University of Central Oklahoma Athletics

RiverHawks Topple UCO

2/11/2012 5:30:00 PM

Savannah Hamilton

Box Score

TAHLEQUAH, Okla. (Feb. 11) – An early-game scoring drought put Central Oklahoma in a hole and the Bronchos never recovering in falling to No. 14-ranked Northeastern State 70-57 here Saturday afternoon.

UCO jumped out to a quick 4-0 lead behind layups by Savannah Hamilton and Courtney Harper, but missed four of its next five shots and committed four turnovers as the RiverHawks went on a 14-3 run to go on top 14-7.

The Bronchos never regained the lead and NSU went on to earn its second win in three meetings this season between the two state rivals.

UCO, which knocked off the RiverHawks 77-71 in overtime at home on Jan. 28, fell to 14-9 while NSU improved to 20-3. The Bronchos open a season-ending three-game homestand Thursday against Lindenwood.

“We had a tough stretch there early in the game that got us behind and we never really recovered,” head coach Guy Hardaker said. “NSU's really good and they're a tough team to catch up against.”

The Bronchos shot just 37.0 percent (17-of-46) from the field and were outscored 32-18 in the paint. UCO finished with 19 turnovers and NSU held an 18-7 advantage in points off turnovers.

Hamilton led the Bronchos with 17 points and six rebounds, hitting 5-of-9 shots with a pair of 3-pointers and 5-of-6 free throws. Harper added 12 points and Heather Davis drained a trio of treys to finish with 11.

UCO trailed by as many as 11 in the first half after NSU's early run put them in front before cutting that to a seven-point margin (28-21) by intermission.

It was a six-point deficit at 30-24 after Davis hit a 3-pointer early in the second half and Harper's trey at the 18:10 mark had the Bronchos within seven at 34-27, but NSU then started to pull away.

The RiverHawks pushed their lead to 22 (66-44) with 2:57 left to play and UCO managed to get within the final margin with a late surge.

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