Coming off a loss isn’t really something to write home about.
Coming off a loss against the National Junior College Athletic Assiciation’s No. 1-ranked team by less than 10 points in a game where nobody counted you out until the final seconds ticked off might just be.
Barton Community College head women’s basketball coach Carter Kruger said he’s seen some differences in his team during practices since the Lady Cougars fell 65-56 at No. 1 Hutchinson.
“I think I’ve seen a little bit more focus,” Kruger said. “We’ve seen that when you work hard and play hard, it pays off.”
More than the focus, Kruger said his team has gotten its attitude back.
“I think we’re back to where we were in mid-November,” Kruger said. “We played with a hard edge, like they had a chip on their shoulder. I started seeing that in the practices leading up to the Hutch game.”
Tonight, the Lady Cougars challenge Colby at Kirkman Activity Center at 5:30. The men’s game follows at 7:30.
The LT & Sheila Fleske Court will be christened tonight as well.  
The Lady Trojans are 6-14 overall, 0-6 in Kansas Jayhawk Community College Conference Western Division play.
Barton is 11-7, 1-4.
“I think this game is an opportunity for us if we approach it right,” Kruger said. “We can have success. We have to remember we only have one more win in the conference than they do.”
The Lady Cougars do average 15.3 more points per game than Colby.
Both teams have just one player averaging in double figures.
The Lady Trojans have Agnese Aramina, who averages 10.6 points per game.
The Lady Cougars are led by Ashton Bruner’s 10.4 points-per-game average.
Their No. 2 scorers are pretty even, too, in Shantydra Arnold (9.7) for Colby, and Blair Bloomfield (9.6) for Barton.
Where Barton may have an advantage is its No. 3 scorer Erin Copeland (9.2).
“Ever since the conference games started, Erin’s been scoring well for us,” Kruger said. “She’s been hitting some shots for us.
“We also expect Taschell Phillips to be a big points scorer for us. We felt like she had the abilities to average double figures like she did against Hutchinson.”