BY MIKE MARZOLF
Special to the Tribune
Home has been pretty kind to the Barton women’s basketball team this season.
The Barton Gym has been a comfortable place for the Cougars, posting an 8-1 overall record and 5-0 in the Jayhawk Conference heading into Wednesday night’s battle with Cloud County.
The Cougars used a torrid start to the third quarter to protect that home floor once again, scoring a 76-58 win over the Thunderbirds.
Barton used a 28-11 third quarter to take control of the contest and cruised to the easy win over Cloud.
“We were really good that third quarter,” Coach Alan Clark said. “We were good on offense. We were good on defense. We shot the ball well. The third quarter definitely proved to be the difference in the game.”
The Cougars are now 6-4 in the conference and 9-5 overall this season. Cloud falls to 7-3 in the Jayhawk and 10-3 overall.
Sophomores Juliana Chagas and Micaela Jellison led the way early then freshmen Taylor Regan, Fatou Ndao and Mallory Miller played key roles as Barton blew Cloud out of the gym in the final 20 minutes.
The game was tight throughout the first half. The biggest lead of the half was a 5-0 start for Cloud while Barton’s biggest lead was at 11-7 on the heels of an 11-2 run after that 5-0 start.
The teams traded the lead several times in the opening half, but the Cougars took control early in the second half.
Barton jumped to a 7-point lead early in the third quarter after a Regan 3-point bucket just 1:30 into half gave Barton a 5-0 run to start the quarter and build the lead to 36-29.
The lead reached double figures on an Ndao runner in the lane for a 10 point lead followed by a Chagas layup for a 44-32 lead that forced Cloud to use a timeout just four minutes into the third quarter.
It didn’t stop there. Mallory Miller knocked down a trey after the timeout and Barton had a 47-32 lead.
Cloud would not recover.
The lead reached 53-34 with 3:15 to play in third after Chagas knocked down a trey from the left wing on an assist from Jellison.
By the time the third period ended, the Cougars had a commanding 59-40 lead on the Thunderbirds.
Barton led by as many as 24 points in the final period.
A key to the win was the defense of Regan on Cloud’s sharp-shooter Kelsi Mueller. Mueller, one of the top 3-point shooters in the Jayhawk, came in averaging 15 points per game. But the 5-2 Mueller was hounded by the 5-10 Regan all night and finished with just three points.
“Taylor made it really hard on Kelsi to even get off shots,” Coach Clark said. “She only allowed her to make one 3-pointer all night.”
Chagas led Barton with 16 points followed by Jellison and Regan with 13 each. Miller finished with 12 on four treys and Ndao added 11.
Regan recorded her first double-double of her young Barton career with 12 rebounds while Jellison blocked four shots. Jaylin Stapleton, Barton’s leading scorer on the season, netted just six points but handed out five assists.
The Cougars turned the ball over 23 times but countered that by hitting 56 percent form the floor and 50 percent on 3-pointers.
Cloud was led by Camille Awa Baud with 19 points. The Thunderbirds were without Hall of Fame Coach Brett Erkenbrack. The 29-year veteran was serving a 1-game suspension after being ejected in the final game of the first semester – a loss to Butler.
Barton had a chance to make it back-to-back wins to start the second semester when Pratt brings an 0-10 Jayhawk record to the Barton Gym Saturday for a 5:30 pm tip. The Beavers are 1-12 overall after a 74-42 loss at Butler Wednesday night.
BARTON 76, CLOUD CO. 58
Cloud 16 13 11 18 – 58
Barton 14 17 28 17 – 76
CLOUD COUNTY (7-3, 10-3)—Baud 8-17 0-0 19, Frame 2-13 0-0 4, Mueller 1-7 0-0 3, Davis 6-13 1-2 13, Hammel 0-1 1-2 1, Christensen 2-2 0-0 4, Meyers 4-7 3-6 10, Keech 1-4 0-0 2, Gay 1-2 0-0 2. Totals – 25-66 4-10 58.
BARTON (6-4, 9-5)—Chagas 7-10 0-0 16, Stapleton 1-7 4-6 6, Regan 6-8 0-0 13, Jellison 6-10 1-3 13, Chukwudi 0-0 0-0 0, Dixon 0-3 0-0 0, White 0-0 0-0 0, Ndao 5-7 1-1 11, Dirks 0-2 0-0 0, Dolinsky 2-3 1-2 5, Miller 4-5 0-0 12. Totals – 31-55 7-12 76.
3-pointers – Cloud 4-16 (Baud 3-9, Mueller 1-3, Frame 0-1, Keech 0-1); Barton 7-14 (Miller 4-5, Chagas 2-2, Regan 1-2, Dixon 0-1, Dirks 0-1, Dolinsky 0-1, Stapleton 0-2).
Rebounds—CC 30 (Meyers 9); BC 42 (Regan 12). Assists—CC 11 (Baud 3, Mueller 3); BC 15 (Stapleton 5). Steals—CC 1 (Mueller); BC 6 (Chagas 2, Stapleton 2). Blocks—CC 3 (Baud 2). BC 8 (Jellison 4). Turnovers—CC 15, BC 23. Fouled Out—Davis, Cloud.
JAYHAWK CONFERENCE WOMEN
Seward County 8-2 12-2
Hutchinson 8-2 12-2
Cowley 8-2 12-2
Independence 8-2 10-3
Cloud County 7-3 10-3
Barton 6-4 9-5
Coffeyville 6-4 8-6
Butler 5-5 8-5
Garden City 5-5 8-6
Neosho County 3-7 6-8
Dodge City 2-8 5-8
Colby 2-8 4-10
Allen County 2-8 4-10
Pratt 0-10 1-12
WEDNESDAY’S GAMES
Allen 66, Dodge City 42
Barton County 76, Cloud 58
Butler 74, Pratt 52
Garden City 66, Coffeyville 59
Hutchinson 78, Cowley 70
Neosho 79, Colby 68
Seward 63, Independence 52
SATURDAY’S GAMES
Pratt at Barton County
Allen at Hutchinson
Coffeyville at Butler
Cowley at Cloud
Independence at Dodge City
Neosho at Garden City
Seward at Colby
