Surge leads Barton past Butler women in defensive battle

An 11-0 run midway through the second half powered Barton County to a 55-39 win over the Butler women in a defensive slugfest on Saturday night at the Power Plant.

The Grizzlies, who trailed by as many as 15 points in the second half, surged early in the second half, getting as close as four points at 3228 after a layup by Destiny Whitehead with 12 minutes to play. 

At that point, it appeared the Grizzlies had the momentum. But after missing a pair of free throws that would have cut the deficit to two points moments later, the Grizzlies went cold from the field.

Barton took advantage, scoring 11 straight points to stretch the lead to 15 at 43-28 with 8:11 to go in the game. Butler would not get closer than 11 points the rest of the game.

Butler was led again by Jamillah Bonner with 11 points. Kiara O'Neal was Butler's leading rebounder with six boards. Dionne Harris led Barton as the only Cougar in double figures with 16 points in the game. Shae Shoemaker had nine points and a team-high seven rebounds for Barton.

Butler had one of its poorest shooting performances of the season, making just 13 of 50 from the floor for 26 percent and just nine of 22  from the free throw line for 41 percent.

Butler is now 11-6 on the season, 0-3 in Jayhawk West Conference play. The Grizzlies return to action on Wednesday with the longest road trip of the season to play at Colby.