Box Score
by John Hackney
WILSON, N.C.-Visiting Coker College took the lead early in the first half and never relinquished it on Wednesday night in scoring a 79-66 victory over the Barton College women in the "Dog House."
The Conference Carolinas loss left Barton 9-3 in league play and 14-7 overall while Coker climbed to 6-6 in the conference and 6-15 overall. Barton entertains North Greenville on Saturday night at 5:30 p.m.
Junior guard Amber Lau torched the nets for a game-high 25 points to pace the Cobras. Senior guard Jasmine Alston added 17 points and junior forward Jessica Cohen was everywhere with 21 points, 10 rebounds, three assists and three steals. Freshman point guard Heidrun Kristmundsdottir had eight points, five assists and three steals.
For Barton, which struggled with its shooting against the Cobras' 3-2 matchup zone, senior guard Jannetta Robinson cashed in 22 points and junior guard Faith Hunter added 11. Barton went 0-for-12 from 3-point range and was just 25-of-64 from the floor for 39.1 percent. Coker drained 5-of-12 threes in the first half and 7-of-19 overall for 36.8 percent and finished 30-of-57 (52.6 percent) from the floor.
Lau scored 12 and Cohen counted 10 as the Cobras raced to a 39-29 halftime cushion. Janae Jackson scored two hoops and Shante Neal made one basket as Barton jumped out to a 6-2 lead, but Coker countered with a layup and 3-pointer by Alston to take the lead for keeps at 7-6 with 14:39 remaining in the half. Kristmundsdottir and Cohen followed with baskets as Coker finished off a 9-0 run for an 11-6 lead. Barton got as close as three points twice during the next few minutes before Coker cruised to a 15-point cushion at the 2:15 mark.
Two foul shots by Robinson – the reigning Conference Carolinas Player of the Week – brought Barton within 51-43 with 13:58 left in the game, but that was as close as the Lady Bulldogs would get. They twice rallied within nine points, only to have Coker push the lead back to double digits.
The Cobras finished with a 35-32 edge in rebounding and committed 26 turnovers, compared to 22 for the Lady Bulldogs.
It was the worst home loss for Barton since a 74-58 setback to Anderson University in the 2009 Conference Carolinas Tournament semifinals.
