Another season of community college basketball starts tonight as Barton’s Highland Hotel/Pizza Hut Classic gets underway at Kirkman Activity Center.
The Lady Cougars face Midland College at 5:30. Barton is set to challenge Coffeyville at 5:30 on Saturday.
Sophomore Erin Copeland, a 5-foot-6 point guard, will look to lead the Lady Cougars on the court, however she may not have to play an average of 30.4 minutes per game like she did last season.
“She won’t play as many minutes as she had to last year,” BCC head coach Kruger said, “and a lot of those minutes that she will play will be less stress because I feel like some of our freshmen point guards can come in and help there at the guard position for us also.”
Copeland, who averaged 6.7 points and 4.7 assists per game, said the freshmen point guards help push her in practice.
“They play really well,” Copeland said. “We kind of feed off each other. I obviously try to help them out, and they help me out if I’m the one dogging it.”
With one player at 6-1 on the roster, the Lady Cougars are planning on using a fast-paced offense to counter opposing team’s size.
Copeland said that the team is really fitting into the system well.
“I think it’s comfortable,” Copeland said. “I like moving faster. It’s a good offense that Coach Kruger has come up with.
“Obviously, I expect a successful year. The team that we have is really good. I expect good things. We have pretty good chemistry.”
Only one player averaged more time on the court last season — Blair Bloomfield (30.8 minutes per game).
The 6-0 sophomore guard averaged nine points and 5.3 rebounds per game for the Lady Cougars.
“Blair Bloomfield, she’ll start for us,” Kruger said. “She’s really coming along, having a nice preseason. She’s shooting the ball better. She shot the ball well last year, but percentage-wise, she’s shooting in the 40s from 3.”
Kruger listed both as likely starters this season.
Another returning player is Great Bend High School product Jennifer Allende, who is returning from an anterior cruciate ligament injury that ended her freshman season early.
Kruger said she has been making great strides in practice.
“She’s always been a tough kid that you can throw in and mix it up, grab a rebound or guard somebody for you,” Kruger said of Allende. “Now her offensive progression has been big. She’s going to be in that mix to get some major minutes, and play those important minutes down the stretch.”
Forward Ta’Kerra Williams and guard Tachell Phillips will also be returning for their sophomore campaigns.
A newcomer that first-year head coach Kruger named as a possible starter is Ashton Bruner, a 5-11 freshman forward from McPherson.
“She’s a leading candidate because she’s really good defensively,” Kruger said. “Other than those three, it’s still kind of an open competition. Even the kids that I’ve mentioned, if they don’t work hard in practice and do the things that they’ll need to do, somebody else will take their spot.”
Barton graduated its two post players — 6-4 Netanya Jackson, who went to play for Murray State, and Dionne Harris, who averaged a team-leading 13.1 points and 7.2 rebounds per game.
The Lady Cougars finished with an 18-13 record under the guidance of former head coach Darin Spence. They were knocked out of the NJCAA Region VI tournament in the first round by Labette, 69-63 in overtime.
Spence took the head coaching job at NCAA Division-II Newman University in Wichita after one year with Barton.
The Lady Cougars finished 8-8 in Kansas Jayhawk Community College Conference play last season, something Kruger said his team can improve on.
“When we show up and we compete hard and take care of the little things like rebounding and being solid defensively, we can compete with anybody in our conference,” Kruger said. “It’s just a matter of being consistent.”

BARTON COMMUNITY COLLEGE LADY COUGARS

NON-CONFERENCE SCHEDULE

    Nov. 2-3 — BARTON HIGHLAND HOTEL/PIZZA HUT CLASSIC
    Today — Cloud County vs. Coffeyville, 1 p.m.
    Tonight — Barton vs. Midland College, 5:30 p.m.
    Saturday — Cloud County vs. Midland College, 1 p.m.
    Saturday night — Barton vs. Coffeyville, 5:30 p.m.
    Tuesday — BETHANY COLLEGE JV, 5:30 p.m.
    Nov. 9-10 — At Brown Mackie Classic, 1 p.m.
    Friday, Nov. 9 — Barton vs. Kansas Weslyan JV, 1 p.m.
    Saturday, Nov. 10 — Barton vs. Nebraska College of Technical Agriculture, 5 p.m.
    Tuesday, Nov. 13 — At Kansas City, Kansas, 5 p.m.
    Tuesday, Nov. 20 — COWLEY COLLEGE, 5:30 p.m.
    Nov. 23-24 — BEST WESTERN/COUGAR BOOSTER CLUB CLASSIC
    Friday, Nov. 23 — Brown Mackie vs. Neosho County, 1 p.m.
    Barton vs. Southwestern (Iowa), 5:30 p.m.
    Nov. 24 — Brown Mackie vs. Southwestern (Iowa), 1 p.m.
    Barton vs. Neosho County, 5:30 p.m.
    Monday, Nov. 26 — At Tabor College
    Tuesday, Nov. 27 — McPHERSON COLLEGE JV, 5:30 p.m.
    Saturday, Dec. 1 — At Cowley College, 6 p.m.
    Sunday, Dec. 9 — At Northwest Kansas Technical College, 3 p.m.
KANSAS JAYHAWK COMMUNITY COLLEGE CONFERENCE
WESTERN DIVISION SCHEDULE
    Saturday, Jan. 5 — At Seward County (Liberal), 6 p.m.
    Monday, Jan. 7 — DODGE CITY, 5:30 p.m.
    Wednesday Jan. 9 — At Garden City, 5:30 p.m.
    Saturday, Jan. 12 — BUTLER, 5:30 p.m.
    Wednesday, Jan. 16 — At Hutchinson, 5:30 p.m.
    Wednesday, Jan. 23 — COLBY, 5:30 p.m.
    Saturday, Jan. 26 — At Pratt, 6 p.m.
    Wednesday, Jan. 30 — CLOUD COUNTY, 5:30 p.m.
    Saturday, Feb. 2 — SEWARD COUNTY, 5:30 p.m.
    Wednesday, Feb. 6 — At Dodge City, 6 p.m.
    Saturday, Feb. 9 — GARDEN CITY, 5:30 p.m.
    Monday, Feb. 11 — At Butler, 6 p.m.
    Wednesday, Feb. 13 — HUTCHINSON, 5:30 p.m.
    Wednesday, Feb. 20 — At Colby, 6 p.m.
    Saturday, Feb. 23 — PRATT, 5:30 p.m.
    Wednesday, Feb. 27 — At Cloud County, 5:30 p.m.
End regular season