For the second time, the Barton Cougar women's basketball team snatched victory from the jaws of defeat in a 48-45 comeback win over the Colby Trojans.
The Cougars faced a 13-point deficit with 2:43 left in the third quarter and by eight headed to the fourth frame before taking just their second lead with 1:03 remaining by outscoring the Trojans 17-6 in the quarter for their 10th straight win of the series.
Barton (14-14, 10-12 Jayhawk) plays at Independence (2-26) Saturday and No. 18 Coffeyville (23-4) next week needing one victory to earn a home playoff game. Colby drops to 14-15, 9-14 Jayhawk.
Alaina Eck contributed 5 rebounds, 3 assists, and 3 steals while leading all players with 18 points including five pure charity tosses and 3-of-4 second half arc busters sparking the comeback.
Close behind was the 16-point and 6-rebound effort from Regina Donanu, none larger than her 16-foot jumper putting the Cougars ahead for good with 65 seconds remaining.
Vivian Onugha continues her climb up the program record book. The first record breaker came in the first quarter re-setting the single season offensive rebound total passing Inga Muciniece's 172 in the '07-08 season. Needing five total rebounds to take over another category, Onugha became the program's career rebound leader to again pass Muciniece's 754 total from her '06-08 two-year career. The assault on Muciniece's historic standards took another hit as Onugha's then-19th rebound of the game surpassed the '07-08 standard of single season total rebounds.
Honored before the game with the playing of her native Nigerian national anthem and following the game during Sophomore Recognition Night, Onugha's big night of accomplishments ended with 23 rebounds, 9 coming on the offensive glass, and 3 steals. On the downside of the stat line, Onugha's 17-straight double-double streak came to an end by finishing with two points for her lowest output.
Both teams struggled to make shots combining for the second lowest combined total of their 82 meetings, Barton shooting a season second worst 22.6% and Colby shooting an opponent season low 20.3%.
Trailing by eight mid-way through the final frame, the Cougars controlled the next five minutes while getting help from some missed Colby free throws, to rattle off eleven straight points kickstarted by an Eck trey followed by Brittany Simpson's lone triple. Eva Clements' pair of clutch free throws tied it up with 1:54 left, Donanu with the big jumper grabbing the lead, and Keyona Hall's 1-of-2 trip to the line capping the stretch.
Colby was led by Easha Potts' 10 points with 6 rebounds and Dessirae Ulmer's 8 points and 16 rebound effort.
Onugha's program record book impacts:
1ST—Career Rebounds (772) – passed Inga Muciniece's 754 (2006-08)
1ST—Season Offensive Rebounds (180) – passed Muciniece's 172 (2007-08)
1ST—Season Rebounds (458) – passed Jenny Nkem Womsi's 451 (2022-23), Muciniece's 453 (2007-08)
3RD—Season Defensive Rebounds (278) – passed Taylor Regan's 265 (2018-19), 3 behind Muciniece's 281 (2006-08), and 50 behind Nkem Womsi's 328 (2022-23)
8TH—Career Free Throw Attempts (289) – 5 from Taylor Regan's 294 (2017-19)
9TH—Season Free Throw Attempts (172) – 2 from Netayna Jackson's 174 (2010-11)
Colby 12 11 16 6 — 45
Barton 8 8 15 17 — 49
COLBY (14-15, 9-14) (FG 3 FT TP)—Potts 2-7 (0-2) 6-10 10, Ulmer 2-12 (0-1) 4-5 8, Bennett 3-8 (1-3) 1-2 8, Lopez 3-11 (0-4) 1-4 5, Suttington 1-12 (1-5) 2-2 5, Johnson 1-3 0- 2, Kruleski (1-5) 2-2 5, Lewis 1-3 (0-1) 0-0 2, Hahn (0-3) 0-0 0, Totals 13-64 (3-24) 16-25 45
BARTON (14-14, 10-12) (FG 3 FT TP)—Eck 5-11 (3-5) 5-5 18, Donanu 6-19 (1-7) 3-4 16, Simpson 2-8 (1-5) 0-0 5, Onugha 1-8 0-0 2; Hall 0-6 1-2 1, Greer (0-1) 1-2 1, Delisle 0-3 (0-1) 0-0 0, Clements 0-3 (0-1) 5-6 5, Mapiye 0-3 0-0 0, Totals 14-62 (5-20) 15-19 49
Rebounds—Colby 48 (Ulmer 16); BC 50 (Onugha 23). Assists—Colby 5 (Bennett 2), BC 9 (Eck 3). Steals—Colby 7 (Bennett 3), BC 8 (Eck 3)
JAYHAWK WOMEN
Dodge City 20-2 25-3
Hutchinson 19-3 25-3
Coffeyville 18-4 23-4
Butler 16-6 21-6
Seward 14-8 19-9
Cowley 14-9 19-9
Cloud 11-11 16-11
Barton 10-12 14-14
Colby 9-14 14-15
Garden City 8-14 11-16
Pratt 3-19 8-20
Independence 1-21 2-26
Hays Northwest 1-21 1-25
2-20—Seward 59, Colby 47; Coffeyville 56, Butler 52; Cloud 67, Garden City 61
2-22—Barton 100, Hays NW 55; Cowley 74, Garden City 70; Hutchinson 54, Butler 49; Coffeyville 84, Pratt 53; Dodge City 68, Colby 52; Seward 78, Independence 39
2-26—Barton 48, Colby 45; Butler 86, Garden City 59; Coffeyville 57, Seward 47; Dodge City 114, Independence 37; Cowley 80, Cloud 62; Hutchinson 85, Pratt 44
3-1—Barton at Independence 2, Coffeyville at Dodge City; Hutchinson at Seward; Butler at Cloud; Pratt at Garden City; Hays NW at Colby
