Coffeyville couldn't replicate the offensive success it found against Neosho on Wednesday, dropping its fifth contest of the season to Barton 81-70.
Fresh off of their highest scoring effort of the season, Coffeyville came out firing three-pointers, but none wanted to fall. Meanwhile, Barton went on a tear, shooting above 60% in the first half and pushing the Red Ravens both inside and out. The Cougars showed to a 2-3 zone to take away Coffeyville's inside passing, and with Coffeyville's three-point tries not going their way, the lead grew to 20, 44-24, by the halftime break.
Out of the locker rooms, Coffeyville seemed to be much more well-adjusted, although they continued to struggle from outside. Faith Simpson and Nakia Cullom found much better looks just outside the paint, and were able to keep up with Barton's shooting pace. Even Coffeyville's fortunes from deep would eventually make a change for the better late in the third quarter. Paige Scott, who shot just 1-7 in the first half from deep, caught fire, and a continued flurry of midrange shots helped bring the lead back down to as little as 8. However, it was just not enough, as Barton would secure their free throws down the stretch to claim the 11-point victory.
Scott led all Red Raven scorers with 20, but she left the game in the fourth quarter with an apparent injury after an on-court collision. Cullom recorded another season-high for herself with 18, two days after setting her previous best against Neosho. Simpson also reached double digits, using her midrange jumper to get to 14 on the day. Overall, the Ravens shot just 35 percent from the field and went 9-39 from beyond the arc. Six of those made three-pointers belonged to Scott, who went 6-14. Coffeyville falls to 12-5 on the season and 11-5 in Jayhawk Conference play.
With the loss, Coffeyville can no longer get first place in the East Division. Butler will be the division champs for the regular season, but a home game in the first round of the Region 6 tournament is still possible. The women will next hit the road for their matchup with Cowley on Saturday, but our next broadcast will see the men travel to Chanute for their makeup game against the Neosho County Panthers.
