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University of Central Oklahoma Athletics

The Official Site of Central Oklahoma University Athletics Central Oklahoma Athletics
Hayley Bryan
Hayley Bryan
67
Oklahoma Christian OC 7-7
75
Winner Central Oklahoma UCO 11-0
Oklahoma Christian OC
7-7
67
Final
75
Central Oklahoma UCO
11-0
Winner
Score By Periods
Team 1 2 3 4 F
Oklahoma Christian OC 20 11 18 18 67
Central Oklahoma UCO 22 21 17 15 75

Game Recap: Women's Basketball |

Unbeaten UCO Clips Eagles

EDMOND (Dec. 29) – Olivia Mason made two 3-pointers during a 9-0 first-half run that gave Central Oklahoma a lead it never relinquished and the No. 19-ranked Bronchos went on to topple near-by rival Oklahoma Christian 75-67 Thursday afternoon at Hamilton Field House.
 
It was UCO's return to action after a 13-day break and the unbeaten Bronchos survived 19 turnovers and 39.3-percent shooting in moving to 11-0 to extend the best start in school history.  The Eagles had a four-game winning streak snapped in falling to 7-7.
 
Mason and Melinda Murillo combined to hit three 3-pointers in a 90-second span late in the first quarter and early in the second to turn a 20-19 deficit into a 28-20 lead.  Mason drilled a trey from the top of the key with 21 seconds left in the opening stanza to put UCO ahead for good and then followed a Murillo 3-pointer with another long-distance bomb early in the second to cap the quick-strike attack.
 
The Bronchos went on to lead by many as 16 before surviving some shaky moments down the stretch to secure their 12th straight home win dating back to last season.
 
"We only had a couple of practices after taking a long break and it showed," head coach Guy Hardaker said.  "We were sloppy and didn't do a very good job of protecting the ball, but we did enough to win the game and that's the main thing."
 
UCO put four players in double figures, led by Murillo's 19 points on 7-of-13 shooting from the field.  Mason finished with 12 points, seven rebounds, four assists and two steals.
 
Hayley Bryan came up big off the bench for the Bronchos, making 4-of-7 shots with two 3-pointers in scoring a season-high 12 points.  Jesheon Cooper had another double-double with 13 rebounds and 11 points to go along with five blocked shots.
 
UCO led 43-31 at halftime and stretched it to a 16-point cushion (52-36) on Murillo's short jumper.  It was still a 16-point lead at 54-38 after Megan Womack converted a layup and the Bronchos ended the third quarter with an 11-point advantage (60-49).
 
The lead stayed in double digits until the final minutes when the Eagles scored seven straight points to get within 73-67 at the 2:25 mark.  UCO scored just two more points the rest of the way, but came up with three crucial offensive rebounds to retain possession in securing the win.
 
The Bronchos jumped out to a quick 6-0 lead, going ahead before the game even started on two Mason free throws after OC was given a technical foul for not having their starting lineup in the official scorebook 10 minutes prior to tip-off.
 
Back-to-back driving layups by Murillo in traffic made it 6-0 just 54 seconds into the contest and it was 10-2 after two Marley Anderson free throws at the 8:03 mark.
 
OC came back with 10 unanswered points to surge in front 12-10 and the lead went back-and-forth for the next few minutes before Mason ended the quarter with the 3-pointer that put the Bronchos in front to stay at 22-20.
 
Murillo then opened the second period with a trey and Mason followed an OC miss with UCO's third consecutive 3-pointer to push the lead to 28-20.  Murillo swished a 12-foot jumper to push the advantage to double digits at 33-22 and it was a 13-point cushion (41-28) on Shatoya Bryson's long 3-pointer.
 
The Eagles came back with a trey of their own with 13 seconds left in the half, but Taylor O'Dell drove in and just beat the buzzer with a driving layup to put UCO ahead 43-31 at the break.
 
The Bronchos resume Mid-America Intercollegiate Athletics Association play Saturday, hosting Missouri Western at 1:30 p.m.
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