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University of Central Oklahoma Athletics

The Official Site of Central Oklahoma University Athletics Central Oklahoma Athletics
Blake Blessington
Blake Blessington
42
Northwestern Okla. NWOSU 0-1
101
Winner Central Oklahoma UCO 1-0
Northwestern Okla. NWOSU
0-1
42
Final
101
Central Oklahoma UCO
1-0
Winner
Score By Periods
Team 1 2 3 4 F
Northwestern Okla. NWOSU 6 12 15 9 42
Central Oklahoma UCO 25 25 24 27 101

Game Recap: Women's Basketball |

Blessington Leads Long-range Barrage In UCO Rout

EDMOND (Nov. 11) – Blake Blessington overcame a slow shooting start with a torrid finish to highlight an overwhelming long-range shooting exhibition that powered Central Oklahoma to a 101-42 season-opening annihilation of Northwestern Oklahoma Friday night at Hamilton Field House.
 
Blessington made her last six 3-pointers after a 1-of-5 start and the sophomore sharpshooter finished with seven to tie a single-game school record in pouring in a career-high 23 points.  The Bronchos made a school-record 19 treys and tied the single-game mark with 38 attempts in finishing with the third-highest margin of victory in school history (59 points).
 
UCO shot 55.6 percent (35-of-73) in eclipsing the 100-point mark for just the 14th time in program history – including 11 under 11th-year head coach Guy Hardaker -- while limiting the Rangers to 21.5-percent shooting (14-of-65).  The Bronchos return to action Sunday at 5:30 p.m. to host Southeastern Oklahoma.
 
"I thought we played pretty well for our first game," Hardaker said.  "Obviously we shot the ball extremely well and that makes the game a lot easier.  It was a great start and we just need to build off it."
 
Explosive junior guard Melinda Murillo scored 11 of her 20 points in the first quarter as the Bronchos took control early, with Marley Anderson going 4-of-4 from beyond the arc in a 16-point outing.  Madison Lee added three treys in scoring 11 points, while Jesheon Cooper and Olivia Mason pulled down 10 rebounds apiece.
 
UCO never trailed after Murillo opened the game with a 3-pointer from the top of the key and Anderson drilled back-to-back treys to ignite a 19-2 run that turned a 6-4 lead into a 25-6 cushion after the opening period.
 
The Bronchos made five 3-pointers in the first stanza and added four more in the second to take a big 50-18 advantage into halftime.  Blessington nailed three straight long-range bombs in a 90-second span of the third quarter as the lead grew to 74-33 and UCO coasted in from there.
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