Strong first half propels 22nd ranked Lady Cougars to victory over NEO #GoBarton

The 22nd ranked Barton Community College women's basketball built an eighteen point first half lead Friday afternoon in picking up a 72-57 victory over Northeastern Oklahoma A&M College in the first game of the BSN Sports Tipoff Classic.

Barton got off to a ten point first quarter edge, holding NEO to just 9.1% shooting in the frame, tacking on eight more in the second period to enjoy a seemingly comfortable halftime cushion.

After Barton increased their lead to 23 early in the third quarter, the Norseman took thirteen points off their deficit coming out of the locker room, draining 4-of-7 behind the arc while the Cougars slumped to just 20% shooting after connecting on nearly 64% before the halftime break.

Barton responded to NEO's charge, increasing its eight point margin to begin the quarter with a 12-4 stretch to lead by sixteen with four minutes remaining to ride out the win.

Improving to 2-0, Barton will return to the Hutchinson Sports Arena in day two action versus Mineral Area College in another 1:00 p.m. tipoff with live stream audio and video coverage available on the Barton Sports Network found at www.BartonSports.com.

Dropping their season opener, NEO will face host Hutchinson Community College in the 5:30 p.m. contest as the 9th ranked Blue Dragons rolled over Mineral Area 84-48 to conclude first day women's action.

Jenny Nkem Womsi led a trio of Cougars in double-digits with 16 points, grabbing 15 rebounds helping Barton to a plus-22 advantage on the boards. Acorionna Lard, who knocked down a pair of three pointers finished with 13 points, as did Alissa Heskamp in also leading the squad with two steals. Brennan Kirchhoff went 2-4 from beyond the arc for 10 points.

QuinNae Love led NEO with 22 points, Cheyan McDaniel with 11, and Teodora Popovic coming off the bench contributing 10 points.

Shooting over 63% in each of the second and fourth quarters, the Cougars shot 71.4% in the final frame including 3-of-4 behind the arc to finish at 43.5% overall and 6-of-12 beyond the arc. NEO stayed below 42% each quarter, finishing at 38.9% and 7-of-24 from long distance.