In his first three games as women’s head basketball coach at Barton Community College, Darin Spence has seen his team face two extremes, along with a close game in between.
Spence, the former New Mexico State University coach, who was hired in August, watched his team dismantle the Bethany junior varsity 81-43 last Tuesday night at Kirkman Activity Center.
Over the weekend, the Cougars (1-2) traveled Midland, Texas, for the Midland College Tip-off Classic. They lost big to NJCAA third-ranked Midland, 84-36 on Friday night, followed by a narrow 58-50 loss at the hands of Cochise (Ariz.) College on Saturday afternoon.
Tonight at 6, Barton plays host to the Tabor JV. The men’s game follows at around 8.
“The three opponents were all so different and the level of talent was all so different,” Spence said. “We’re not at full-strength, so that doesn’t help us.
“Midland is ranked No. 3 in the country and they’re every bit of that. They’re head-and-shoulders above us in depth, size and experience. We were never in that game.”
It was a different story the next day, although they still ended up on the short end of the stick.
“We could have won the game,” Spence said. “We had a six-point lead on Cochise late and then we turned the ball over on five straight possessions. That game was a winnable game for us, and it was disappointing that we let it slip away.
“Can we learn from it? We’ll see. They want to get better and they’re working hard.”
Barton, which finished 21-11 last season, lost its top two scorers from last season. Freshman Christina Caddy transferred to the NCAA Division-I ranks in Tennessee Tech, and sophomore Alisha Fanshier, the team’s second-leading scorer, signed at Baker University in Baldwin City to play under former assistant Ben Lister.
Spence, who has Carter Kruger as his first-year assistant coach, lost guard Shea Shoemaker, a 5-foot-11 sophomore guard to a broken left hand, although she’s expected to return to action soon.
“She has had her hand in a cast for four weeks now and I think she’ll get the cast off on Wednesday,” Spence said, “so we might get her back with some limited action this coming weekend at the Hutchinson Classic.
“She’s got a slight fracture in her left hand and (surgeons) went in and fixed it. She’ll be back and we miss her. She will help us.”
Barton takes on Neosho County on Friday at 1:30 p.m., followed by a 1:30 game on Saturday against Marshalltown.
Raven Anderson, a 5-9 redshirt freshman from East Orange, N.J., has not been cleared to play and is working her way to becoming eligible for the second semester in January.
“Raven is trying to get eligible and she’ll help us,” Spence said of the guard-forward. “It’s unfortunate that she didn’t get her stuff taken care of. With out those two (Anderson and Shoemaker), it hurts us.”
The Cougars should be bolstered by returning players Dionne Harris, a 5-11 forward-center; Netanya Jackson, a 6-4 sophomore center; and 5-7 sophomore shooting guard Devan Boeger. One of the top newcomers is 5-6 freshman point guard Erin Copeland, out of Kansas City, Kan.
One of three current BCC players who played in high school at Great Bend, Boeger is joined by freshman guards Jennifer Allende and Cassidy Tutak.
Barton Community College
2011-12 Basketball
WOMEN
1 Courtney Waldschmidt 5-5 freshman guard Ellis
3 Cassidy Tutak 5-7 freshman guard Great Bend
5 Devan Boeger 5-7 sophomore guard Great Bend
10 Shea Shoemaker 5-11 sophomore guard Minneapolis, Kan.
12 Jennifer Allende 5-5 freshman guard Great Bend
15 Raven Anderson 5-9 freshman guard East Orange, N.J.
20 Linda Hamilton 5-11 freshman forward East Orange, N.J.
21 Crystal Fulton 5-8 freshman forward Detroit
22 Cerissa McMillan 5-9 sophomore point guard Salina
23 Blair Bloomfield 6-0 freshman forward Clifton
24 Taschell Phillips 5-9 freshman guard Washington, D.C.
30 Netanya Jackson 6-4 sophomore center Murfreesboro, Tenn.
32 Ta’Kerra Williams 5-9 freshman forward New Haven, Ct.
33 Dionne Harris 5-11 sophomore forward/center Philadelphia, Pa.
34 Erin Copeland 5-6 freshman point guard Kansas City, Kan.
