Freshman guard Ashton Bruner turned in a double-double with 24 points and 16 rebounds, leading the Barton Community College women to a 79-59 win over Neosho County on Saturday night in the Best Western Angus Inn/Cougar Booster Club Thanksgiving Basketball Classic at Kirkman Activity Center.
Bruner was relatively dormant in the first half, missing four of her five shots from the floor and scoring only four points. But the McPherson High School product attacked the basket time and again in the second half, hitting all seven of her shots to finish 8-for-12 from the field. She was also 8-for-12 on free throws.
“She’s really good at getting to the rim,” Barton head coach Carter Kruger said of Bruner. “That’s something that we count on her to do against any defense that we see. We want her to be aggressive and get to the basket and get to the free-throw line.
“It’s almost one of those things where she has to drive and miss a couple shots to get her bearings. Ashton has really come on in the last few weeks and she had 16 rebounds, too.”
Barton sophomore guard Blair Bloomfield added 17 points, including 14 in the first half, as the Lady Cougars built up a 33-22 halftime lead and then coasted in the second half to improve to 7-2 on the season. Bloomfield finished 6 for 11 from the floor, including 2-for-5 on 3-pointers.
“When she makes her mind up that she’s going to shoot the ball and be aggressive on the offensive end, she’s pretty good,” Kruger said of Bloomfield. “I think that’s something we can see on a consistent basis.”
Barton sophomore forward Ta’Kerra Williams added 13 points on 5-for-7 shooting, as the Lady Cougars shot 65.2 percent from the floor in the second half and finished 27 for 49 on the night, including 4 for 11 on 3-pointers.
“The last couple games we’ve been off shooting the ball,” Kruger said. “We’ve like to be consistent with that, whether it’s a layup, a mid-range shot or a 3-pointer.”
Christina Sheppard and Ashley Gorman scored 10 points apiece to lead Neosho County, which dropped to 3-5. The Lady Panthers are coached by Kelley Newton. He played for Kelvin Sampson at Oklahoma in the late 1990s.
Barton led the entire game, paced early by Bloomfield.
The Lady Cougars jumped out to a 5-0 edge at the outset after guard Payton Scheer nailed a 3-pointer and Williams scored inside off an entry pass from point guard Erin Copeland.
BCC then held a 7-4 advantage after Williams scored off a outback of her own miss, and the teams traded baskets over the next three minutes before the Lady Panthers’ Danielle Randle converted a three-point play to carve the margin to 11-9 with 11:28 remaining before halftime.
At that juncture, the host school went on a decisive run to seize command, going on a 9-1 run for a 20-10 lead, capped by Williams’ basket off a feed from Bruner on the break, a Bloomfield 3 and Kailai Brantner’s basket from near the free-throw line.
The Lady Cougars followed that up by finishing the half with a 13-2 outburst, capped by Bloomfield scoring the final five points.
JUCO BASKETBALL
Best Western Angus Inn/Cougar Booster Club Classic
WOMEN
Saturday
At Great Bend
Kirkman Activity Center
Barton Community College 79,
Neosho County 59
NEOSHO COUNTY (3-5)
Kendra Dougherty 0-3 0-0 0, Ashley Gorman 5-8 0-0 10, Brandae Carroll 3-12 0-1 6, Danielle Randle 2-7 0-0 4, Alexis Hafenstein 0-9 1-2 1, Christina Sheppard 1-5 8-8 10, Shanice Palmer 2-6 4-5 8, Ashley Grant 2-3 2-5 6, Cerissa McMillan 0-6 0-2 0, Katrina Farmer 4-5 0-0 8, Katie Gorman 1-3 4-6 6. Totals 20-67 19-29 59.
BARTON (7-2)
Payton Scheer 4-6 3-3 13, Ashton Bruner 8-12 8-12 24, Blair Bloomfield 6-11 3-4 17, Ta'Kerra Williams 5-7 3-8 13, Erin Copeland 0-1 0-0 0, Kailai Branter 2-2 0-0 4, Jackie Bueno 1-2 0-1 2, Tomiya Graham 0-0 0-0 0, Jennifer Allende 0-1 0-0 0, Taschell Phillips 0-2 0-0 0, Taylor Mayes 0-2 0-0 0, Brandy Winbush 0-0 0-0 0, Kelsey Keith 1-3 4-4 6. Totals 27-49 21-32 79.
Halftime — Barton 33, Neosho County 22. Three-point goals — Barton 4-11 (Bloomfield 2-5, Scheer 2-4, Keith 0-2); Neosho 0-12 (Hafenstein 0-5, McMillan 0-4, Pamer 0-2, Dougherty 0-1). Total fouls — Barton 27, Neosho 24. Fouled out — None. Rebounds — Barton 41 (Bruner 16, Bloomfield 7, Williams 5); Neosho 37 (Carroll 7, A. Gorman 6, K. Gorman 5). Assists — Barton 17 (Copeland 6, Williams 3, Bruner 3); Neosho 10 (Palmer 4). Turnovers — Barton 27, Neosho County 23.
