Box Score
COMMERCE, Texas (Feb. 25) – A physical contest that sent two Central Oklahoma players to the sidelines – and one to the hospital – saw the No. 14-ranked Bronchos build a big lead and then hold on down the stretch in subduing Texas A&M-Commerce 88-82 here Wednesday night.
Traci Murphree scored five clutch points during a 9-0 run that turned a precarious 74-71 lead into an 83-71 cushion and UCO made 5-of-6 free throws in the final 35 seconds to keep the Lions at bay in clinching at least a share of the Lone Star Conference North Division championship.
UCO lost its second-leading scorer in the second half when Ashley Beckley was taken to a local hospital for observation after hitting her head and Krista Beaty was knocked out of the game five minutes later when she landed on her shoulder. Beckley was released late Wednesday night and returned with the team after undergoing several tests.
The Bronchos improved to 22-4 overall and 12-1 in the LSC North with the tough win and close the regular season Saturday when they host Southwestern Oklahoma at 6 p.m. A&M-C fell to 17-9 and 9-4.
“It was a rough game, but we played pretty well and pulled out a great win on the road,” UCO coach Guy Hardaker said. “We did a good job of keeping our focus after Ashley went out and kept our composure when they made a run at us there at the end of the game.”
The Bronchos shot a sizzling 58.5 percent (31-of-53) from the field and hit 9-of-19 3-pointers (47.4 percent). Lizzie Brenner led the way with 24 points and 13 rebounds, while Mallory Markus hit 7-of-9 shots with two treys in scoring 18.
Murphree added 11 points in 12 minutes of action off the bench and Rose Anderson also had 11 points along with four assists.
A&M-C's Britney Jordan, the nation's leading scorer with a 30.6 average, finished with 30 points but she hit just 8-of-23 shots and committed seven turnovers, with Kasey Tweed doing most of the defensive work against her.
The Bronchos led 69-55 with 8:01 left to play, but the Lions got back in the game with a 16-5 run to pull within 74-71 at the 4:01 mark. Tweed started UCO's crucial 9-0 run with a pair of free throws and then Murphree followed a Jordan miss with a 3-pointer from the corner.
Murphree got free underneath for a layup seconds later after a quick turnover and Anderson ended the spurt with two foul shots that made it 83-71 with 2:28 remaining.
A&M-C cut the lead to 83-78 at 1:04 as the Bronchos missed the front end of two one-and-ones and had a chance to get closer after UCO missed a layup, but Tweed blocked a Jordan shot at 0:48.
The Bronchos then wrapped it up at the line, getting two free throws from Markus and three from Anderson in the final 35 seconds.
UCO fell behind 10-5 in the opening minutes as Jordan had seven of her 10 first-half points, but the Bronchos came back to take a 12-11 lead on Cristina Yarbrough's 3-pointer from the wing at the 14:10 mark.
It was a 23-21 A&M-C lead at 8:07 before UCO went on a 12-3 run to surge in front. Brenner started the spurt with a short jumper to tie it and Brianne Grisham nailed a 3-pointer from the corner to put the Bronchos on top, with Tweed hitting one of two free throws with 4:02 left to make it 33-26 with 4:02 left.
Markus scored on a driving layup and a tip-in to keep UCO in front by seven and then Brenner answered a late A&M-C bucket by burying a trey with just two seconds remaining to give the Bronchos a 40-32 halftime edge.
UCO opened the second half with five layups in a 10-4 run to make it 51-36 and the lead was 59-36 when Beckley went down hard in a scramble for a rebound, forcing the lengthy delay as she was prepared for transport to the hospital.
The Bronchos came out of the long timeout with back-to-back layups by Brenner in building their biggest lead at 65-48 with 10:37 remaining and it was still at 14-point bulge at 69-55 at the 8:01 mark before A&M-C begin its late rally.
