The Barton Community College Lady Cougars dominated Bethany College’s junior varsity squad from the outset of Tuesday night’s women’s basketball game at Kirkman Activity Center.
Barton started the game on a 24-2 run, leading to an 85-24 win.
Lady Cougars first-year head coach Carter Kruger said he was looking at the level of effort from his players.
“I take away just the effort stuff, if we’re trying hard,” Kruger said. “It’s one of those things where its kind of easy to fall apart at the seams sometimes. We want to make sure we’re sticking together, and continuing to grow as a unit is my No. 1 objective with a game like that.”
Kruger cycled in 12 players during the game, with 10 getting involved in the scoring.
Sophomore guard Taschell Phillips, who injured her knee during Barton’s 78-67 win over Coffeyville on Saturday, did not play in the game.
“It would’ve been 13,” Kruger said. “Taschell tweaked her knee a little bit. It’s still too sore for her to move. There’s nothing torn. Everything’s fine, structurally. We think she might have pinched the meniscus. It’s just sore. There’s no swelling.
“It’s good to get everybody out there and get them some experience because at the end, we’ll be counting on everybody.”
Kelsey Keith, a 5-foot-3 freshman guard, led the team with seven points in the first half.
Keith finished tied in scoring with 5-8 freshman guard Payton Scheer with a team-leading 13 points apiece.
“That’s good for them,” Kruger said. “They’re both kids, where in big games where we need to score, we’ve got to get them to make some shots. Their strength is they can shoot the ball, and games like this can really help their confidence.”
Sophomore point guard Erin Copeland finished with 10 points.
“That’s kind of to be expected out of Erin now,” Kruger said. “She’s got the capability, so I think the expectation is for her to play well all the time, and put some points on the board.”
The Lady Cougars shot 10-for-11 (90.9 percent) from the free-throw line. They made seven of their 14 attempted 3-pointers.
Barton travels to Salina for the Brown Mackie Classic on Friday afternoon. It challenges the Kansas Wesleyan junior varsity at 1.
JUNIOR COLLEGE BASKETBALL
At Great Bend
Kirkman Activity Center
Tuesday
Barton 85, Bethany JV 24
BETHANY JV
Dezarae Hill 4-7 0-0 8, Afton Lutters 1-2 0-0 2, Rebecca Kerlikowske 1-5 0-0 3, Vickie Dolan 1-7 0-0 3, Jyll Gamboa 0-6 0-0 0, Brianna Madden 1-5 0-0 2, Megan Schlottler 0-1 0-0 0, Ashley D’Amour 1-4 2-2 5, Kristi Ohlschwager 0-1 1-2 1. Totals 9-38 3-4 24.
BARTON (2-1)
Erin Copeland 4-8 2-2 10, Ashton Bruner 2-7 0-0 4, Blair Bloomfield 3-5 0-0 7, Payton Scheer 5-9 0-0 13, Ta’Kerra Williams 3-4 3-3 9, Kailai Brantner 3-5 2-2 8, Jackie Bueno 2-5 0-0 4, Taylor Mayes 4-6 0-0 8, Kelsey Keith 5-7 0-0 13, Jennifer Allende 0-4 0-0 0, Tomiaya Graham 3-3 3-4 9, Brandy Winbush 0-2 0-0 0. Totals 34-65 10-11 85.
Halftime — Barton 41, Bethany JV 13. Three-point goals — Barton 7-14 (Keith 3-5, Scheer 3-5, Bloomfield 1-1, Copeland 0-2, Allende 0-1); Bethany JV 3-16 (Dolan 1-7, Kerlikowske 1-3, D’Amour 1-3, Gamboa 0-3).
