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It has been a rough go for the Dodge City Community College Lady Conquistadors to begin the new year, after becoming the first womens team to win more than seven games in the past five seasons, they have hit a little bit of a rough patch, dropping Saturday night's contest against Barton County, 71-64.
The Conqs, playing their second game of 2012, have welcomed back sophomore Amanda Casey, who is returning to the team after recovering from a back injury. She joins Sharice Papaleo as one of the lone returning starters from last year's team.
The team is under the direction of first-year head coach Lucas McDonald and they have experienced some growing pains during the season as the team adjusts to new players and a new system.
Saturday night matched up two teams looking to get off to a good start in the Kansas Jayhawk Community College Conference, especially after Dodge opened up their conference schedule with a loss to Hutchinson.
The game began as a seesaw battle between the Conqs and Cougars, with each team failing to open up a lead. With under five minutes to play in the first half, both sides remained within a couple points of the other, exchanging missed opportunities.
Once again the Conqs were led by a strong performance from Je'nae Strong, who found herself working against the Cougar defense late in the first half. She would put up contested shot after contested shot, drawing fouls and putting the team in a position to end the first half with the lead.
As a team, the Conqs were able to play sound defense against the Cougar offense, limiting them to only 26 points in the first half, going into the break with a three point lead inside the United Wireless Arena.
As solid as the Conqs played in the first half, things began even better in the second as they jumped out to more of a cushion.
But just as fast as the team found itself with a nice lead in a defensive battle, the wheels on the bus began to fall off one lugnut at a time.
The Conqs went ice cold from the floor and couldn't seem to find a rebound against the Cougars, resulting in a massive run for Barton. What was once a comfortable single-digit lead for Dodge City, turned into a double-digit deficit in the blink of an eye.
Despite Barton's 19-point lead, the Conqs rallied the troops for a run at pulling off the shocker. With increased pressure from guard Jasmin Villa, Dodge was able to capitalize on a few Cougar turnovers, but were unable to make the full comeback, falling seven points short.
Dodge City would end up shooting 32 percent from the floor in the second half, compared to a blistering 54 percent for the Cougars, as Barton outscored the home team 45-35 in the second half.
Strong led the team with 27 points, which was also a game high, on 8-of-19 shooting from the field and 8-of-11 from the free throw line. Laquaris Harris was the only other Conq to score in double figures, finishing with 10 points.
Casey, returning from injury, finished with nine points on four field goals, who will add much needed experience as the team gets deeper into their conference schedule later this month.
Barton was able to outrebound the Conqs by 15, which will be a point of emphasis as the team prepares for a road contest with Colby on Wednesday.
It has been a rough go for the Dodge City Community College Lady Conquistadors to begin the new year, after becoming the first womens team to win more than seven games in the past five seasons, they have hit a little bit of a rough patch, dropping Saturday night's contest against Barton County, 71-64.
The Conqs, playing their second game of 2012, have welcomed back sophomore Amanda Casey, who is returning to the team after recovering from a back injury. She joins Sharice Papaleo as one of the lone returning starters from last year's team.
The team is under the direction of first-year head coach Lucas McDonald and they have experienced some growing pains during the season as the team adjusts to new players and a new system.
Saturday night matched up two teams looking to get off to a good start in the Kansas Jayhawk Community College Conference, especially after Dodge opened up their conference schedule with a loss to Hutchinson.
The game began as a seesaw battle between the Conqs and Cougars, with each team failing to open up a lead. With under five minutes to play in the first half, both sides remained within a couple points of the other, exchanging missed opportunities.
Once again the Conqs were led by a strong performance from Je'nae Strong, who found herself working against the Cougar defense late in the first half. She would put up contested shot after contested shot, drawing fouls and putting the team in a position to end the first half with the lead.
As a team, the Conqs were able to play sound defense against the Cougar offense, limiting them to only 26 points in the first half, going into the break with a three point lead inside the United Wireless Arena.
As solid as the Conqs played in the first half, things began even better in the second as they jumped out to more of a cushion.
But just as fast as the team found itself with a nice lead in a defensive battle, the wheels on the bus began to fall off one lugnut at a time.
The Conqs went ice cold from the floor and couldn't seem to find a rebound against the Cougars, resulting in a massive run for Barton. What was once a comfortable single-digit lead for Dodge City, turned into a double-digit deficit in the blink of an eye.
Despite Barton's 19-point lead, the Conqs rallied the troops for a run at pulling off the shocker. With increased pressure from guard Jasmin Villa, Dodge was able to capitalize on a few Cougar turnovers, but were unable to make the full comeback, falling seven points short.
Dodge City would end up shooting 32 percent from the floor in the second half, compared to a blistering 54 percent for the Cougars, as Barton outscored the home team 45-35 in the second half.
Strong led the team with 27 points, which was also a game high, on 8-of-19 shooting from the field and 8-of-11 from the free throw line. Laquaris Harris was the only other Conq to score in double figures, finishing with 10 points.
Casey, returning from injury, finished with nine points on four field goals, who will add much needed experience as the team gets deeper into their conference schedule later this month.
Barton was able to outrebound the Conqs by 15, which will be a point of emphasis as the team prepares for a road contest with Colby on Wednesday.
