After dropping a heart-breaker in overtime to No. 8 Seward then getting handled easily by No. 3 Hutchinson, the Barton women’s basketball team finally got a chance to step outside the Top 20.
With that came a chance for the Cougars to snap that brief 2-game skid. But the Cougars foe, Garden City, was a team Barton hadn’t beaten at the Barton Gym in three years.
It didn’t reach four years.
A big second quarter run got the Cougars back in the game and a dominating second half by Taylor Regan carried them to the win as the Cougars grabbed a hard-earned 83-74 victory over the Broncbusters.
Barton remains in contention for third in the West with the win. The Cougars are now 8-5 in conference and 15-7 overall. Garden falls to 6-8 and 11-12.
Seward knocked Hutchinson from the ranks of the unbeaten with a resounding 70-54 win at the Sports Arena in Hutch. Both teams are now 13-1 in the West. Pratt is just ahead of Barton at 9-5.
“It was a good win,” Coach Alan Clark said. “It keeps us in the top half of the conference, which is what we wanted to accomplish.”
Garden City jumped out to a lead in the opening quarter and by the midway point had doubled up Barton at 14-7. By the end of the first, the Broncbusters led 27-17.
“We can’t keep falling behind after the first quarter,” Coach Clark said. “Against really good teams, that can fatal.”
The lead grew to 12 just 12 seconds into the second period. Those would be the final points Garden City would score for nearly eight minutes.
A 9-0 run over four minutes got the lead down to 29-26 after a pair of Regan free throws.
A jumper and pair of free throws by D’Shonda Hunt gave Barton a 30-29 with 3:15 left before half. Two more Hunt free throws extended the run to 15-0 and the lead to 32-29.
Garden finally broke the ice with a Sarah Alsabbaheen shot in the paint with 2:18 left before half – a stretch of 7:30 off the clock between points.
A pair of Mallory Miller treys highlighted the final two minutes as Barton went to half on top 41-37.
A sluggish, sometimes sloppy third period saw Regan start to put her imprint on the game. The Albert sophomore scored 11 points in the period.
But a late run by Garden City gave the Broncbusters a 61-57 lead into the final 10 minutes as Garden sophomore Talia Roberts scored 15 in the period of the Broncbusters.
Barton quickly took a 62-61 lead in the final period on a Miller trey and a Regan layup just more than one minute in.
After falling behind with four minutes left in the game, it was Regan to the rescue again. This time a traditional 3-point play gave Barton a 69-68 lead and a new career-high.
After a Roberts 3-pointer, Regan was back to the line for two more points and the game was tied at 71-all with 3:21 left.
The first bucket of the game for Conner Keith – a deep 3 – gave Barton a 74-71 lead with 2:35 left. Keith would add a pair of free throws and Barton had a 76-71 lead with just two minutes to play.
Things got dicey after Regan picked up her fifth foul with 1:58 to play. But her teammates had her back. A Jaylin Stapleton drive and dish to Irene Chukwudi for her only basket gave Barton its biggest lead of the game at 78-71 with just 1:21 to play.
The Cougars would secure the win at the free throw line.
Regan finished with that career-high of 26 points – 22 in the second half.
“They tried to physical with her but they had a smaller player on her,” Coach Clark said. “She was able to take advantage of that.”
Miller hit four treys to finish with 12 while Stapleton added 10. Regan had six rebounds and Stapleton seven assists and six rebounds as well.
Roberts had 26 for Garden while Daz’Monique Johnson scored 17 and grabbed 12 rebounds.
Barton will now slip in a make-up game Monday when Allen County visits the Barton Gym for a 5:30 pm tip. The Cougars will start their second time through the West Wednesday with a trip to Pratt.
BARTON 83, GARDEN CITY 74
Garden 27 10 24 13 – 74
Barton 17 24 16 26 – 83
Garden (11-12, 6-8)–Bellany 4-12 0-0 11, Houston 0-6 0-0 0, Roberts 7-18 10-12 26, D Johnson 5-10 7-7 17, Pajeaud 3-4 0-0 6, Alsabbaheen 2-6 0-0 5, Boyce 2-4 3-3 7, Ford 0-4 0-0 0, Henry 0-2 0-0 0, Boyd 1-4 0-0 2. Totals – 24-70 20-22 74.
BARTON (15-7, 8-5)–White 0-5 0-0 0, Stapleton 2-10 5-6 10, Regan 8-12 10-11 26, Miller 4-8 0-0 12, Chukwudi 1-3 0-0 2, Turney 1-5 0-0 3, Hunt 1-3 6-6 8, Keith 1-1 6-8 9, Ndao 0-0 0-0 0, Dirks 3-3 0-0 8, Davis 0-0 0-0 0, Nichols 2-3 0-0 5. Totals – 23-53 27-31 83.
3-pointers–GC 6-23 (Bellany 3-8, Roberts 2-8, Alsabbaheen 1-5, Boyce 0-1, Houston 0-1), Barton 10-22 (Miller 4-7, Dirks 2-2, Keith 1-1, Nichols 1-1, Turney 1-3, Stapleton 1-4, White 0-4). Rebounds–GC 38 (D Johnson 12), Barton 40 (Regan, Stapleton 6). Assists–GC 8 (D Johnson 4), Barton 18 (Stapleton 7). Steals–GC 7 (D. Johnson 3), Barton 5 (Stapleton 2). Blocks–Barton 4 (4 with 1). Turnovers – GC 15, Barton 19. Fouled Out–Johnson, GC; Regan, Barton.
JAYHAWK WEST WOMEN
Hutchinson 13-1 22-1
Seward County 13-1 21-2
Pratt 9-5 16-6
Barton 8-5 15-7
Dodge City 7-7 12-11
Garden City 6-8 11-12
Colby 3-11 8-14
NW Tech 0-14 0-22
JAYHAWK EAST WOMEN
Butler 12-2 21-2
Cowley 9-5 18-6
Cloud County 7-7 14-9
Independence 7-7 12-9
Neosho County 5-9 8-17
Coffeyville 4-10 5-18
Allen 1-12 3-20
SATURDAY–Barton 83, Garden City 74; Seward 70, Hutchinson 54; Dodge City 79, NW Tech 52; Pratt 50, Colby 44; Butler 72, Coffeyville 58; Neosho 91, Allen 62; Independence 83, Cowley 77
MONDAY–Allen at Barton
WEDNESDAY–Barton at Pratt; Coffeyville at Cowley; Dodge City at Colby; NW Tech at Hutchinson; Neosho at Independence; Butler at Cloud; Garden City at Seward
