Defensive start not enough in road loss at No. 20 Hutchinson #GoBarton

The Barton Community College women's basketball team saw a strong defensive first half give way to a tougher offensive night after the break, as No. 20 Hutchinson Community College pulled away in the second half for a 49-38 win Wednesday night inside the Hutchinson Sports Arena.

The loss drops the Cougars to a 7-10 in conference play and 9-14 overall, while the Blue Dragons improve to 13-4 in league action and 18-5 on the season, extending their win streak in the series to seven straight. Barton will close out its two-game road trip Saturday with a 2:00 p.m. afternoon tip at Pratt Community College before returning home next Wednesday for Pink Out night hosting Fort Hays Tech Northwest.

Offense was hard to come by in the opening 10 minutes, with Barton holding a slim 5-2 edge despite shooting just 2-of-16 from the floor. A Mersadie Spray three and a Regina Donanu bucket accounted for the socring midway through the period while the Cougars' defense limited the Blue Dragons to just two points on 1-of-15 shooting in the frame.

Barton pushed the lead to its largest of the half early in the second quarter at 9-2 on baskets from Mary Akinde and Donanu before Hutchinson finally found an offensive rhythm, ending a near 10-minute scoring drought to put together an 11-2 run to take its lone lead of the half, 13-11 with 3:15 remaining. The Cougars responded with four straight points from Donanu and Christal Long, but a Blue Dragon bucket just before the buzzer sent the teams into the locker room knotted at 15-15.

Hutchinson gained control after halftime by knocking down four second-half three-pointers while turning Barton turnovers into points, converting 13 Cougar miscues into 14 points in the second half. Barton stayed within striking distance in the third behind Donanu, who scored eight of her 14 points in the period, including Alaina Eck's and-one that briefly gave the Cougars their final lead at 24-23 with 5:39 remaining.

Barton trimmed the deficit to four early in the fourth quarter, but scoring was limited down the stretch as the Cougars were held to 12 points in the period, with Akinde accounting for 11 of them.

The Cougars finished at 29.6 percent from the field after opening at 22.6 percent in the first half, while going 1-of-10 from outside. Turnovers proved costly as Barton committed 22 on the night, including 13 after halftime, leading to a plus-seven Hutchinson advantage in points off turnovers. The Blue Dragons shot 35.1 percent for the game and knocked down five three-pointers to create the separation in the second half.

Donanu paced a pair of Cougars in double figures with 14 points, while Akinde followed with 13 points and a game-high 16 rebounds, including five on the offensive end to record her eighth double-double of the season. The duo combined for 19 of Barton's 23 points in the second half.

Hutchinson was led by Kamyra Barber's double-double of 14 points and 11 rebounds, while the Blue Dragons held a 12-0 advantage in bench scoring.