University of Central Oklahoma Athletics

Bronchos Tame Lions

11/8/2013 5:34:00 PM

Hayley Bryan

Box Score

AUSTIN, Texas (Nov. 8) – Hayley Bryan scored six points in a 17-0 first-half run that put Central Oklahoma in control and the Bronchos went on to topple Texas A&M-Commerce 71-60 on the first day of the season-opening St. Edward's Classic here Friday afternoon.

UCO had 19-15 lead at the 11:37 mark of the first half when a Bryan layup ignited the big scoring spurt that pushed the advantage to 36-15 with 2:51 remaining and the Bronchos went on to a 40-23 halftime cushion.

The Lions never got closer than seven in the final 20 minutes as UCO stayed safely in front to collect its eighth straight win over TAMU-C. The Bronchos return Saturday to face Hillsdale (Mich.) at 3 p.m. to end the two-day classic.

"It wasn't the prettiest game and we still made too many mistakes, but we came out with a win," UCO head coach Guy Hardaker said. "We got good contributions from a lot of different players and that was encouraging."

Jill Bryan and Marley Anderson scored 13 points apiece to lead the Bronchos, with Anderson hitting all six second-half free throw attempts. Julia Mason added 12 points, while Hayley Bryan finished with 10 points and seven rebounds.

UCO never trailed after getting off to a quick start, taking a 4-0 lead just 38 seconds into the contest on a Mason jumper and Whitney Dunn layup. The closest the Lions got was three at 16-13 and the lead was four (19-15) when Hayley Bryan's layup ignited the game-deciding run.

Mason followed with a 3-pointer, Hayley Bryan hit two free throws and Jordan Ward went coast-to-coast for a layup after a steal to up the lead to 28-15.

Brittany Lancaster sandwiched two short buckets around a Hayley Bryan layup before Ward caned two free throws to cap the spurt that made it 36-15 en route to the 40-23 halftime lead.

The lead peaked at 20 (47-27) early in the second half on a Mason layup, with TAMU-C coming back with 10 unanswered points to get within 47-37. Anderson ended that run with a 3-pointer and UCO quickly pushed its lead back to 17 (60-43) before coasting in.

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