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University of Central Oklahoma Athletics

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Marley Anderson
Marley Anderson
86
Winner Central Oklahoma UCO 22-5, 13-5 MIAA
83
Washburn WU 16-11, 9-9 MIAA
Winner
Central Oklahoma UCO
22-5, 13-5 MIAA
86
Final
83
Washburn WU
16-11, 9-9 MIAA
Score By Periods
Team 1 2 3 4 OT 1 F
Central Oklahoma UCO 19 18 13 24 12 86
Washburn WU 18 17 24 15 9 83

Game Recap: Women's Basketball | | Chris Brannick

Marley Anderson leads No. 24 Bronchos to thrilling OT win

TOPEKA, Kan. – Marley Anderson scored a career high 34 points, the third most in a single game in Central Oklahoma history, and the Bronchos beat Washburn 86-83 in overtime Thursday night.

The Bronchos (22-5, 13-5) held onto to fourth-place in the Mid-America Intercollegiate Athletics Association for one more night. That is thanks to Anderson.

Anderson hit four 3-pointers in the first quarter, and another at the halftime buzzer, and kept the pace through the second half and into overtime. Anderson finished 9 of 12 from the field, 5 of 6 from behind the arc, and 11 of 12 from the free throw line to tie UCO Hall of Famer Gayle Stout for third-most points in a single game in school history.

"I mean, what can I say?" UCO head coach Guy Hardaker said. "Marley was just on tonight. I'm happy for her. She has been a great person to have on this team for four years. She is a great teammate, a great leader. I could go on for a while."

The 5-foot-5 point guard from Snyder played her 113th game for Central Thursday night. Her career high was 19 points.

The Bronchos came out firing Thursday night. Something they haven't been successful at over the past few weeks. UCO hit 7 of 13 in the first quarter, 5 of 9 from deep, and held a slight 19-18 advantage.

Anderson came out gunning too. While Washburn kept the pace with the Broncho offense, Anderson did her best to keep them at bay, hitting 4 of 5 threes in the opening frame. Anderson had 12 of the Bronchos' first 13 points.

The second quarter was more of the same. UCO dipped a little on offense, so it took to drawing fouls, and hit 6 of 8 free throws in the second. No fouls were called in the first quarter Thursday. The Bronchos didn't commit a foul until 5:12 mark of the second quarter. But Washburn was still close.

A 3-pointer by Ericka Lane with 1:48 to play made it 33-32 UCO. Anderson earned a trip to the line on the other end and hit 1 of 2 from the line. That was the only miss from the charity stripe on the night for Anderson. Washburn would hit another 3-pointer with 16 seconds left to go up 35-34.

Then Anderson, as cool as a spring-time breeze in Snyder, hit a buzzer-beating 3-pointer to put UCO up 37-35 at halftime.

UCO would struggle on offense in the third, Washburn did not, and suddenly the Bronchos were tasked with having to come from behind on the road. Washburn outscored the Bronchos 24-13 in the third to go up 59-50. The deficit hit 11 on the first play of the fourth quarter.

But the Bronchos began to chip away.

UCO cut the lead to four points with six minutes to play. Washburn answered with another 3-pointer, but UCO whittled the lead down again, cutting it to four points with two minutes to play, on of course, a layup from Anderson.

On the other end, Anderson then blocked a layup, snagged the rebound, and moved the Bronchos back down the court.

Anderson next drew a foul with 1:08 to play and hit both free throws to make it 74-72. And Jesheon Cooper tied with a layup with 39 seconds to go.

Washburn missed a 3-pointer at the buzzer to send the game to overtime.

UCO made just one field goal in overtime, and yes, that came from Anderson. Anderson scored six in the extra period as UCO won what became a free-throw contest. Anderson was 4 of 4 from the line in overtime.

Hayley Bryan sank two free throws with five seconds left to make it 86-83. Those were the first two bench points for the Bronchos on the night. Washburn missed a 3-pointer at the buzzer and the Bronchos picked up the win.

Olivia Mason finished with 13 points, six rebounds, and five assists. She hit three 3-pointers on the night. The first 3-pointer, she hit at the 3:06 mark in the first quarter, made her the 12th member of the 1,000 point club at UCO. She quickly moved past Stout, who scored 1,004, and Jill Bryan, who scored 1,010, and into ninth place on the school's all-time list. Mason now has 1,012 career points.

Cooper finished with 17 points, five rebounds and four blocks. Melinda Murillo had 11 points and eight assists. And Blake Blessington had seven points.

The Bronchos enter the final game of the regular season in fourth-place in the MIAA standings. The top-four teams get a first-round bye in next week's conference tournament.

Pittsburg State has clinched the No. 1 seed, Central Missouri has clinched a bye. Those two play Saturday afternoon.

Emporia State, who the Bronchos play Saturday at 1:30 p.m., has also clinched a bye, but plenty of scenarios can still play out.

If the Bronchos win Saturday, UCO gets the third seed and Emporia State will be fourth. A Broncho win plus a Pittsburg win over Central Missouri, and UCO is the No. 2 seed in the tournament.

If UCO comes up short however, it will need a loss by Missouri Western, who plays Lindenwood Saturday, to stay in fourth place. If UCO loses, and Western wins, the Bronchos will be the fifth seed and host a first-round conference tournament game at Hamilton Field House next Tuesday.

 
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