BY KEVIN PRICE
kprice@gbtribune.com
Apparently, drilling 3-pointers is contagious.
The Barton Community College women’s basketball team hit 7 of 12 treys in the first half to build a 43-35 lead, one that the Cougars did not relinquish in the final 20 minutes, upsetting Cloud County (14-6, 5-3) on Wednesday, 80-71.
Last week, Alisha Fanshier earned the honor of being the Kansas Jayhawk Community College Conference women’s basketball player of the week by hitting 11 of 16 3-pointers in two games, one against Colby and one on the road against Pratt.
Fanshier missed tying a Barton Community College record set by Ipek Turkylimaz and Kristine Silaraja in 2008 for 3s in a single game when she hit seven in the final half against Colby.
The Cougars (14-9, 6-3) finished the game 8 of 17 from beyond the arc.
It began with Fanshier, who finished the game with 16 points, draining a 3-pointer from the left baseline. Shea Shoemaker added two points and Dionne Harris got the ball beneath the basket and scored to give the Cougars an early 7-2 lead.
“She was player of the week, and it is tough to keep scoring 20 points,” Barton head coach Keith Ferguson said, “and for her to come in here and score 16. She’s getting a lot of attention. They were some of the best perimeter defenses and she kind of struggled tonight.
“When she hits that first 3, or even if it rims out, you know she’s ready to play.”
After that, Cloud closed the gap on a 3-pointer from Satavia Taylor, two free throws from Klara Wischer and a lay up from Fernanda Mansilla, tying the game at 11 at the 14:31 mark.
Cloud took a 25-19, but the Cougars found their offensive rhythm.
Cerissa McMillan, Christina Caddy, Raven Adams and Shoemaker each drained a 3-ball and Harris added two points after an offensive rebound to boost the Cougars on a 14-1 run, leaving the Thunderbirds trailing 33-26.
“We have the potential to do that,” Ferguson said of the 14-1 run. “We have the potential to really score a little bit, but it comes down to, we got to hold people. We were lucky enough that our offense was hitting pretty well. Usually Cloud’s a really good defensive team. So the fact that we could put up 80 against them is big.”
The Cougars continued to dominate, getting another big 3-pointer from Caddy, who finished the game with a team-leading 18 points, and McMillan, who added six points in eight minutes off the bench.
“(Caddy) was definitely in a funk,” Ferguson said. “I think they had a hard time guarding her when she was driving and penetrating, and Alisha did a great job getting to the free-throw line. I was really proud of our kids and how well they did.”
Caddy also hit 4 of 4 free throws.
To start the second half, the Cougars began to struggle, shooting 5-for-10 from the field and turning the ball over five times in the first eight minutes.
However, the Thunderbirds were unable capitalize, never taking the lead in the final period.
Barton finished the game shooting 22 of 26 from the free-throw line for 84.6 percent, led by Fanshier, who went 9 of 9 from the line.
Adams also had a big night, hitting all six of her free throws and finishing with 16 points.
“Our kids were really focused and I was impressed at how well they shot free throws,” Ferguson said. “They really stepped up, and they wanted that win. We thought we gave one away at Cloud, and so we had something to prove a little bit. So it was good to see.”
On Jan. 5, the Cougars lost to Cloud in Concordia, 66-56.
Netanya Jackson scored 10 points in 13 minutes off the bench as the fourth Barton player in double digits.
JUNIOR COLLEGE BASKETBALL
Kansas Jayhawk Community
College Conference
Western Division
At Great Bend
Kirkman Athletic Center
WOMEN
Wednesday
Barton Community College 80,
Cloud County 71
CLOUD (14-6, 5-3)
Daja DeHayward 4-11, 3-5 12, Klara Wischer 7-11 0-1 19, Fernanda Mansilla 2-7 1-5 6, Brittany Griswold 1-8 4-4 6, Satavia Taylor 7-19 2-5 18, Kylie Moore 0-0 0-0 0, Ivory Russell 3-4 2-4 8, Maggie Schuetz 1-4 0-0 2. Totals 25-64 15-22 71.
BARTON (14-9, 6-3)
Shea Shoemaker 2-2 1-2 6, Christina Caddy 6-12 4-4 18, Alisha Fanshier 3-8 9-9 16, Raven Adams 4-9 6-6 16, Dionne Harris 4-8 0-2 8, Devan Boeger 0-0 0-0 0, Cerissa McMillan 2-3 0-0 6, Jara Shoemaker 0-3 0-0 0, Netanya Jackson 4-7 2-3 10. Totals 25-52 22-26 80.
Halftime — Barton 43, Cloud 35. Three-point goals — Barton 8-17 (Caddy 2-3, McMillan 2-3, Adams 2-2, Fanshier 1-4, S. Shoemaker 1-1); Cloud 6-24 (DeHayward 3-5, Griswold 2-11, Mansilla 1-5). Rebounds — Cloud 40 (Wischer 13, Taylor 8); Barton 34 (Harris 5, J. Shoemaker 5, Jackson 4). Assists — Cloud 21 (Mansilla 6); Barton 15 (Fanshier 7, S. Shoemaker 3, Harris 3). Turnovers — Cloud 15, Barton 15.
