Box Score
TAHLEQUAH, Okla. (Feb. 7) – Stout defense down the stretch fueled a Central Oklahoma comeback that carried the No. 14-ranked Bronchos to a rugged 56-51 Lone Star Conference North Division victory over Northeastern State here Saturday afternoon.
UCO overcame a seven-point deficit in the final 10 minutes and scored the final five points of the game – all at the free throw line – to break away from a 51-51 tie and claim its second win in four days over the RiverHawks.
The Bronchos forced four turnovers and blocked a shot in the final two minutes in winning their eighth straight game, improving to 18-3 on the year and 8-0 in the LSC North. NSU, which dropped a 77-66 decision to UCO Wednesday in Edmond, fell to 13-8 and 5-3.
“We showed a lot of character and pulled out a great win on the road,” UCO coach Guy Hardaker said. “We had a stretch where everything went against us, but we kept our composure and made some big plays the last 10 minutes of the game, especially defensively.”
Ashley Beckley broke a 51-51 stalemate with 1:21 left to play after she came up with a steal and was fouled, making one of two free throws, and UCO got the ball right back on a Lizzie Brenner steal.
Cristina Yarbrough was fouled with 43 seconds remaining and made both foul shots to up UCO's lead to 54-51, with Kasey Tweed swiping the inbounds pass and getting fouled at 0:41. She made one of two charity tosses for a 55-51 lead and Brenner blocked a 3-point try on the other end.
Beckley was fouled at 0:14 and made one of two free throws to make it 56-51, with NSU then throwing the ball away on its next possession to seal the verdict.
The Bronchos prevailed in their lowest-scoring game of the season despite shooting just 34.5 percent (20-of-58) from the field and getting outrebounded 44-27, coming up with 14 steals and forcing 28 turnovers while committing just 12 turnovers.
Beckley led UCO with 13 points, while Tweed came off the bench to hit three 3-pointers in a 12-point outing. Mallory Markus added eight points and Brenner had seven points, eight rebounds and five steals.
Neither team led by more than three points in a back-and-forth first half that featured four ties and 12 lead changes before ending in a 26-all deadlock.
UCO was outrebounded 20-8 and shot just 37.0 percent (10-of-27) in the opening 20 minutes, but forced 14 turnovers in staying close. The RiverHawks led 24-21 in the closing minutes, with the Bronchos getting a 3-pointer from Markus and a Traci Murphree layup to pull even by the break.
UCO had a 36-33 lead six minutes into the second half after a Beckley turnaround jumper in the lane, but the RiverHawks scored eight unanswered points to surge in front and took a 46-39 lead with 10:07 remaining.
It was a 47-41 deficit at 9:12 before Rose Anderson's three-point play sparked a 10-2 run that gave the Bronchos a 51-49 lead at the 3:17 mark and set up the finish.
UCO returns to LSC North action Wednesday, hosting East Central at 6 p.m.
