BY MIKE MARZOLF
Special to the Tribune
Trevor Rolfs has coached many games at the Lesh Sports Arena. But nearly all of them have been the last game of the night. And from the opposite end of the floor.
The long-time Pratt men’s basketball coach returned Lesh Sports Arena as the coach of the Barton women. Rolfs was hoping his debut from the visitor’s bench would produce a win for his new team. It didn’t.
Instead it produced a 24 percent shooting night for the Cougars – a theme that is becoming all too familiar.
“We have talked about it before,” Coach Rolfs said. “It really doesn’t matter how many things you do right, if you can’t put the ball in the basket you aren’t going to win.
“You can’t shoot 24 percent in a KJCCC game on the road and expect to win.”
But they almost did. The Cougars had their chances after rallying from a big first half deficit. But in the end it was Pratt earning a win on the opening night of Jayhawk Conference action.
Pratt escaped with a 57-56 win over Barton. Barton had a chance to tie in the final seconds but came up a point short. Pratt starts the Jayhawk with a 1-0 mark and is now 7-3 overall. Barton is 0-1 in the conference and 8-4.
The Cougars suited up just nine for the game, still playing without the services of Katrina Roenfeldt and Dominique Baker.
Roenfeldt was to have an MRI on her knee and is out until at least until the results are back. The leading returning scorer missed the first eight games due to a broken hand.
Barton stumbled out of the gates, trailing Pratt 14-7 after the first quarter of play. Pratt pushed that lead to double figures before a pair of 3-pointers by Kilee Harris changed the flow of the game. That cut the lead to 25-19 late in the second quarter.
Harris cut the lead to 31-26 with her fourth trey of the quarter just before the halftime buzzer.
The Cougars completed the comeback in the third quarter, taking a 34-33 lead on a Jalisa Jones 3-pointer with seven minutes to play in the quarter. Barton outscored the Beavers 19-12 in the third take a 45-43 lead into the final period.
Points in the final period were hard to come by for the Cougars. Barton struggled from the free throw line during the final 10 minutes, hitting just 1-of-6 as Pratt overtook the Cougars. Barton scored just five points the opening seven minutes of the quarter as Pratt took a 54-50 lead.
Jalisa Jones kept the Cougars in it with four straight points to even the score at 54-all with 1:45 left in the contest.
Neither team could break that deadlock until a turnaround shot by Pratt’s Taneasha Rhode with 30 seconds left in the game. Harris tried to give Barton the lead with her fifth trey but it was deflected and Pratt added a free throw with 11 seconds left to make it 57-54.
The Cougars were not able to put up the tying shot as Jones drove to the hoop and scored just before the buzzer but that only cut the lead to 57-56 and Pratt escaped with a win on its home floor by the narrowest of margins.
Barton struggled shooting the ball all night, hitting just 17-of-66 shots from the floor.
“We made 9-of-43 2-point shots,” Coach Rolfs said. “And probably 40 of those were in the paint. We had 29 offensive rebounds and scored 12 points off those rebounds. Those two stats tell the story.
Jones scored a career-high 21 points and added 13 rebounds. Harris finished with those four treys for 12 points and 13 rebounds. Megan Jirak added 10 points and 14 rebounds.
Rhode led the Beavers with 15 points and 11 rebounds.
Barton will head to El Dorado Saturday for a 2 p.m. contest against the Butler Grizzlies.
