5:41 to play as the Cougars looked to finally find their offensive flow with 10 points in the first four-plus minutes of the final period.
But Pratt answered once again. When Jazmin George hit a 3-pointer with 3:46 left, Pratt led 55-50.
The Cougars would not mount a serious challenge after that.
The biggest difference in the game was the turnover issue for Barton. The Cougars,while better after the first quarter, still turned the ball over 25 times that resulted in 26 points for Pratt. Barton scored 14 points off 13 Pratt turnovers.
“The points off turnovers was big,” Coach Clark said. “Most of that was in the first half but that was the difference in the game.”
Turney tossed in a career high to lead the Cougars. The freshman from California scored 20. Miller added 12 and Regan 10. Irene Chukwudi led Barton with 10 rebounds.
Courtney Cleveland led three Beavers in double figures with 18 points.
Barton wil travel to Dodge City Wednesday for a 5:30 p.m. tip against the Conquistadors.
PRATT 67, BARTON 61
Pratt 19 11 14 23 – 67
Barton 8 18 12 23 – 61
PRATT (13-3, 6-2) –George 5-9 0-0 12, Tipens 2-5 0-0 5, Alexander 2-3 0-0 4, Cleveland 7-21 2-2 18, Douvier 4-12 2-2 11, Tullis 0-1 4-10 4, McElrath 2-7 5-8 9, Anderson 0-1 0-0 0, Sanchez 0-2 0-0 0, Pickett 2-4 0-1 4. Totals 24-65 13-23 67.
BARTON (11-5, 4-3)–White 1-1 0-0 2, Stapleton 1-10 4-6 6, Regan 2-3 6-8 10, Miller 4-9 0-0 12, Chukwudi 1-4 0-0 2, Turney 8-16 1-2 20, Keith 0-1 0-0 0, Ndao 3-7 1-1 7, Davis 0-1 2-2 2, Nichols 0-0 0-0 0. Totals 20-52 14-19 61.
3-pointers–P 6-22 (George 2-3, Cleveland 2-8, Tippens 1-2, Douvier 1-6, Alexander 0-1, Anderson 0-1, Sanchez 0-1), BC 7-20 (Miller 4-9, Turney 3-7, Keith 0-1, Stapleton 0-3). Rebounds–P 34 (Cleveland 7), Barton 44 (Chukwudi 10). Assists–Pratt 10 (McElrath, Tippens 3), BC 12 (Regan 3, Stapleton 3). Steals–P 13 (Alexander 5), BC 5 (5 with 1). Blocks–P 3 (Cleveland 2), BC 4 (Chukwudi 3). TO–P 13, BC 25. Fouled out–Douvier, Pratt.
JAYHAWK WEST WOMEN
Hutchinson 8-0 17-0
Seward County 6-1 14-2
Pratt 6-2 13-3
Barton 4-3 11-5
Dodge City 4-4 9-8
Garden City 4-4 9-8
Colby 2-6 7-9
NW Tech 0-8 0-16
JAYHAWK EAST WOMEN
Butler 7-2 16-2
Cowley 6-3 14-4
Cloud County 5-4 12-6
Neosho County 3-5 6-12
Independence 3-6 8-8
Coffeyville 2-7 3-15
Allen County 1-6 3-14
SATURDAY
Butler 68, Garden City 58
Hutchinson 83, Cowley 69
Independence 85, Colby 47
Pratt 60, Cloud 44
Coffeyville 55, Dodge City 49
MONDAY
Butler 72, Cloud 56
Cowley 64, Coffeyville 57
Dodge City 51, Colby 43
Hutchinson 107, NW Tech 51
Independence 77, Neosho 54
Pratt 67, Barton 61
Seward 68, Garden City 60
WEDNESDAY
Barton at Dodge City
Butler at Allen
Coffeyville at Cloud
Garden City at Hutchinson
Neosho at Cowley
NW Tech at Colby
Seward at Pratt
