DeleteThe Barton Community College Lady Cougars are 16-10 overall, 6-6 in the Kansas Jayhawk Community College Conference Western Division.
They are coming off a win 60-53 win over Butler.
Now they face the daunting task of challenging the No. 2 team in the country — on the road.
Barton takes on Hutchinson on Saturday night at 5:30 at the Sports Arena.
“It’s a game that they’re supposed to win,” Barton head coach Darin Spence said of the Blue Dragons. “They are supposed to beat us. They are supposed to beat us bad, so you know what? We can just go in there and swing away.
“Just go in there and what’s the Friday Night Light’s deal? Clear eyes, full hears can’t lose. You know, one of those deals and you just go in there and just play.”
Dionne Harris leads Barton in scoring with a 13.2 points per game average. She also leads in rebounds per game with 7.2.
Barton’s 6-foot freshman forward, Blair Bloomfield, has emerged as a point producer over the last couple weeks.
Bloomfield  averages 9.5 points per game thus far. In the last five games, Bloomfield has scored 68 points (13.6 per game), including a double-double against Seward Countywith 22 points and 10 rebounds.
Barton played Hutchinson at home on Jan. 18, a 75-51 loss.
“We did some good things against them here,” Spence said. “They just had that 12-point spurt at the start of the game. But it’s tough. It’s going to be a tough game. They’re driven. They’re on a mission to keep winning. They’re the No. 2 team in the country.
“But we’ve been on the court with them before. We know what we can do. We need a couple of good days to prepare and just go in there and swing away.”
Hutchinson is undefeated — 24-0 overall, 11-0 in the conference.
The Blue Dragons have four players averaging in double figures, led by Laura Patrick, who averages 13.5 points and 4.3 rebounds per game.
Jackie Patterson averages 11.6 points and 8.0 rebounds. Chelsea Small averages 11.0 and Alysse Barlow averages 10.3.
Regardless of the outcome of Saturday night’s game, Spence said that he just wants to finish the regular season strong.
“We’ve talked about, we’re on a five-game schedule right now,” Spence said of the last five games of the season. “We talked about goals, we want to be 4-1 in this stretch. That’s our goals.
“If we do that, that puts us at 19 wins going into the playoffs. So, you know, we’re just finding a way and trying to work hard.”