EL DORADO — Butler Community College’s Jamillah Bonner gave the Barton Lady Cougars fits all night as she finished with a game-high 31 points.
The Lady Grizzlies forced Barton to commit 25 turnovers on their way to a 75-62 Kansas Jayhawk Community College Conference Western Division win at The Power Plant on Monday night.
“That’s the story of the game right there,” Barton head coach Carter Kruger said of the turnovers. “We turned the ball over too much. Anybody is going to lose if you turn the ball over that much, especially against them. They have such a great transition offense, they can turn those turnovers into offense really easily.”
Barton topples to 12-13 overall, 2-10 in the West. Butler improves to 19-6, 7-4.
A couple of 3-pointers from Blair Bloomfield helped the Lady Cougars hold an early four-point lead, but an 8-0 run put Butler on top.
The Lady Grizzlies got a pair of treys and a layup from Bonner to make it 26-21 with 8:10 remaining.
“She hit some jump shots, which is not her strength,” Kruger said of Bonner. “She’s a good player, and she’s really tough to handle.”
The Lady Cougars went cold, and trailed as much as 17 points in the first half. They were behind 45-31 at halftime.
Barton cut the lead to 53-44 on a couple of free throws from Copeland with 13:40 left in regulation, but that was as close as it could get.
Copeland finished 5-for-10 from 3-point range on her way to a career-high 20 points.
“When we played well tonight offensively and defensively, it was because of her,” Kruger said. “She has been getting better over the last six months, and I give her a lot of credit for that.”
Bloomfield scored 14 points, making 4 of 6 3-point attempts. Ashton Bruner added 12 points and a team-leading 10 rebounds for a double-double.
It will be “Pink Out Night” on Wednesday as the Lady Cougars host No. 1-ranked Hutchinson at Kirkman Activity Center. Barton hopes to load the stands with pink for breast cancer awareness.
“They’re a team that we battled with last time,” Kruger said of Barton’s 65-56 loss at Hutchinson on Jan. 16. “We expect a great crowd, and we’re expecting to do the same thing. We know they’re not made of metal, so we know what we can do against them.”
The women’s game starts at 5:30, followed by the men at 7:30.

                                                                              — Kevin Price

JUNIOR COLLEGE BASKETBALL
Kansas Jayhawk Community College Conference
Western Division

WOMEN

Monday

At El Dorado
The Power Plant

Butler Community College 75, Barton 62
BARTON (12-13, 2-10)
    Erin Copeland 6-15 3-3 20, Blair Bloomfield 5-10 0-0 14, Ashton Bruner 4-12 4-5 12, Taschell Phillips 2-8 3-4 7, Taylor Mayes 0-1 3-4 3, Kailai Brantner 0-6 3-4 3, Jackie Bueno 0-0 2-2 2, Ta’Kerra Williams 0-1 1-4 1. Totals 17-53 19-26 62.
BUTLER (19-6, 7-4)
    Jamillah Bonner 13-24 3-4 31, Shayla Williams 6-10 0-0 14, Ashlee Ivy 3-9 5-6 11, Samantha Satterlee 4-9 1-2 9, Tysia Manual 3-5 0-0 6, Bethany Howard 1-1 0-0 2, Carly Bettancourt 1-7 0-0 2, Katie Andersen 0-3 0-0 0, Aaliyah Rutledge 0-1 0-0 0, Chelsea Hodison 0-2 0-0 0. Totals 31-71 9-12 75.
    Halftime — Butler 45, Barton 31. Three-point goals — Barton 9-18 (Copeland 5-10, Bloomfield 4-6, Phillips 0-1, Brantner 0-1); Butler 4-22 (Bonner 2-5, Williams 2-6, Satterlee 0-1, Bettancourt 0-4, Andersen 0-3, Ivy 0-3). Rebounds — Barton 41 (Bruner 10); Butler 39 (Bonner 9). Assists — Barton 10 (Brantner 3); Butler 17 (Ivy 6, Bettancourt 6). Steals — Butler 17 (Bonner 4, Bettancourt 4); Barton 10 (Brantner 3, Copeland 3). Turnovers — Barton 25, Butler 15. Total fouls — Butler 18, Barton 14. Fouled out — None.