CANYON, Texas (March 14) -- Sweet Revenge!
Lizzie Brenner scored 24 points and Ashley Beckley had six of her 10 in a game-deciding 15-2 run that put Central Oklahoma in control and the No. 15-ranked Bronchos went on to topple No. 8 Washburn 72-63 here Saturday night in the semifinals of the NCAA Division II South Central Regional.
It was UCO's first-ever win over the Lady Blues and avenged a loss in the semifinals of last year's regional. The Bronchos improved to 27-5 and moved into Monday's 7 p.m. finals against the Emporia State-West Texas A&M winner.
The regional champion advances to the Elite Eight in San Antonio March 24-27.
"That was a big, big win for us," UCO coach Guy Hardaker said. "I can't say enough about how hard our girls played and what a great effort that put into this game. We really shot the ball well and didn't make a lot of careless mistakes.
"We're excited about being in the finals and look forward to seeing how we can do."
Brenner made a career-high four 3-pointers in her 24-point outing while adding seven rebounds and three steals. Rose Anderson made all three of her 3-point tries in a 15-point outing and Beckley added seven rebounds to her 10-point night.
The Bronchos also got six points, five assists and three steals from Cristina Yarbrough and seven assists and two steals from Mallory Markus.
UCO hit 9-of-18 long-range shots, including 6-of-10 in the second half, and had just nine turnovers. That made up for a poor night at the free throw line, as the Bronchos were only 7-of-18 (38.9 percent) from the foul stripe.
UCO trailed 45-43 seven minutes into the second half when Traci Murphree started the big run with a layup. Beckley had six points, Anderson four and Brenner a big 3-pointer as the Bronchos built a 58-47 advantage with 5:49 remaining.
Another Brenner trey pushed the lead to 13 at 69-56 with 2:22 left and UCO coasted in with the upset despite missing its last four free throw tries.
The Bronchos got off to a horrible start, missing their first six shots and committing two turnovers in falling behind 7-0 and it was an 11-2 deficit six minutes into the contest. UCO chipped away at the lead and drew even at 22 on a Brenner bucket, with the Lady Blues going on to take a 36-33 halftime lead.
Yarbrough opened the second half with a layup, Anderson hit a trey and Brenner added an inside score early in the second half to give the Bronchos their first lead at 40-38 and the game went back-and-forth the next few minutes before UCO seized control.
